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
You hear the refrain all the time: the U. S. economy looks good statistically, but it doesn’t fed good. Why doesn’t ever-greater
You hear the refrain all the time: the U. S. economy looks good statistically, but it doesn’t fed good. Why doesn’t ever-greater
admin
2012-05-18
55
问题
You hear the refrain all the time: the U. S. economy looks good statistically, but it doesn’t fed good. Why doesn’t ever-greater wealth promote ever-greater happiness? It is a quest ion that dates at least to the appearance in 1958 of The affluent (富裕的) Society by John Kenneth Galbraith, who died recently at 97.
The Affluent Society is a modem classic because it helped define a new moment in the human condition. For most of history, "hunger, sickness, and cold" threatened nearly everyone, Galbraith wrote. "Poverty was found everywhere in that world. Obviously it is not of ours. "After World War n, the dread of another Great Depression gave way to an economic boom. In the 1930s unemployment had averaged 18.2 percent;in the 1950s it was 4. 5 percent
To Galbraith, materialism had gone mad and would breed discontent Through advertising, companies conditioned consumers to buy things they didn’t really want or need. Because so much spending was artificial, it would be unfulfilling. Meanwhile, government spending that would make everyone better off was being cut down because people instinctively-and wrongly-labeled government only as "a necessary evil".
It’s often said that only the rich are getting ahead;everyone else is standing still or falling behind. Well, there are many undeserving rich — overpaid chief executives, for instance. But over any meaningful period, most people’s incomes are increasing. From 1995 to 2004, inflation-adjusted average family income rose 14. 3 percent, to $ 43, 200. People feel, "squeezed" because their rising incomes often don’t satisfy their rising wants — for bigger homes, more health care, more education, faster Internet connections.
The other great frustration is that it has not eliminated insecurity. People regard job stability as part of their standard of living. As corporate layoffs increased, that part has eroded. More workers fear they’ve become "the disposable American" , as Louis Uchitelle puts it in his book by the same name.
Because so much previous suffering and social conflict stemmed from poverty, the arrival of widespread affluence suggested Utopian(乌托邦式的)possibilities. Up to a point, affluence succeeds. There is much less physical misery than before. People are better off. Unfortunately, affluence also creates new complaints and contradictions.
Advanced societies need economic growth to satisfy the multiplying wants of their citizens. But the quest for growth lets loose new anxieties and economic conflicts that disturb the social order. Affluence liberates the indi-vidual .promising that everyone can choose a unique way to self-fulfillment But the promise is so extravagant that it predestines many disappointments and sometimes inspires choices that have anti-social consequences, including family breakdown and obesity (肥胖症). Statistical indicators of happiness have not risen with incomes.
Should we be surprised? Not really. We’ve simply reaffirmed an old truth:the pursuit of affluence does not always end with happiness.
What does Louis Uchitelle mean by "the disposable American"(Line 3, Para. 5) ?
选项
A、Those who see job stability as part of their living standard.
B、People full of Utopian ideas resulting from affluence.
C、People who have little say in American polities.
D、Workers who no longer have secure jobs.
答案
D
解析
该题问“Louis Uchitelle所说的‘the disposable American’是指哪些人”。短文第五段第三行提到“the disposable American”,要想猜出其意,需从本段的前几句话中寻求线索“People regard job stability as part of their standard of living.As corporate layoffs increased,that part has eroded.”也就是说作为生活水平一部分的稳定工作随着公司日益频繁的裁员而受到侵蚀。“More workersfear they’ve become‘the disposable American’,as Louis Uchitelle puts it in his book by the samename.”可以看出,此句话中的fear指的正是裁员这件事,而workers指的则是可能会失去工作的员工。故D“不再有稳定工作的员工”.
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/rJnO777K
0
考博英语
相关试题推荐
Massproduction,thedefiningcharacteristicoftheSecondWaveeconomy,becomesincreasinglyobsoleteasfirmsinstallinformat
WiththeUSeconomyslowingdown,layoffsareeverywhere.Noindustryisspared.Ifyouenduphavingtostartover,inaddition
WiththeUSeconomyslowingdown,layoffsareeverywhere.Noindustryisspared.Ifyouenduphavingtostartover,inaddition
WiththeUSeconomyslowingdown,layoffsareeverywhere.Noindustryisspared.Ifyouenduphavingtostartover,inaddition
Whilethereisnoagencywithamissiontodepresstheeconomyor______inflation,manygovernmentactions—especiallytaxation,
Duringthelate1950s,theBrazilianeconomy______forwardasheavyindustriesandbasicinfrastructure—roads,communications,
Intoday’srapidlychangingeconomy,opportunities______forthosewhoaremotivatedanddedicatedtoachievingtheircareergo
随机试题
A.滋阴补肾,填精益髓B.益气补血,健脾养心C.温补肾阳,填精益髓D.滋阴填精,益气壮阳E.滋阴补阳,化痰开窍龟鹿二仙胶的功用是
A.结晶或重结晶B.溶剂沉淀法C.酸碱沉淀法D.盐析法E.透析法.根据分子量大小不同进行分离的方法是
外国的组织或者个人来华测绘,必须采取()的形式进行,并不得涉及国家秘密和危害国家安全。
人民法院就数个证据对同一事实证明力的认定原则,错误的有()。
外商投资企业在清算期间,下列哪些行为违反法律规定?()。
人事管理的首要工作是()。
根据民事诉讼法关于特别程序的规定,下列情况中,不能适用特别程序的是()。
十一届全国人大四次会议通过的“十二五”规划纲要,以()为主题、以()为主线。
从所给的四个选项中,选择最合适的一个填入问号处,使之呈现一定的规律性。
Thenextdecadecouldseecommutersspeedingtoworkatabout300milesperhouraboardmagneticlevitationvehicles,according
最新回复
(
0
)