首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
So you think you have some of the good things in life. You’ve got a video tape recorder and a device that answers the phone for
So you think you have some of the good things in life. You’ve got a video tape recorder and a device that answers the phone for
admin
2011-01-02
45
问题
So you think you have some of the good things in life. You’ve got a video tape recorder and a device that answers the phone for you. And there’s a gadget that turns on the lights when you’re out. Then there are all those goodies in the kitchen. How about the electric knife, the coffee maker, the ice maker?
Feel good about having all that stuff? or do you wonder whether the gadgets are running you instead of you running them?
Americans apparently feel more hurried than ever these days. Part of the reason is trying to keep up with the demands on their time to purchase, store, service, repair, replace, and protect all those "time-saving" machines. Add to them the problems of the extra car and the bigger house. And there’s the RV parked on the side lawn. A fellow may, poor soul, feel just at wits end. "Americans are eating up their leisure time by overloading themselves with all kinds of gadgets. "So says one expert in marketing.
The downfall of lots of home is trying to keep up with all the things that go wrong. There’s the time spent to call repair people, Next we must wait for them to show up. Then there are the high hourly rates. These may force many people into poor do-it-yourself jobs. And costly tools often save little time because of the small scale of home repairs. Power-mowing most lawns takes as long as mowing by hand. It takes longer if you add the extra hours of work to keep the power mower in repair.
Likewise, "labour-saving" appliances may lighten the housework. But they save little time. Looking for the right electric knife or other new gadget and getting it ready for use often can take more time than doing the job by hand. Studies show we spend even more time on laundry than our grandparents did. That’s because we have more clothes and wash them more often. Vacuum cleaners have raised standards of cleanliness. But they tempt people to spend more time than with a broom or dust rag.
Cars are another time gobbler. One expert says that tires and batteries last longer than they used to, But US cars are more prone to break down than they were. Plus, there are more gadgets on them to go wrong. The growing complexity of the car means most owners can no longer play with a screwdriver and wrench under the hood to fix things themselves.
Another problem we face more and more is dealing with computer in place of people. Impersonal, cold, and error-prone machines are replacing clerks. So to fix errors in bills and other problems with a product or service often is a slow and maddening process.
Recreation has changed from the simple pleasures that take time. We don’t read, stroll, and visit with friends much now. We’re on to complicated, costly things. But to own RVs, backyard swimming pools, and vacation homes is a mixed blessing. Not only do people work more hours to pay for such costly toys, but they have less free time to enjoy them. And repair chews up a lot more time than they bargained for. What’s more, many such playthings are not even relaxing. "Buying a video game sounds like fun. But it really is work, "says Ernest Dichter, a marketing expert.
The number of video games and other free time objects grows. And the pressure of choice joins in, Just to choose a free time activity from all the options taxes many people.
And as people crowd their lives with things that eat up so much of their time, they come to feel that time is short. They feel they are in danger of wasting it.
In the end, then, the possessions we consume end up consuming us.
Which is NOT mentioned in the passage?
选项
A、Seeing films.
B、Repairing cars.
C、Washing clothes.
D、Buying video games.
答案
A
解析
文章提到了修车、洗衣服和买游戏机,但没有谈看电影,因此答案为A。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/HilO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
TheInternetofthefutureshouldbeaworldwidemarketplacefullyaccessiblebymobilecustomerseverywhere,theleadingnetwor
BeautyIsMeaningless Ayoungmanseesasunsetand,unabletounderstandorToexpresstheemotionthatitraisesinhint,he
Beguninthelate1960sbyPentagonweaponsresearchersasasystemforeasingcommunica-tionbetweencomputersindisparateel
"Ido."ToAmericansthosetwowordscarrygreatmeaning.Theycanevenchangeyourlife.Especiallyifyousaythematyourown
ThediscoveryoftheAntarcticnotonlyprovedoneofthemostinterestingofallgeographicaladventures,butcreatedwhatmigh
TheordinaryfamilyincolonialNorthAmericawasprimarilyconcernedwithsheerphysicalsurvivalandbeyondthat,itsownecon
ThatLouisNevelsonisbelievedbymanycriticstobethegreatesttwentieth-centurysculptorisallthemoreremarkablebecause
A、Exposingoneselftothetargetculture.B、Attendingregularlyagoodlanguageprogram.C、Developinggoodnote-takingskills.
Aninvisibleborderdividesthose,arguingforcomputersintheclassroomonthebehalfofstudentscareerprospectsandthosea
A、declared100federallawsunconstitutionalB、declaredover1,000statelawsand100federallawsunconstitutionalC、defendedc
随机试题
下列哪项不符合小舞蹈病的体征
治疗产褥感染选择抗生素的依据是
特发性血小板减少性紫癜可有
可引起新生儿灰婴综合征的是
以下选项是债券收益的表现形式的是()。Ⅰ.利息收入Ⅱ.资本损益Ⅲ.分红派息Ⅳ.再投资收益
下列不属于企业集团财务公司的资产业务的是()。
一般资料:求助者,女性,36岁,已婚,音乐教师。案例介绍:两年前,求助者应聘到某成人高校教音乐课,虽然工作轻松,收入较高,但是自己辛辛苦苦备了课,学生却总是迟到,一堂课就几个学生听。她觉得很失落,没有成就感,感觉工作非常无聊,慢慢对音乐也没有兴趣
小芳的家住在农村,在村里的小学上五年级,一天.爸爸突然对她说:“明天你不要去上学了,到小卖部给你妈帮忙吧,你妈一个人忙不过来。”小芳听后,伤心地哭了。她想念书,她舍不得学校的老师和同学们。但是,她又不能不听爸爸的话,只好不去学校读书了。老师了解到小芳的情况
在UNIX操作系统中,把输入/输出设备看作是(26)。
A、Badtablemanners.B、Arrivinglate.C、Rudenesstorestaurantemployees.D、Dressingtoocasually.C
最新回复
(
0
)