2007年6月英语六级听力真题 第3篇
日期:2013-03-20 18:00

(单词翻译:单击)

Passage 3
Americans suffer from an overdose of work.
Regardless of who they are or what they do.
Americans spend more time at work than that any time since World War II.
In 1950,the US had fewer working hours than any other industrialized country.
Today,it exceeds every country but Japan where industrialized employees load 2155 hours a year compared with 1951 in the US and 1603 in the former West Germany.
Between 1969 and 1989,employed Americans add an average of 138 hours to their yearly work schedules.
The workweek has remained above 40 hours.
But people are working more weeks each year.
Specifically pay time off holidays,vacations,sick leave shrink by 50% in the 1980s.
As corporations have experienced stiff competitions and slow in growth of productivity,they have pressed employees to work longer.
Cost-cutting lay-offs in the 1980s reduce the professional and managerial runs,leaving fewer people to get the job done.
In lower paid occupations where wages have been reduced,workers have added hours in overtime or extra jobs to preserve their living standards.
The government estimates that more than 7 million people hold a second job.
For the first time,large numbers of people say they want to cut back on working hours even it means earning less money.
But most employers are unwilling to let them do so.
The government which has stepped back from its traditional role as a regulator of work time should take steps to make shorter hours possible.

Question 32-35 are based on the passage you've just heard:
32.In which country do industrial employees work the longest hours?
33.How do employed Americans manage to work more hours?
34.Why do corporations press their employees to work longer hours according to the speaker?
35.What does the speaker say many Americans prefer to do?

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重点单词
  • productivityn. 生产率,生产能力
  • unwillingadj. 不愿意的
  • traditionaladj. 传统的
  • overdosen. 配药量过多,过量 v. (使)服过量的药
  • preservev. 保存,保留,维护 n. 蜜饯,禁猎区
  • professionaladj. 职业的,专业的,专门的 n. 专业人员
  • experiencedadj. 有经验的
  • stiffadj. 硬的,僵直的,生硬的,拘谨的,不灵活的 adv