英語四級基礎閱讀訓練 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

長難例句分析

［長難例句］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)構分析］本句的主干是our society is becoming one of giant enterprises。句首的In general作狀語。directed... 是過去分詞引導的狀語，其中的in which...是限定性定語從句。

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

全文參考譯文

總的看來，我們的社會正變成一個由官僚主義管理方式所控制的巨大企業(yè)。在這個企業(yè)中，人成為機器中潤滑良好的小齒輪。齒輪的潤滑是通過高薪、通風良好的工廠和管弦樂以及心理學家和研究人際關系的專家進行的，但整個潤滑并沒有改變這樣一個事實：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。實際上，藍領和白領工人已變成伴隨著自動化機器和官僚主義管理節(jié)奏起舞的經(jīng)濟木偶。

工人和雇員不僅由于擔心自己失業(yè)而憂慮，他們也因為不能在生活中找到任何真正的滿足和興趣而犯愁。他們從生到死甚至不能作為一個情感上、智力上獨立，并能自由發(fā)揮創(chuàng)造力的人去面對人類生存的基本現(xiàn)實。

那些處于社會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。他們處于高度競爭的境地。得到提升或降職不是工資的問題，更是一個有關自尊的問題。當他們應聘他們的第一份工作時，他們的服從性和獨立性的綜合表現(xiàn)以及智力都要受到測試。從那時開始，他們一次又一次地被心理學家和他們的上司測試。對心理學家而言，測試是他們的重要工作；上司則通過測試判斷他們的處事能力、社交能力和與他人相處能力等等。這種不斷地用來證明一個人同他的競爭對手水平相當或強于對手的需要產(chǎn)生了不斷的憂慮和壓力，也導致了不愉快和疾病。

我是否在建議我們應回到工業(yè)化前的生產(chǎn)模式或19世紀的“自由資本”資本主義時期？當然不是。問題決不能通過回到過去的方式來解決。我建議轉(zhuǎn)變我們的社會生產(chǎn)體制，從以追求最大限度的生產(chǎn)和消費為目的的官僚主義管理方式的工業(yè)體制轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)橐粋€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)和消費應僅作為達到這個目的的方式，且應防止其控制人類。

題目答案與解析

1.作者通過“a well-oiled cog in the machinery”來試圖表達_________。

A.盡管每個人的作用微不足道，人仍然是社會不可分割的一部分

B.人與社會的其余部分完全和睦相處

C.盡管平穩(wěn)地發(fā)揮著作用，人與社會其余部分相比并不重要

D.人是社會中一個地位卑賤的零件，特別是工作順利的時候

【答案】C

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

2.工人和雇員憂慮的真正的原因是_________。

A.他們可能失業(yè)　　　　　　　　　　B.他們在生活中不能得到真正的滿足和興趣

C.他們面對著人類生存的基本現(xiàn)實　　D.他們被剝奪了個性和獨立性

【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；被剝奪了個性和獨立性。D項正好進行了很好的概括。

3.從文中我們可以推出生活中真正的幸福屬于_________。

A.處于社會底層的人　　　　B.社會地位高的人

C.證明比競爭者優(yōu)秀的人　　D.遠離競爭世界的人

【答案】D

【解析】本題是細節(jié)題。從第三段最后一句“這種不斷證明自己與競爭對手同樣優(yōu)秀或者超過對手的需要產(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項為正確答案。

4.為解決目前的社會問題，作者建議我們應該_________。

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.認為基礎現(xiàn)實是正確的

【答案】C

【解析】第四段第四句指出，“我建議轉(zhuǎn)變我們的社會生產(chǎn)體制，從以追求最大限度的生產(chǎn)和消費為目的的官僚主義管理方式的工業(yè)體制轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)橐粋€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?！盋項為正確答案。

5.作者對產(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】本題問作者對工業(yè)體制的態(tài)度。本文作者指出了現(xiàn)代工業(yè)社會的種種弊端；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的人們也感到憂慮。最后作者提出了改變這種社會體制的建議。因此不難得出，作者認為現(xiàn)行的產(chǎn)業(yè)主義不好。所以他對其態(tài)度不是A、D、C三項。而是B項。