Most Americans believe that our society of consumption-happy, fun-living, jet-traveling people creates the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Contrary to this view, I believe that our present way of life leads to increasing anxiety, helplessness and, eventually, to the disintegration of our culture. I refuse to identify fun with pleasure, excitement with joy, business with happiness, or the faceless, buck-passing “organization man” with an independent individual.
From this critical view our rates of alcoholism, suicide and divorce, as well as juvenile delinquency, gang rule, acts of violence and indifference to life, are characteristic symptoms of our “pathology of normalcy”. It may be argued that all these pathological phenomena exist because we have not yet reached our aim, that of an affluent society. It is true, we are still far from being an affluent society. But the material progress made in the last decades allows us to hope that our system might eventually produce a materially affluent society. Yet will we be happier then? The example of Sweden, one of the most prosperous, democratic and peaceful European countries, is not very encouraging: Sweden, as is often pointed out, in spite of all its material security has among the highest alcoholism and suicide rates in Europe, while a much poorer country like Ireland ranks among the lowest in these respects. Could it be that our dream that material welfare per se leads to happiness is just a pipe dream?
Certainly, the humanist thinkers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, who are our ideological ancestors, thought that the goal of life was the full unfolding of a person’s potentialities, what mattered to them was the person who is much, not the one who has much or uses much. For them economic production was a means to the unfolding of man, not an end. It seems that today the means have become ends, that not only “God is dead” as Nietzsche said in the nineteenth century, but also man is dead; that what is alive are the organizations, the machines; and that man has become their slave rather than being their master.
Each society creates its own type of personality by its way of bringing up children in the family, by its system of education, by its effective values (that is those values that are rewarded rather than only preached). Every society creates the type of “social character” which is needed for its proper functioning. It forms men who want to do what they have to do. What kind of men does our large-scale, bureaucratized industrialism need?
It needs men who cooperate smoothly in large groups, who want to consume more and more, and whose tastes are standardized and can be easily influenced and anticipated. It needs men who feel free and independent, yet who are willing to be commanded, to do what is expected, to fit into the social machine without friction; men who can be guided without force, led without leaders, prompted without an aim except the aim to be on the move, to function, to go ahead.
1. The author uses the example of Sweden in the second paragraph to show that _______.
2. Compared with thinkers of the 18th and 19th centuries, people today _______.
3. It can be inferred from the 3rd paragraph that _______.
4. According to the author, which type of individual might be most welcome in today’s society?
5. The author writes this article to _____.
问题1选项
A.an affluent society will be free from those pathological phenomena
B.Sweden is a better society than any other in Europe
C.a prosperous country will have higher alcoholism and suicide rates than a poor country
D.happiness has nothing to do with material welfare
问题2选项
A.are more concerned about how to bring into full play people’s potentials
B.care less about the material things of life than about the spiritual things
C.regard material things the most important in life
D.have absolute control of the world
问题3选项
A.the author strongly opposes economic production
B.the author is in favor of the ideology of the thinkers of the 18th and 19th centuries
C.the author is follower of Nietzsche
D.the author thinks that priorities should be given to economic production
问题4选项
A.People who are rebellious.
B.People who have the organizing ability.
C.People who are conformists.
D.People who can operate machines properly.
问题5选项
A.describe
B.inform
C.narrate
D.comment
第1题:D
第2题:C
第3题:B
第4题:C
第5题:D
第1题:
【选项释义】
The author uses the example of Sweden in the second paragraph to show that _______. 作者在第二段中以瑞典为例是为了说明 _______。
A. an affluent society will be free from those pathological phenomena A. 一个富裕的社会不会出现这些病态现象
B. Sweden is a better society than any other in Europe B. 瑞典社会比欧洲任何其他国家都更好
C. a prosperous country will have higher alcoholism and suicide rates than a poor country C. 繁荣国家的酗酒率和自杀率高于贫穷国家
D. happiness has nothing to do with material welfare D. 幸福与物质福利无关
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】根据题干提示定位到原文第二段，第二段中“The example of Sweden, one of the most prosperous, democratic and peaceful European countries…has among the highest alcoholism and suicide rates…瑞典是欧洲最繁荣、民主、和平的国家之一，但他们有着最高的酗酒和自杀率”以及后文的“…while a much poorer country like Ireland ranks among the lowest in these respects.而像爱尔兰这样更贫穷的国家在这些方面的概率更低。”由此可知作者举例是为了说明幸福感与物质福利无关，因此选择D选项。
【干扰项排除】
A项“一个富裕的社会不会出现这些病态现象”，原文未提及，属于无中生有；
B项“瑞典社会比欧洲任何其他国家都更好”，瑞典社会比欧洲其他国家的更好，原文只提到在经济物质层面的更好，该选项属于以偏概全；
C项“繁荣国家的酗酒率和自杀率高于贫穷国家”，原文中瑞典的酗酒自杀率高于爱尔兰并不能代表全部的繁荣国家的酗酒自杀率都高于贫穷国家，并且原文第二段主旨是说明物质水平并不能决定幸福水平，因此该选项属于偷换概念，因此排除。
第2题:
【选项释义】
Compared with thinkers of the 18th and 19th centuries, people today _______. 与18和19世纪的思想家相比，今天的 _______。
A. are more concerned about how to bring into full play people’s potentials A. 更关注如何充分发挥人的潜能
B. care less about the material things of life than about the spiritual things B. 对物质生活的关注少于对精神生活的关注
C. regard material things the most important in life C. 认为物质是生活中最重要的东西
D. have absolute control of the world D. 对世界有绝对的控制权
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据题干关键词“thinkers of the 18th and 19th centuries”定位到原文第三段，由“For them economic production was a means to the unfolding of man, not an end. It seems that today the means have become ends…对于18和19世纪的思想家来说，经济生产是人类发展的手段而不是目的。但今天的思想家们认为经济生产这一手段就是人类发展的目的。”可知，今天的思想家认为物质是生活中最重要的，因此选择C选项。
【干扰项排除】
A项“更关注如何充分发挥人的潜力”，原文指的是18、19世纪思想家的观点，该项属于答非所问；
B项“对物质生活的关注少于对精神生活的关注”，原文未提及，属于无中生有；
D项“对世界有绝对的控制权”，原文未提及，属于无中生有，因此排除。
第3题:
【选项释义】
It can be inferred from the 3rd paragraph that _______. 从第3段可以推断出_______。
A. the author strongly opposes economic production A. 作者强烈反对经济生产
B. the author is in favor of the ideology of the thinkers of the 18th and 19th centuries B. 作者赞成18和19世纪思想家的意识形态
C. the author is follower of Nietzsche C. 作者是尼采的追随者
D. the author thinks that priorities should be given to economic production D. 作者认为应优先考虑经济生产
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】根据题干提示定位到文章第三段，第三段的最后一句话“It seems that today the means have become ends...that what is alive are the organizations, the machines; and that man has become their slave rather than being their master.这个手段现在已经变成了目的……有生命的是各种组织，机器；人已经成为了他们的奴隶而不是主人。”原文提到从18、19世纪思想家的观点到现在的转变，人类已经成为经济发展的奴隶，而不是将它作为实现自身发展的手段，由“slave奴隶”这一贬义词可以推测，作者更支持18、19世纪思想家的观点，因此选择B选项。
【干扰项排除】
A项“作者强烈反对经济生产”、C项“作者是尼采的追随者”和D项“作者认为应优先考虑经济生产”内容原文均未提及，属于无中生有，因此排除。
第4题:
【选项释义】
According to the author, which type of individual might be most welcome in today’s society? 作者认为，哪种类型的人在当今社会可能最受欢迎？
A. People who are rebellious. A. 叛逆的人。
B. People who have the organizing ability. B. 有组织能力的人。
C. People who are conformists. C. 墨守成规的人。
D. People who can operate machines properly. D. 能正确操作机器的人。
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据题干“which type of individual might be most welcome in today’s society”可以定位到原文中对应的“What kind of men does our large-scale, bureaucratized industrialism need?我们大规模的、官僚主义的工业主义需要什么？”，下文便是对这个问题的回答。原文最后一段“It needs men who feel free and independent, yet who are willing to be commanded, to do what is expected…它需要觉得自己独立自由的，但又愿意被命令去做所期望的事的人…”可以推知，当今社会需要的是墨守成规的人，因此选择C选项。
【干扰项排除】
A项“叛逆的人”、B项“有组织能力的人”和D项“能正确操作机器的人”三项原文皆未提及，属于无中生有，因此排除。
第5题:
【选项释义】
The author writes this article to _______. 作者撰写这篇文章的目的是 _______。
A. describe A. 描述
B. inform B. 告知
C. narrate C. 叙述
D. comment D. 评论
【考查点】主旨大意题
【解题思路】文章开头指出，与18世纪和19世纪的思想家相比，作者认为现代社会过于重视物质生活，忽视了精神生活，“Contrary to this view, I believe that our present way of life leads to increasing anxiety, helplessness and, eventually, to the disintegration of our culture.与此观点相反的是，我认为我们当前的生活方式导致焦虑感不断加剧、无助感日益加深，最终将导致我们的文化解体。”。接着，作者通过举例和分析来支持他的观点，比如第二段中对瑞典和爱尔兰的举例，第三段对18、19世纪思想家的举例。最后通过设问回答的方式，批判现代社会价值观。因此，作者写这篇文章的目的是发表评论，因此选择D选项。
【干扰项排除】
A项描述、B项告知和C项叙述三项并不是文章要表达的全部内容以及目的，因此排除。
