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
(1)Oscar Wilde said that work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do. If so, Americans are now among the world’s
(1)Oscar Wilde said that work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do. If so, Americans are now among the world’s
admin
2019-05-24
86
问题
(1)Oscar Wilde said that work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do. If so, Americans are now among the world’s saddest refugees. Factory workers in the United States are working longer hours than at any time in the past half-century. America once led the rich world in cutting the average working week—from 70 hours in 1850 to less than 40 hours by the 1950s. It seemed natural that as people grew richer they would trade extra earnings for more leisure. Since the 1970s, however, the hours clocked up by American workers have risen, to an average of 42 this year in manufacturing.
(2)Several studies suggest that something similar is happening outside manufacturing: Americans are spending more time at work than they did 20 years ago. Executives and lawyers boast of 80-hour weeks. On holiday, they seek out fax machines and phones as eagerly as Germans bag the best sun-loungers. Yet working time in Europe and Japan continues to fall. In Germany’s engineering industry the working week is to be trimmed from 36 to 35 hours next year. Most Germans get six weeks’ paid annual holiday; even the Japanese now take three weeks. Americans still make do with just two.
(3)Germany responds to this contrast with its usual concern about whether people’s aversion to work is damaging its competitiveness. Yet German workers, like the Japanese, seem to be acting sensibly: as their incomes rise, they can achieve a better standard of living with fewer hours of work. The puzzle is why America, the world’s richest country, sees things differently. It is a puzzle with sinister social implications. Parents spend less time with their children, who may be left alone at home for longer. Is it just a coincidence that juvenile crime is on the rise?
(4)Some explanations for America’s time at work fail to stand up to scrutiny. One blames weak trade unions that leave workers open to exploitation. Are workers being forced by cost-cutting firms to toil harder just to keep their jobs? A recent study by two American economists, Richard Freeman and Linda Bell, suggests not: when asked, Americans actually want to work longer hours. Most German workers, in contrast, would rather work less.
(5)Then, why do Americans want to work harder? One reason may be that the real earnings of many Americans have been stagnant or falling during the past two decades. People work longer merely to maintain their living standards. Yet many higher-skilled workers, who have enjoyed big increases in their real pay, have been working harder too. Also, one reason for the slow growth of wages has been the rapid growth in employment—which is more or less where the argument began.
(6)Taxes may have something to do with it. People who work an extra hour in America are allowed to keep more of their money than those who do the same in Germany. Falls in marginal tax rates in America since the 1970s have made it all the more profitable to work longer.
(7)None of these answers really explains why the century-long decline in working hours has gone into reverse in America but not elsewhere(though Britain shows signs of following America’s lead). Perhaps cultural differences—the last refuge of the defeated economist—are at play. Economists used to believe that once workers earned enough to provide for their basic needs and allow for a few luxuries, their incentive to work would be eroded, like lions relaxing after a kill. But humans are more susceptible to advertising than lions. Perhaps clever marketing has ensured that "basic needs"—for a shower with built-in TV, for a rocket-propelled car—expand continuously. Shopping is already one of America’s most popular pastimes. But it requires money—hence more work and less leisure.
(8)Or try this: the television is not very good, and baseball and hockey keep being wiped out by strikes. Perhaps Wilde was right. Maybe Americans have nothing better to do.
According to the third paragraph, which might be one of the consequences of working longer hours?
选项
A、Rise in employees’ working efficiency.
B、Rise in the number of young offenders.
C、Rise in people’s living standards.
D、Rise in competitiveness.
答案
B
解析
文章第3段说,工作时间延长有不良的社会影响,即父母与孩子相处时间减少,从而导致青少年罪犯数量上升,故答案为B。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/aaEK777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Onceuponatime,peoplewholivedalonetendedtobethoseoneithersideofmarriage—twentysomethingprofessionalsorwidow
Onceuponatime,peoplewholivedalonetendedtobethoseoneithersideofmarriage—twentysomethingprofessionalsorwidow
NaturallanguageinterfacesenabletheusertocommunicatewiththecomputerinFrench,English,German,orahuman【S1】______la
Thequestionofwhetherlanguagesshapethewaywethinkgobackcenturies;Charlemagneproclaimedthat"tohaveasecond【S1】__
Thequestionofwhetherlanguagesshapethewaywethinkgobackcenturies;Charlemagneproclaimedthat"tohaveasecond【S1】__
Forthelongesttime,Icouldn’tgetworkedupaboutprivacy:myrighttoit;howit’sdying;howwe’reheadedforanevenmore
Forthelongesttime,Icouldn’tgetworkedupaboutprivacy:myrighttoit;howit’sdying;howwe’reheadedforanevenmore
Asmanyas40%ofuniversitylanguagedepartmentsarelikelytoclosewithinadecade,theformergovernmentadviserchargedw
Asmanyas40%ofuniversitylanguagedepartmentsarelikelytoclosewithinadecade,theformergovernmentadviserchargedw
随机试题
简述《外贸法》的基本原则。
女性,52岁,胆管结石并发急性化脓性胆管炎,面色苍白,四肢湿冷,血压75/60mmHg,脉搏130次/分,经大量快速输液后,血压脉搏无明显改善,测中心静脉压为21cm,血pH7.30
慢性粒细胞白血病最突出的体征为
在工程项目施工阶段,监理工程师对生产设备质量控制的主要内容包括( )。
在坐标平面上,不等式组所表示的平面区域的面积为()。
在考生文件夹下,“sampl.accdb”数据库文件中已建立表对象“tStud”。试按以下操作要求,完成表的编辑修改:将“编号”字段改名为“学号”,并设置为主键。
•Youwillhearanotherfiverecordings.•Foreachrecording,decidewhatthespeakeristalkingabout.•Writeoneletter(A-H
Sincemultinationalsfirststartedscouringtheearthforlaborandmarkets,theirinterestshavealwaysgonebeyondthatofthe
Breakfastisthefirst______oftheday.
SevenWaystoCreateaHappyHouseholdA)Everyfamilyisdifferent,withdifferentpersonalities,customs,andwaysofthin
最新回复
(
0
)