英語(yǔ)四級(jí)基礎(chǔ)閱讀訓(xùn)練 Text 21

Text 21

In general, our society is becoming one of giant enterprises directed by a bureaucratic management in which man becomes a small, well-oiled cog in the machinery. The oiling is done with higher wages, well-ventilated factories and piped music, and by psychologists and "human-relations" experts; yet all this oiling does not alter the fact that man has become powerless, that he does not wholeheartedly participate in his work and that he is bored with it. In fact, the blue- and white-collar workers have become economic puppets who dance to the tune of automated machines and bureaucratic management.

The worker and employee are anxious, not only because they might find themselves out of a job; they are anxious also because they are unable to acquire any real satisfaction or interest in life. They live and die without ever having confronted the fundamental realities of human existence as emotionally and intellectually independent and productive human beings.

Those higher up on the social ladder are no less anxious. Their lives are no less empty than those of their subordinates. They are even more insecure in some respects. They are in a highly competitive race. To be promoted or to fall behind is not a matter of salary but even more a matter of self-respect. When they apply for their first job, they are tested for intelligence as well as for the tight mixture of submissiveness and independence. From that moment on they are tested again and again by the psychologists, for whom testing is a big business, and by their superiors, who judge their behavior, sociability, capacity to get along, etc. This constant need to prove that one is as good as or better than one's fellow-competitor creates constant anxiety and stress, the very causes of unhappiness and illness.

Am I suggesting that we should return to the preindustrial mode of production or to nineteenth-century"free enterprise" capitalism? Certainly not. Problems are never solved by returning to a stage which one has already outgrown. I suggest transforming our social system from a bureaucratically managed industrialism in which maximal production and consumption are ends in themselves into a humanist industrialism in which man and full development of his potentialities — those of love and of reason — are the aims of all social arrangements. Production and consumption should serve only as means to this end, and should be prevented from ruling man.

1.By "a well-oiled cog in the machinery" the author intends to render the idea that man is_______.

A.a necessary part of the society though each individual's function is negligible

B.working in complete harmony with the rest of the society

C.an unimportant part in comparison with the rest of the society, though functioning smoothly

D.a humble component of the society, especially when working smoothly

2.The real cause of the anxiety of the workers and employees is that_______.

A.they are likely to lose their jobs

B.they have no genuine satisfaction or interest in life

C.they are faced with the fundamental realities of human existence

D.they are deprived of their individuality and independence

3.From the passage we can infer that real happiness of life belongs to those_______.

A.who are at the bottom of the society

B.who are higher up in their social status

C.who prove better than their fellow-competitors

D.who could keep far away from this competitive world

4.To solve the present social problems the author suggests that we should_______.

A.resort to the production mode of our ancestors

B.offer higher wages to the workers and employees

C.enable man to fully develop his potentialities

D.take the fundamental realities for granted

5.The author's attitude towards industrialism might best be summarized as one of_______.

A.approval　　B.dissatisfaction　　C.suspicion　　D.tolerance

長(zhǎng)難例句分析

［長(zhǎng)難例句］In general, our society is becoming one of giant enterprises directed by a bureaucratic management in which man becomes a small, well-oiled cog in the machinery.

［結(jié)構(gòu)分析］本句的主干是our society is becoming one of giant enterprises。句首的In general作狀語(yǔ)。directed... 是過(guò)去分詞引導(dǎo)的狀語(yǔ)，其中的in which...是限定性定語(yǔ)從句。

［參考譯文］總的看來(lái)，我們的社會(huì)正變成一個(gè)由官僚主義管理方式所控制的巨大企業(yè)。在這個(gè)企業(yè)中，人成為機(jī)器中潤(rùn)滑良好的小齒輪。

全文參考譯文

總的看來(lái)，我們的社會(huì)正變成一個(gè)由官僚主義管理方式所控制的巨大企業(yè)。在這個(gè)企業(yè)中，人成為機(jī)器中潤(rùn)滑良好的小齒輪。齒輪的潤(rùn)滑是通過(guò)高薪、通風(fēng)良好的工廠和管弦樂(lè)以及心理學(xué)家和研究人際關(guān)系的專家進(jìn)行的，但整個(gè)潤(rùn)滑并沒(méi)有改變這樣一個(gè)事實(shí)：人類已變得力不從心；他不能全身心地投入他的工作，他已厭煩他的工作。實(shí)際上，藍(lán)領(lǐng)和白領(lǐng)工人已變成伴隨著自動(dòng)化機(jī)器和官僚主義管理節(jié)奏起舞的經(jīng)濟(jì)木偶。

工人和雇員不僅由于擔(dān)心自己失業(yè)而憂慮，他們也因?yàn)椴荒茉谏钪姓业饺魏握嬲臐M足和興趣而犯愁。他們從生到死甚至不能作為一個(gè)情感上、智力上獨(dú)立，并能自由發(fā)揮創(chuàng)造力的人去面對(duì)人類生存的基本現(xiàn)實(shí)。

那些處于社會(huì)高層的人也不乏憂慮。他們的生活同他們的下屬一樣空虛。在某些方面他們甚至更加不安全。他們處于高度競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的境地。得到提升或降職不是工資的問(wèn)題，更是一個(gè)有關(guān)自尊的問(wèn)題。當(dāng)他們應(yīng)聘他們的第一份工作時(shí)，他們的服從性和獨(dú)立性的綜合表現(xiàn)以及智力都要受到測(cè)試。從那時(shí)開始，他們一次又一次地被心理學(xué)家和他們的上司測(cè)試。對(duì)心理學(xué)家而言，測(cè)試是他們的重要工作；上司則通過(guò)測(cè)試判斷他們的處事能力、社交能力和與他人相處能力等等。這種不斷地用來(lái)證明一個(gè)人同他的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手水平相當(dāng)或強(qiáng)于對(duì)手的需要產(chǎn)生了不斷的憂慮和壓力，也導(dǎo)致了不愉快和疾病。

我是否在建議我們應(yīng)回到工業(yè)化前的生產(chǎn)模式或19世紀(jì)的“自由資本”資本主義時(shí)期？當(dāng)然不是。問(wèn)題決不能通過(guò)回到過(guò)去的方式來(lái)解決。我建議轉(zhuǎn)變我們的社會(huì)生產(chǎn)體制，從以追求最大限度的生產(chǎn)和消費(fèi)為目的的官僚主義管理方式的工業(yè)體制轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)橐粋€(gè)以充分發(fā)揮人的潛能（如愛與理性）為目的的人性化工業(yè)體制。生產(chǎn)和消費(fèi)應(yīng)僅作為達(dá)到這個(gè)目的的方式，且應(yīng)防止其控制人類。

題目答案與解析

1.作者通過(guò)“a well-oiled cog in the machinery”來(lái)試圖表達(dá)_________。

A.盡管每個(gè)人的作用微不足道，人仍然是社會(huì)不可分割的一部分

B.人與社會(huì)的其余部分完全和睦相處

C.盡管平穩(wěn)地發(fā)揮著作用，人與社會(huì)其余部分相比并不重要

D.人是社會(huì)中一個(gè)地位卑賤的零件，特別是工作順利的時(shí)候

【答案】C

【解析】a well-oiled cog in the machinery：機(jī)器中潤(rùn)滑良好的齒輪，指人在社會(huì)中所發(fā)揮的作用是微不足道的。C項(xiàng)正好與之相一致。

2.工人和雇員憂慮的真正的原因是_________。

A.他們可能失業(yè)　　　　　　　　　　B.他們?cè)谏钪胁荒艿玫秸嬲臐M足和興趣

C.他們面對(duì)著人類生存的基本現(xiàn)實(shí)　　D.他們被剝奪了個(gè)性和獨(dú)立性

【答案】D

【解析】從文章第二段可以得出答案。工人和雇員憂慮的原因是可能失業(yè)（out of a job）；生活不能得到真正的滿足和興趣；被剝奪了個(gè)性和獨(dú)立性。D項(xiàng)正好進(jìn)行了很好的概括。

3.從文中我們可以推出生活中真正的幸福屬于_________。

A.處于社會(huì)底層的人　　　　B.社會(huì)地位高的人

C.證明比競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者優(yōu)秀的人　　D.遠(yuǎn)離競(jìng)爭(zhēng)世界的人

【答案】D

【解析】本題是細(xì)節(jié)題。從第三段最后一句“這種不斷證明自己與競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手同樣優(yōu)秀或者超過(guò)對(duì)手的需要產(chǎn)生不斷的憂慮和壓力，這正是不愉快和疾病的起因”可知，D項(xiàng)為正確答案。

4.為解決目前的社會(huì)問(wèn)題，作者建議我們應(yīng)該_________。

A.采用祖先的生產(chǎn)方式　　　　　　B.付給工人和雇員更高的工資

C.使人能充分發(fā)揮自己的潛能　　　D.認(rèn)為基礎(chǔ)現(xiàn)實(shí)是正確的

【答案】C

【解析】第四段第四句指出，“我建議轉(zhuǎn)變我們的社會(huì)生產(chǎn)體制，從以追求最大限度的生產(chǎn)和消費(fèi)為目的的官僚主義管理方式的工業(yè)體制轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)橐粋€(gè)以充分發(fā)揮人的潛能（如愛與理性）為目的的人性化工業(yè)體制?！盋項(xiàng)為正確答案。

5.作者對(duì)產(chǎn)業(yè)主義的態(tài)度的最好概括是_________。

A.贊許　　B.不滿　　C.懷疑　　D.容忍

【答案】B

【解析】本題問(wèn)作者對(duì)工業(yè)體制的態(tài)度。本文作者指出了現(xiàn)代工業(yè)社會(huì)的種種弊端；第一段指出人的地位微不足道；第二段指出工人與雇員都感到憂慮；第三段指出上層社會(huì)的人們也感到憂慮。最后作者提出了改變這種社會(huì)體制的建議。因此不難得出，作者認(rèn)為現(xiàn)行的產(chǎn)業(yè)主義不好。所以他對(duì)其態(tài)度不是A、D、C三項(xiàng)。而是B項(xiàng)。