真题训练

When I decided to quit my full time employment it never occurred to me that I might become a part of a new international trend. A lateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress prompted me to abandon my relatively high profile career although, in the manner of a disgraced government minister, I covered my exit by claiming "I wanted to spend more time with my family".
Curiously, some two-and-a-half years and two novels later, my experiment in what the Americans term "downshifting" has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality. I have been transformed from a passionate advocate of the philosophy of "have it all", preached by Linda Kelsey for the past seven years in the pages of she magazine, into a woman who is happy to settle for a bit of everything.
I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build-up of stress, that abandoning the doctrine of "juggling your life", and making the alternative move into "downshifting" brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status. Nothing could persuade me to return to the kind of life Kelsey used to advocate and I once enjoyed: 12-hour working days, pressured deadlines, the fearful strain of office politics and the limitations of being a parent on "quality time".
In America, the move away from juggling to a simpler, less materialistic lifestyle is a well-established trend. Downshifting — also known in America as "voluntary simplicity" — has, ironically, even bred a new area of what might be termed anti-consumerism. There are a number of bestselling downshifting self-help books for people who want to simplify their lives; there are newsletters, such as The Tightwad Gazette, that give hundreds of thousands of Americans useful tips on anything from recycling their cling-film to making their own soap; there are even support groups for those who want to achieve the mid-'90s equivalent of dropping out.
While in America the trend started as a reaction to the economic decline — after the mass redundancies caused by downsizing in the late '80s — and is still linked to the politics of thrift, in Britain, at least among the middle class downshifters of my acquaintance, we have different reasons for seeking to simplify our lives.
For the women of my generation who were urged to keep juggling through the '80s, downshifting in the mid-'90s is not so much a search for the mythical good life — growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one — as a personal recognition of your limitations.

67. Which of the following is true according to paragraph 1?
[A] Full-time employment is a new international trend.
[B] The writer was compelled by circumstances to leave her job.
[C] "A lateral move" means stepping out of full-time employment.
[D] The writer was only too eager to spend more time with her family.

68. The writer's experiment shows that downshifting ________.
[A] enables her to realize her dream
[B] helps her mold a new philosophy of life
[C] prompts her to abandon her high social status
[D] leads her to accept the doctrine of She magazine

69. "Juggling one's life" probably means living a life characterized by ________.
[A] non-materialistic lifestyle
[B] a bit of everything
[C] extreme stress
[D] anti-consumerism

70. According to the passage, downshifting emerged in the US as a result of ________.
[A] the quick pace of modern life
[B] man's adventurous spirit
[C] man's search for mythical experiences
[D] the economic situation
难句解析

难句解析：
①A lateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress promoted me to abandon my relatively high profile career although, in the manner of a disgraced government minister, I covered my exit by claiming "I wanted to spend more time with my family".
▲本句中a lateral move是主语，promoted是谓语，that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress是a lateral move的定语，although, in the manner of a disgraced government minister, I covered my exit by claiming "I wanted to spend more time with my family"是状语，其中逗号之间的in the manner of a disgraced government minister是插入语。
△注意找准主句主谓结构。
②Curiously, some two-and-a-half years and two novels later, my experiment in what the Americans term "downshifting" has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality.
▲本句主干是... my experiment... has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality。注意其谓语是一个turn sth. into sth.的结构。前面两个逗号之间的是时间状语。
△注意抓句子的主干，其中主语的修饰部分in what the Americans term "downshifting"看不懂可以跳过去。当然，如果我们对英语的预感较好，就可以猜测downshifting一词的意思与驾驶骑车有关，在这里，作者把生活比喻为开车，因此放弃对物质生活的热衷追求就像在开车时减档减速一样。
③I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build-up of stress, that abandoning the doctrine of "juggling your life", and making the alternative move into "downshifting" brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status.
▲I have discovered是主句的主谓结构，that abandoning the doctrine of "juggling your life", and making the alternative move into "downshifting" brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status是主句的宾语，其中abandoning the doctrine of "juggling your life", and making the alternative move into "downshifting"为该宾语从句的主语，brings为谓语。as perhaps Kelsey will after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build-up of stress既是伴随状语，又是插入语，其主语为Kelsey，谓语为will，而after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build-up of stress是本插入语中的时间状语。
△注意一些词汇的含义：much-publicized十分张扬的；She是杂志的名字，因此首字母须大写；build-up积聚；juggling忙碌；brings with it far greater rewards than带来的利益远远不止……。
④Downshifting — also known in America as "voluntary simplicity" — has, ironically, even bred a new area of what might be termed anti-consumerism.
▲本句的句子结构是Downshifting has bred a new area，破折号之间的是插入结构，ironically也是插入语，可放在句首，what相当于thought which。
△重点是抓住句子的主干成分。
⑤While in America the trend started as a reaction to the economic decline — after the mass redundancies caused by downsizing in the late '80s — and is still linked to the politics of thrift, in Britain, at least among the middle-class downshifters of my acquaintance, we have different reasons for seeking to simplify our lives.
▲本句首先应该从in Britain的前面一分为二，前面讲的是在美国的情况，其中破折号之间的是一插入成分，而后面讲的是在英国的情况。
△注意英美两国的差异。
⑥For the women of my generation who were urged to keep juggling through the '80s, downshifting in the mid-'90s is not so much a search for the mythical good life — growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one — as a personal recognition of your limitations.
▲本句主谓结构为... downshifting in the mid-'90s is not...。who were urged to keep juggling through the '80s是修饰the women of my generation的定语从句。growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one既是插入语，又是the mythical good life的同位语。
△注意not so much A(a search for the mythical good life) as B(a personal recognition of your limitations)的句式含义，即“与其说是A，不如说是B”。
试题解析

试题解析：
67. [B] 意为：作者因环境所迫而辞职。
根据第一段，当作者决定辞去她的全职工作时，她从没有想到自己可能成为一个国际新时尚的一分子。作者写道，一次始料未及的行动伤害了我的自尊，阻碍了我在工作上的进一步发展，使得我不得不放弃相对具有良好公众形象的工作生涯，虽然当时自己像一个出丑的政府部长一样，不得不用“我想多花些时间和家人在一起”这样的话来掩饰自己的辞职。
A意为：全职工作是一种新的国际时尚。第一句中所说的新时尚实际上指下文提到的“激流勇退”(downshifting)，过简朴而无强工作压力的生活。
C意为：“一次意想不到的行动”指放弃全职工作。lateral原来的意思是“横向的”，这里意思是“超出预料的”，含义是“没有按原设定好的进程而发生的”；move意为“步骤”或“行动”。根据原文，a lateral move是作者失去工作的原因，而不是指失去工作这一过程本身。
D意为：作者太想多花点时间和家人在一起了。
68. [B] 意为：使作者形成了一种新的生活哲学。
作者在第二段指出，奇怪的是，经过了约两年半的时间并发表了两部小说以后，我在美国人称之为“激流勇退”的生活方式上的实验，却不期将我那乏味的借口（指第一段最后一句掩饰性的话）转化为实实在在的现实。我从一个“全力以赴”生活哲学——在过去七年里Linda Kelsey一直在“她”这份杂志上鼓吹这种生活方式——的积极倡导者，演变成一个乐于随遇而安的女人。
在第三段作者又指出，像Linda Kelsey有一天也许会认识到的那样（在经历过越来越大的压力之后，她辞去了“她”杂志的编辑工作，她的辞职被炒得沸沸扬扬），摒弃“玩耍生活”的生活哲学，而代之以“激流勇退”的生活哲学，会给人带来比经济上的成功和社会地位更高的益处。现在，谁也不能劝我再回到Kelsey所倡导的——并且我自己也曾经喜欢的那种生活方式中去了：一天工作12小时，充满压力的一件件有最后期限的事情，办公室规章所带来的可怕的压力，以及做母亲（所能花在家人身上）的有限的“高质量时间”。
A不对。新的生活方式是她始料未及的，可以说是她的意外发现——辞职时她并没有梦想要像现在这样生活。
C意为：促使她放弃了自己很高的社会地位。根据原文，作者是在辞去工作以后才过上现在这种生活的。
D意为：使她接受了“她”杂志所倡导的生活哲学。恰恰相反，她放弃了这一生活哲学。
69. [C] 意为：极度紧张。
juggle的原义是“耍弄，摆弄”，在第三段中，juggling your life和downshifting相提并论，而downshifting这里应该和第二段第二句中的settle for a bit of everything属于同义，相应地，juggling one's life应该和第二段第二句中的having it all同义。根据第四段，downshifting本文指过简朴、自在的生活，那么，juggling one's life当指进取的生活方式，工作中的不断进取当然是与工作压力成正比的。
A意为：不追求物质利益的生活方式。根据第四段第一句，这是downshifting的生活特点。
B不对。根据第二段，这也是downshifting的生活特点。
D意为：反消费主义。根据第四段第二句，所谓“反消费主义”与“自愿过简朴的生活”是一致的。
70. [D]
根据第五段，在美国，这种趋势（指上一段提到的downshifting生活方式）的出现最初是对经济衰退的一种反应。
A意为：快节奏的现代生活。
B意为：人们的冒险精神。
C意为；人们对神秘的生活体验的追求。
全文翻译
全文翻译：
当我决定辞去自己的全日制工作时决没有想到，自己竟成了一种新的国际性潮流的一分子。一次平级的人事调动伤了我的自尊心，并阻断了我的事业发展，这促使我放弃自己地位较高的职业，当然，就像面子扫尽的政府部长那样，我也掩饰说“我只想与家人更多的呆在一起”。
奇怪的是，大约两年半的时间我写完两部小说后，我这个被美国人称为“放慢生活节奏”的试验，却使我老掉牙的借口变成了现实。我已从一个“获得一切”哲学（琳达•凯茜过去七年中在《她》这本杂志所宣扬的）的狂热支持者，变成了一个乐于接受任何东西只要一丁点的女人。
我已经发现（由于压力过大，凯茜已多次公开宣称要辞去《她》杂志编辑的职务，在这之后她也许会有同样发现），放弃“忙忙碌碌”的生活哲学，转而过一种“放慢生活节奏”的生活所带来的回报，比经济成功和社会地位更有价值。什么也说服不了我回到过去那种凯茜所宣扬的、我也曾自得其乐的生活中去：每天12小时的工作日，压得人喘不过气来的最后期限，可怕而紧张的办公室的争权夺利，以及因为时间有限连做母亲也得“高效率”所造成的种种限制。
在美国，摆脱忙碌，转而过一种简单、不大物质化的生活已成明确趋势。具有讽刺意味的是，“放慢生活节奏”——在美国也称“自愿简单化”——甚至孕育了一个崭新的、可称之为反消费主义的生活方式。对于那些想简单生活的人来说，有许多很畅销的帮你轻松生活的自助书籍；有各种简讯，例如省钱简报，会给美国人提供成千上万条有用的点子去做事，从回收保鲜腊到自制肥皂；甚至还有一些帮助团体，帮人按90年代中期脱离传统社会的人的生活方式去生活。
在美国，这种趋势一开始是对经济衰落所做出的一种反应——出现于80年代后期缩小经济规模所引起的大量人员冗余之后——在英国，至少在我所认识的中产阶级的简化生活者中，这种趋势仍被认为与节俭政治有关联，虽然如此，然而我们有着不同的缘由去寻求使自己的生活简单化。
对我们这一代女性来说，整个80年代我们曾被迫忙碌地生活，90年代中期的简化生活与其说是寻求神话般的好生活——自己种有机蔬菜以及冒险制造有机蔬菜——倒不如说我们都认识了自身的局限。