Concern with money, and then more money, in order to buy the conveniences and luxuries of modern life, has brought great changes

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问题     Concern with money, and then more money, in order to buy the conveniences and luxuries of modern life, has brought great changes to the lives of most Frenchmen. More people are working than ever before in France. In the cities the traditional leisurely midday meal is disappearing. Offices, shops and factories are discovering the greater efficiency of a short lunch hour in company lunchrooms. In almost all lines of work emphasis now falls on ever-increasing output. Thus the "typical" Frenchman produces more, earns more, and buys more consumer goods than his counterpart of only a generation ago. He gains in creature comforts and ease of life. What he loses to some extent is his sense of personal uniqueness, or individuality.
    Some say that France has been Americanized. This is because the United States is a world symbol of the technological society and its consumer products. The so-called Americanization of France has its critics. They fear that "assembly-line life" will lead to the disappearance of the pleasures of the more graceful and leisurely old French style. What will happen, they ask, to taste, elegance, and the cultivation of the good things in life—to joy in the smell of a freshly picked apple, a stroll by the river, or just happy hours of conversation in a local cafe?
    Since the late 1950’s life in France has indeed taken on qualities of rush, tension, and the pursuit of material gain. Some of the strongest critics of the new way of life are the young, especially university students. They are concerned with the future, and they fear that France is threatened by the triumph of the competitive, goods-oriented culture. Occasionally, they have reacted against the trend with considerable violence.
    In spite of the critics, however, countless Frenchmen are committed to keeping France in the forefront of the modern economic world. They find that the present life brings more rewards, conveniences, and pleasures than that of the past. They believe that a modern, industrial France is preferable to the old.
Which of the following is not given as a feature of the old French way of life?

选项 A、Leisure.
B、Elegance.
C、Efficiency.
D、Taste.

答案C

解析 法国人原来以浪漫著称,例如第一段提到的“传统的悠闲(leisurely)的午餐”、第二段最后句提到的情趣(taste)以及优雅(elegance)等,所以唯有效率不是他们生活的特点。这道题不是机械地查读就能解决的,首先对法国人的特征要有点儿背景知识,而且第二段中的那句话是以“What will happen to…?”这样的问句形式提出来的,所以做这道题能反映出考生的综合能力。
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