专八阅读：The Young Generation1

会计考友 · 发表于 2012-8-14 11:29:10

　　Old people are always saying that the young are not what they were. The same comment is made from generation to generation and it is always true. It has never been truer than it is today. The young are better educated. They have a lot more money to spend and enjoy more freedom. They grow up more quickly and are not so dependent on their parents. They think more for themselves and do not blindly accept the ideals of their elders. Events which the older generation remembers vividly are nothing more than past history. This is as it should be. Every new generation is different from the one that preceded it. Today the difference is very marked indeed.
　　The old always assume that they know best for the simple reason that they have been around a bit longer. They don’t like to feel that their values are being questioned or threatened. And this is precisely what the young are doing. They are question the assumptions of their elders and disturbing their complacency. Office hours, for instance, are nothing more than enforced slavery. Wouldn’t people work best if they were given complete freedom and responsibility? And what about clothing? Who said that all the men in the world should wear drab grey suits and convict haircuts? If we ruin our minds to more serious matters, who said that human differences can best be solved through conventional politics or by violent means, who said that human difference can best be solved through conventional politics or by violent means? Why have the older generation so often used violence to solve their problems? Why are they so unhappy and guilt-ridden in their personal lives, so obsessed with mean ambitions and the desire to amass more and more material possessions? Can anything be right with the rat-race? Haven’t the old lost touch with all that is important in life?
　　These are not questions the older generation can shrug off lightly. Their record over the past forty years or so hasn’t been exactly spotless. Traditionally, the young have turned to their elders for guidance. Today, the situation might be reversed. The old—if they are prepared to admit it—could learn a thing or two from their children. One of the biggest lessons they could learn is that enjoyment is not ‘sinful’. Enjoyment is a principle one could apply to all aspects of life. It is surely not wrong to enjoy your work and enjoy your leisure; to shed restricting inhibitions. It is surely not wrong to live in the present rather than in the past or future. This emphasis on the present is only to be expected because the young have grown up under the shadow of the bomb: the constant threat of complete annihilation. This is their glorious heritage. Can we be surprised that they should so often question the sanity of the generation that bequeathed it?
　　1. Which of the following features in the young is NOT mentioned?
　　[A]. Better educated. [B]. More money and freedom.
　　[C]. Independence. [D]. Hard work.
　　2. What so the young reject most?
　　[A]. Values. [B]. The assumption of the elders.
　　[C]. Conformity. [C]. Conventional ideas.
　　3. Why do the young stress on the present?
　　[A]. They have grown up under the shadow of the bomb.
　　[B]. They dislike the past.
　　[C]. They think the present world is the best.
　　[D]. They are afraid of destruction.
　　4. What can the old learn from the young generation?
　　[A]. Enjoyment is not sinful. [B]. People should have more leisure time.
　　[C]. Men might enjoy life. [D]. One should enjoy one’s work.
　　答案详解
　　1. D. 艰苦工作。这在第一段中第四句“青年一代受了更好教育，有大量的钱话，有更多的自由。他们成长的很快，不那么依赖于父母，他们独立思考得更多，不盲目接受老一代的理想……。”
　　A. 受更好的教育。 B. 更多的钱和自由。 C. 独立性。这三项均提及到。
　　2. C. 顺从。第二段集中讲到这一点。“因为老人们经常认为自己懂得多，理由就是他们经历得多。他们不喜欢自己的价值观受到怀疑或威胁。而这正是青年在做的。他们对老人们的设想提出疑问，打乱他们的自鸣得意。他们甚至敢于怀疑老一代创造了世界上可能最佳的社会。他们最反对的莫过于顺从。例如：他们说办公时间就是强制奴役，如果人们完全自由，绝对负责，他们的工作不会更好吗？而穿衣呢？谁说世界上所有的男人都该穿单调的灰色西装和剪成像罪犯似的短发？……。”这些词语都表示他们最反对的东西是遵从，“一致性”。所以

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[专八辅导] 专八阅读：The Young Generation1