英語四級(jí)難度提升閱讀訓(xùn)練 Text 14

Text 14

Aimlessness has hardly been typical of the postwar Japan whose productivity and social harmony are the envy of the United States and Europe. But increasingly the Japanese are seeing a decline of the traditional work-moral values. Ten years ago young people were hardworking and saw their jobs as their primary reason for being, but now Japan has largely fulfilled its economic needs, and young people don't know where they should go next.

The coming of age of the postwar baby boom and an entry of women into the male-dominated job market have limited the opportunities of teen-agers who are already questioning the heavy personal sacrifices involved in climbing Japan's rigid social ladder to good schools and jobs. In a recent survey, it was found that only 24.5 percent of Japanese students were fully satisfied with school life, compared with 67.2 percent of students in the United States. In addition, far more Japanese workers expressed dissatisfaction with their jobs than did their counterparts in the 10 other countries surveyed.

While often praised by foreigners for its emphasis on the basics, Japanese education tends to stress test taking and mechanical learning over creativity and self-expression. "Those things that do not show up in the test scores personality, ability, courage or humanity are completely ignored," says Toshiki Kaifu, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's education committee. "Frustration against this kind of thing leads kids to drop out and run wild." Last year Japan experienced 2,125 incidents of school violence, including 929 assaults on teachers. Amid the outcry, many conservative leaders are seeking a return to the prewar emphasis on moral education. Last year Mitsuo Setoyama, who was then education minister, raised eyebrows when he argued that liberal reforms introduced by the American occupation authorities after World War II had weakened the "Japanese morality of respect for parents."

But that may have more to do with Japanese life-styles. "In Japan," says educator Yoko Muro, "it's never a question of whether you enjoy your job and your life, but only how much you can endure." With economic growth has come centralization; fully 76 percent of Japan's 119 million citizens live in cities where community and the extended family have been abandoned in favor of isolated, two-generation households. Urban Japanese have long endured lengthy commutes (travels to and from work) and crowded living conditions, but as the old group and family values weaken, the discomfort is beginning to tell. In the past decade, the Japanese divorce rate, while still well below that of the United States, has increased by more than 50 percent, and suicides have increased by nearly one-quarter.

1.In the Westerner's eyes, the postwar Japan was_______.

A.under aimless development　B.a positive example

C.a rival to the West　　　　D.on the decline

2.According to the author, what may chiefly be responsible for the moral decline of Japanese society?

A.Women's participation in social activities is limited.

B.More workers are dissatisfied with their jobs.

C.Excessive emphasis his been placed on the basics.

D.The life-style has been influenced by Western values.

3.Which of the following is true according to the author?

A.Japanese education is praised for helping the young climb the social ladder.

B.Japanese education is characterized by mechanical learning as well as creativity.

C.More stress should be placed on the cultivation of creativity.

D.Dropping out leads to frustration against test taking.

4.The change in Japanese life-style is revealed in the fact that_______.

A.the young are less tolerant of discomforts

B.the divorce rate in Japan exceeds that in the U.S.

C.the Japanese endure more than ever before

D.the Japanese appreciate their present life

5.Which one ISN'T the social problem of present Japan due to lack of proper education?

A.Over productivity.　B.Violence.　C.Divorce.　D.Suicide.

長(zhǎng)難例句分析

［長(zhǎng)難例句］The coming of age of the postwar baby boom and an entry of women into the male-dominated job market have limited the opportunities of teen-agers who are already questioning the heavy personal sacrifices involved in climbing Japan's rigid social ladder to good schools and jobs.

［結(jié)構(gòu)分析］本句中，主干是The coming of age and an entry of women have limited the opportunities of teenagers。who引導(dǎo)的定語從句修飾teenagers。involved in climbing Japan's rigid social ladder是過去分詞短語作定語，修飾sacrifices。固定搭配sacrifices to sth. 的意思是“為……作出犧牲”。

［參考譯文］戰(zhàn)后嬰兒潮一代的步入成年加上婦女打入男性統(tǒng)治的勞動(dòng)力市場(chǎng)使得青少年的發(fā)展機(jī)遇變得極為有限，這些青少年對(duì)為了爬上日本國(guó)內(nèi)那通往優(yōu)秀學(xué)校和體面工作的嚴(yán)酷的社會(huì)階梯所付出的沉重的個(gè)人代價(jià)發(fā)生了質(zhì)疑。

全文參考譯文

日本在戰(zhàn)后并非毫無目的的發(fā)展，它的高生產(chǎn)率和社會(huì)和諧讓歐美各國(guó)羨慕不已。但是，日本人正在經(jīng)歷傳統(tǒng)職業(yè)道德價(jià)值觀的日益衰落。10年前的年輕人工作努力，把工作當(dāng)做生存的主要目的。可現(xiàn)在日本在很大程度上已滿足了經(jīng)濟(jì)需求，結(jié)果導(dǎo)致年輕人不知道他們下一步的目標(biāo)在哪里。

戰(zhàn)后嬰兒潮的一代步入成年加上婦女加入男性統(tǒng)治的勞動(dòng)力市場(chǎng)對(duì)青少年的發(fā)展機(jī)遇有所限制，這些青少年對(duì)從攀比上好學(xué)校到找好工作這一嚴(yán)格的社會(huì)階梯所付出的沉重的個(gè)人代價(jià)產(chǎn)生了質(zhì)疑。在最新的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查中發(fā)現(xiàn)，和67.2％的美國(guó)學(xué)生比較，僅有24.5％的日本學(xué)生對(duì)學(xué)校生活徹底滿意。另外，和被調(diào)查的其他10個(gè)國(guó)家的工人比較，有更多的日本工人對(duì)工作表示不滿意。

雖然日本的教育由于強(qiáng)調(diào)基礎(chǔ)知識(shí)而經(jīng)常受到外國(guó)人的稱贊，可它往往強(qiáng)調(diào)應(yīng)試和機(jī)械性學(xué)習(xí)而不重視創(chuàng)造性及能動(dòng)性。占?jí)艛嗟匚坏淖杂擅裰鼽h教育委員會(huì)主席Toshiki Kaifu說：“考分中無法展現(xiàn)的個(gè)體、能力、勇氣或慈悲心——這些被完全忽略。由此引發(fā)的沮喪感導(dǎo)致學(xué)生輟學(xué)，放蕩不羈?！比ツ?，日本發(fā)生了2125起校園暴力事件，其中有929起是針對(duì)教師的。在人們的強(qiáng)烈譴責(zé)聲中，很多保守黨領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人正嘗試恢復(fù)到戰(zhàn)前那樣，即強(qiáng)調(diào)道德教育。去年，當(dāng)時(shí)任教育大臣的Mitsuo Setoyama就提出責(zé)難，認(rèn)為二戰(zhàn)后美國(guó)就業(yè)當(dāng)局推出的改革開放政策削弱了日本人孝敬父母的道德觀。

但是這也許與日本人的生活方式有更大關(guān)系。教育家Yoko Muro說：“在日本，問題絕不是你是否喜歡自己的工作及生活，而只是你能承受多少?！卑橹?jīng)濟(jì)的發(fā)展實(shí)現(xiàn)了居住的集中化。在1.19億日本人中，足足有76％住在城里。在城里，社區(qū)和大家庭已不復(fù)存在，取而代之的是獨(dú)立的兩代人的家庭。城里的日本人長(zhǎng)久以來忍受著漫長(zhǎng)的上下班交通和擁擠的居住環(huán)境，然而，伴著舊的群體和家庭觀念的削弱，這種不舒適開始出現(xiàn)。在過去的10年中，日本人的離婚率，雖然仍遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)低于美國(guó)，可已上升了50％，而自殺率上升了差不多25％。

題目答案與解析

1.戰(zhàn)后的日本在西方人看來________。

A.處于漫無目標(biāo)的發(fā)展之中　B.是個(gè)正面例子

C.是西方國(guó)家的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者　　　D.在衰敗

【答案】B

【解析】本題可參照文章的第一段。從中可知，日本在戰(zhàn)后并非毫無目的地發(fā)展——日本的生產(chǎn)力水平以及社會(huì)的融洽程度令歐美國(guó)家羨慕。據(jù)此可知，西方人認(rèn)為，戰(zhàn)后的日本值得學(xué)習(xí)。B項(xiàng)與文中the postwar Japan whose productivity and social harmony are the envy of the United States and Europe的意思相符，因此為正確答案。

2.依照作者的觀點(diǎn)，什么是日本社會(huì)的道德水平下降的主要原因？

A.女性參加社會(huì)的活動(dòng)受到限制?！.更多的工人對(duì)其工作不滿。

C.過多地重視基本訓(xùn)練。　　　　　D.生活方式受西方價(jià)值觀的影響。

【答案】D

【解析】從文章第一段的第二句話可知，日本人的傳統(tǒng)工作道德價(jià)值觀在逐漸淡化；從第二段的內(nèi)容可知，戰(zhàn)后生育高峰時(shí)期的到來以及女性進(jìn)入以前由男性主導(dǎo)的工作領(lǐng)域限制了日本青少年的機(jī)會(huì)；此外，表示對(duì)工作不滿意的日本工人遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)多于所調(diào)查的另外10個(gè)國(guó)家的工人；從文章第三段的內(nèi)容可知，雖然外國(guó)人經(jīng)常稱贊日本人注重基本訓(xùn)練，但是，日本的教育往往強(qiáng)調(diào)的是應(yīng)試和機(jī)械學(xué)習(xí)，而不是創(chuàng)造性和個(gè)性表現(xiàn)的培養(yǎng)；自民黨教育委員會(huì)主席指出，個(gè)性、能力、勇氣或人道等全都被人們忽略了，由此而受到的挫折導(dǎo)致孩子們輟學(xué)、放蕩不羈；從文章最后一段的內(nèi)容可知，日本人的生活方式也發(fā)生了變化，人們逐漸放棄了社區(qū)和大家庭的觀念，轉(zhuǎn)而建立獨(dú)立的兩代人家庭；過去10年間，日本的離婚率雖然仍遠(yuǎn)低于美國(guó)，但是卻增加了50％多，自殺率上升了將近25％。據(jù)此可知，作者認(rèn)為，日本社會(huì)道德水平之所以下降，主要是因?yàn)槿毡救耸芰嗣绹?guó)自由主義思想的影響。D項(xiàng)與文章的意思相符，因此為正確答案。

3.依照作者的觀點(diǎn)，下面哪項(xiàng)是說法正確的？

A.人們稱贊日本的教育有助于年輕人攀登社會(huì)階梯。

B.日本的教育具有機(jī)械學(xué)習(xí)和創(chuàng)造力雙重特征。

C.應(yīng)該更注重創(chuàng)造力的培養(yǎng)。

D.輟學(xué)導(dǎo)致對(duì)應(yīng)試教育的沮喪。

【答案】C

【解析】本題可參照文章的第三段。從中可知，雖然外國(guó)人經(jīng)常稱贊日本人注重基本訓(xùn)練，但是，日本的教育往往強(qiáng)調(diào)的是應(yīng)試和機(jī)械學(xué)習(xí)，而不是創(chuàng)造性和個(gè)性表現(xiàn)的培養(yǎng)；據(jù)此可知，作者認(rèn)為日本的教育應(yīng)該注重創(chuàng)造性和自我表現(xiàn)的培養(yǎng)。C項(xiàng)與文章的意思相符，因此為正確答案。

4.日本人的生活方式發(fā)生了變化，其顯示的事實(shí)是________。

A.年輕人更不能容忍生活中的不便之處　　B.離婚率超過了美國(guó)

C.日本人忍耐的東西甚至比以前更多　　　D.日本人欣賞現(xiàn)在的生活

【答案】A

【解析】本題可參照文章的第四段。從中可知，這可能與日本人的生活方式關(guān)系更大。教育家Yoko Muro指出，在日本，你是否喜歡你的工作或生活從來都不是問題，唯一的問題就是你能夠忍受到何種程度。在日本，人們逐漸放棄了社區(qū)和大家庭的觀念，轉(zhuǎn)而建立獨(dú)立的兩代人家庭。日本的城市居民長(zhǎng)期忍受著漫長(zhǎng)的乘車上、下班和擁擠的生活環(huán)境之苦，但是，隨著傳統(tǒng)的群體和家庭價(jià)值觀念的淡薄，這些不便之處開始顯露出來。過去10年間，日本的離婚率雖然仍遠(yuǎn)低于美國(guó)，但是卻增加了50％多，自殺率上升了將近25％。由此可知：日本人的生活方式發(fā)生變化的標(biāo)志就是——他們?nèi)淌懿涣松钪械牟槐阒?。A項(xiàng)的“年輕人更不能容忍生活中的不便之處”與文章的意思相符，因此為正確答案。

5.下面哪項(xiàng)不是因?yàn)槿狈φ_教育而導(dǎo)致的當(dāng)今日本的社會(huì)問題？

A.過度的生產(chǎn)力?！.暴力?！.離婚。　D.自殺。

【答案】A

【解析】本文探討了當(dāng)今的日本社會(huì)由于過度追求經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)、放松人文道德教育而導(dǎo)致的社會(huì)問題：年輕人生活沒有目標(biāo)，迷惘，暴力犯罪增多，家庭結(jié)構(gòu)變化導(dǎo)致個(gè)人幸福感降低，離婚率高，自殺人數(shù)上升，人們不是享受生活而是忍受生活等。本題考查全面綜合能力。日本過度的經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)是日本社會(huì)的主要特征，是優(yōu)點(diǎn)而不是缺點(diǎn)。