TEXT B Whether work should be placed among the causes of happiness or among the causes of unhappiness may perhaps be regarded as a doubtful question. There is certainly much work that is exceedingly weary and an excess of work is always very painful. I think, however, that provided work is not excessive in amount, even the dullest work is to most people less painful than idleness. There are in work all grades, from mere relief of tedium up to the profoundest delights, according to the nature of the work and the abilities of the workers. Most of the work that most people have to do is net in itself interesting, but even such work has certain great advantages. To begin with, it fills a good many hours of the day without the need of deciding what one shall do. Most people, when they are left free to fill their own time according to their choice, are at a loss to think of anything sufficiently pleasant to be worth doing. And whatever they decide on, they are troubled by the feeling that something else would have been pleasanter. To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level. Moreover the exercise of choice is in itself tiresome. Except to people with unusual initiative it is positively agreeable to be told what to do at each hour of the day, provided the orders are not too much unpleasant. Most of idle rich men suffer unutterable boredom as the price of their freedom from toil. At times, they may find relief by hunting big game in Africa, or by flying round the world, but number of such sensation is limited, especially after youth is past. Accordingly the more intelligent rich men work nearly as hard as if they were poor, while rich women for the most part keep themselves busy with innumerable trifles of whose earthshaking importance they are firmly persuaded. Work therefore is desirable, first and foremost, as a preventive of boredom, for the boredom that a man feels when he is doing necessary though uninteresting work is as nothing in comparison with the boredom that he feels when he has nothing to do with his days. With this advantage of work another is associated, namely that it makes holidays much more precious when they come. Provided a man does not have to work so hard as to impair his vigor, he is likely to find far more zest in his free time than an idle man could possibly find. The second advantage of most paid work and of some unpaid work is that it gives chances of success and opportunities for ambition. In most work success is measured by income, and while our capitalistic society continues, this is inevitable. It is only where the best work is concerned that this measure ceased to be the natural one to apply. The desire that men feel to increase their income is quite as much a desire for success as for the extra comforts that a higher income can acquire. However dull work may be, it becomes bearable if it is means of building up a reputation, whether in the world at large or only in one’s own circle. Which of the following could be the best title for the passage
A. Work and Happiness
B. The Last Stage of Civilization
C. The Cause of Happiness and Agony
D. Pains and Gains
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TEXT B Whether work should be placed among the causes of happiness or among the causes of unhappiness may perhaps be regarded as a doubtful question. There is certainly much work that is exceedingly weary and an excess of work is always very painful. I think, however, that provided work is not excessive in amount, even the dullest work is to most people less painful than idleness. There are in work all grades, from mere relief of tedium up to the profoundest delights, according to the nature of the work and the abilities of the workers. Most of the work that most people have to do is net in itself interesting, but even such work has certain great advantages. To begin with, it fills a good many hours of the day without the need of deciding what one shall do. Most people, when they are left free to fill their own time according to their choice, are at a loss to think of anything sufficiently pleasant to be worth doing. And whatever they decide on, they are troubled by the feeling that something else would have been pleasanter. To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level. Moreover the exercise of choice is in itself tiresome. Except to people with unusual initiative it is positively agreeable to be told what to do at each hour of the day, provided the orders are not too much unpleasant. Most of idle rich men suffer unutterable boredom as the price of their freedom from toil. At times, they may find relief by hunting big game in Africa, or by flying round the world, but number of such sensation is limited, especially after youth is past. Accordingly the more intelligent rich men work nearly as hard as if they were poor, while rich women for the most part keep themselves busy with innumerable trifles of whose earthshaking importance they are firmly persuaded. Work therefore is desirable, first and foremost, as a preventive of boredom, for the boredom that a man feels when he is doing necessary though uninteresting work is as nothing in comparison with the boredom that he feels when he has nothing to do with his days. With this advantage of work another is associated, namely that it makes holidays much more precious when they come. Provided a man does not have to work so hard as to impair his vigor, he is likely to find far more zest in his free time than an idle man could possibly find. The second advantage of most paid work and of some unpaid work is that it gives chances of success and opportunities for ambition. In most work success is measured by income, and while our capitalistic society continues, this is inevitable. It is only where the best work is concerned that this measure ceased to be the natural one to apply. The desire that men feel to increase their income is quite as much a desire for success as for the extra comforts that a higher income can acquire. However dull work may be, it becomes bearable if it is means of building up a reputation, whether in the world at large or only in one’s own circle. As put by the author, most of the work that most people have to do is ______.
A. exceedingly dull and always painful
B. delightful but time consuming
C. not worth doing and not bearable at all
D. not interesting but very rewarding
TEXT A Inside his small office, Jim Sedlak picks the receiver and listens as worried callers sound off about the Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s newest clinic of its distribution of pamphlets in their area. They don’t like it, they tell him, but they don’t know how to stop it. So Sedlak leans back in his chair and, drawing on almost 20 years of experience, tells them how tiny anti-abortion groups can tackle the nation’s largest abortion-rights group. Sedlak has been taking aim at Planned Parenthood for years through his small, grassroots anti-abortion organization, American Life League’s STOPP International, a two-man group whose sole mission is to bring down its giant ideological opponent. Planned Parenthood normally brushes off attacks from such "fringe groups", reserving its considerable strength for reproductive healthcare services and advocacy. But it’s hard to ignore recent anti-abortion legislative victories like the ban on so-called partial birth abortion passed in November, the more recent Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which defines fetuses as unborn children, and similar state measures against fetal homicide. Anti-abortion activities regaining ground, and that has forced Planned Parenthood to take a closer lock at the opposition. "It gives us a big challenge," Planned Parenthood President Gloria Feldt told NEWSWEEK, "but we’re ready." Feldt has learned that even individual efforts can have nationwide ripple effects. Take the case of John Pisciotta, director of Pro-life Waco and a Baylor University economies professor, who sparked a furor in Waco, Texas, this February when he decided to attack the relationship between the local Gift Scouts council and Planned Parenthood. The council, long a participant in a half-day Planned Parenthood conference on puberty education had ignored Pisciotta’s pleas to distance itself from what he considered "an assault on Christian morality." After chatting with Sedlak, a longtime friend, Psciotta recorded a 60-second spot for a Christian radio station urging listeners to reconsider supporting the scouts. Then, he asked them to boycott their Thin Mints. The cookie boycott wasn’t successful—sales actually rose 2 percent—hot the local council did break off its relationship with the group. And, much to Pisciotta’s surprise, his local concern became a national one. STOPP was flooded with phone calls from angry parents demanding to know whether their councils were linked with Planned Parenthood. Individual Girl Scouts troops have autonomy in choosing their programs, and national CEO Kim Cloninger has said that those aligned with Planned Parenthood would continue their relationships. Sedlak compile a list of them that he posted online last week. It’s up to individual viewers, he says, to decide what to do with that information. Which of the following is NOT the victory achieved by the anti-abortion side
A. The passage of the prohibition on partial birth abortion.
B. The yielding of the Planned Parenthood.
C. The enactment of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
D. Measures against fetal homicide.
TEXT C The National Trust in Britain, together with similar voluntary organizations, plays an increasingly important part in the preservation for public enjoyment of the best that is left unspoiled of the British countryside. Although the Trust has received practical and moral support from the government, it is not a rich government, supported by public taxes. It is a voluntary association of people who care for the unspoiled countryside and the ancient sites to preserve them for the permanent enjoyment of the public. It is a charity, which depends for its existence on voluntary support from members of the public. It has 160,000 members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who pay a small subscription each year, and its primary duties are to protect for the nation places of great natural beauty and places of historical interest and preserve them from the dangers of modem development and extinction. The attention of the public was first drawn to the dangers threatening the great old houses and castles of Britain by the late Lord Lothian, who in 1935 said that, as a result of taxation and estate duty, most of these ancient houses were under sentence of death. When he died he left his great seventh century house and all its contents to the Trust Together with 4,500-acre park and estate surrounding it. This gift attracted wide publicity and it started the Trust’s "Country House Scheme". Under the scheme, with the cooperation of the government and thanks to the generosity of the general public, the Trust has been able to save and make accessible to the public about one hundred and fifty of these old houses, together with often very valuable contents. Whenever possible, the Trust seeks to maintain continuity and to preserve these as living realities rather than as dead museums. It is the view of the Trust that the families who give them to the nation and whose ancestors created them make the best possible curators. In addition to country houses and open spaces the Trust now owns some examples of ancient wind and water mills, gardens, Roman antiquities, farms and small villages, cultural parks, as well as complete villages. In these villages no one is allowed to build, develop or disturb the old village environment and all houses completely maintain their original sixteenth-century style. The public definitely has free access to these areas and is only asked to respect the peace, beauty and wildlife. The preservation was part of history of Britain, and is now practiced by its organization, certainly will be carried on in the future, therefore, those cultural and historical relics will exist forever as long as people care for the environment in which they are living, both natural and cultural. Who will take up the responsible managerial work of the old houses
A. The directors of the local branches of the Trust.
B. The men who enjoy the prestige in the local places.
C. The members of the organization.
D. The ex-owners of the structure.
TEXT B Whether work should be placed among the causes of happiness or among the causes of unhappiness may perhaps be regarded as a doubtful question. There is certainly much work that is exceedingly weary and an excess of work is always very painful. I think, however, that provided work is not excessive in amount, even the dullest work is to most people less painful than idleness. There are in work all grades, from mere relief of tedium up to the profoundest delights, according to the nature of the work and the abilities of the workers. Most of the work that most people have to do is net in itself interesting, but even such work has certain great advantages. To begin with, it fills a good many hours of the day without the need of deciding what one shall do. Most people, when they are left free to fill their own time according to their choice, are at a loss to think of anything sufficiently pleasant to be worth doing. And whatever they decide on, they are troubled by the feeling that something else would have been pleasanter. To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level. Moreover the exercise of choice is in itself tiresome. Except to people with unusual initiative it is positively agreeable to be told what to do at each hour of the day, provided the orders are not too much unpleasant. Most of idle rich men suffer unutterable boredom as the price of their freedom from toil. At times, they may find relief by hunting big game in Africa, or by flying round the world, but number of such sensation is limited, especially after youth is past. Accordingly the more intelligent rich men work nearly as hard as if they were poor, while rich women for the most part keep themselves busy with innumerable trifles of whose earthshaking importance they are firmly persuaded. Work therefore is desirable, first and foremost, as a preventive of boredom, for the boredom that a man feels when he is doing necessary though uninteresting work is as nothing in comparison with the boredom that he feels when he has nothing to do with his days. With this advantage of work another is associated, namely that it makes holidays much more precious when they come. Provided a man does not have to work so hard as to impair his vigor, he is likely to find far more zest in his free time than an idle man could possibly find. The second advantage of most paid work and of some unpaid work is that it gives chances of success and opportunities for ambition. In most work success is measured by income, and while our capitalistic society continues, this is inevitable. It is only where the best work is concerned that this measure ceased to be the natural one to apply. The desire that men feel to increase their income is quite as much a desire for success as for the extra comforts that a higher income can acquire. However dull work may be, it becomes bearable if it is means of building up a reputation, whether in the world at large or only in one’s own circle. What do you think is the style or genre of the text
A. Narration.
B. Exposition.
C. Argumentation.
Description.