英語閱讀理解與分析
英語閱讀理解100篇（中級篇）-32
Passage Thirty-two (The Young Generation)
Old people are always saying that the young are not what they were. The same comment is made from generation to generation and it is always true. It has never been truer than it is today. The young are better educated. They have a lot more money to spend and enjoy more freedom. They grow up more quickly and are not so dependent on their parents. They think more for themselves and do not blindly accept the ideals of their elders. Events which the older generation remembers vividly are nothing more than past history. This is as it should be. Every new generation is different from the one that preceded it. Today the difference is very marked indeed.
The old always assume that they know best for the simple reason that they have been around a bit longer. They don’t like to feel that their values are being questioned or threatened. And this is precisely what the young are doing. They are question the assumptions of their elders and disturbing their complacency. Office hours, for instance, are nothing more than enforced slavery. Wouldn’t people work best if they were given complete freedom and responsibility? And what about clothing? Who said that all the men in the world should wear drab grey suits and convict haircuts? If we ruin our minds to more serious matters, who said that human differences can best be solved through conventional politics or by violent means, who said that human difference can best be solved through conventional politics or by violent means? Why have the older generation so often used violence to solve their problems? Why are they so unhappy and guilt-ridden in their personal lives, so obsessed with mean ambitions and the desire to amass more and more material possessions? Can anything be right with the rat-race? Haven’t the old lost touch with all that is important in life?
These are not questions the older generation can shrug off lightly. Their record over the past forty years or so hasn’t been exactly spotless. Traditionally, the young have turned to their elders for guidance. Today, the situation might be reversed. The old—if they are prepared to admit it—could learn a thing or two from their children. One of the biggest lessons they could learn is that enjoyment is not ‘sinful’. Enjoyment is a principle one could apply to all aspects of life. It is surely not wrong to enjoy your work and enjoy your leisure; to shed restricting inhibitions. It is surely not wrong to live in the present rather than in the past or future. This emphasis on the present is only to be expected because the young have grown up under the shadow of the bomb: the constant threat of complete annihilation. This is their glorious heritage. Can we be surprised that they should so often question the sanity of the generation that bequeathed it?
1. Which of the following features in the young is NOT mentioned?
[A]. Better educated. [B]. More money and freedom.
[C]. Independence. [D]. Hard work.
2. What so the young reject most?
[A]. Values. [B]. The assumption of the elders.
[C]. Conformity. [C]. Conventional ideas.
3. Why do the young stress on the present?
[A]. They have grown up under the shadow of the bomb.
[B]. They dislike the past.
[C]. They think the present world is the best.
[D]. They are afraid of destruction.
4. What can the old learn from the young generation?
[A]. Enjoyment is not sinful. [B]. People should have more leisure time.
[C]. Men might enjoy life. [D]. One should enjoy one’s work.
Vocabulary
1. reminder 使共回想起某事的東西，提示者
2. complacency 自鳴得意，自滿情結
3. take leave 擅自，任意，隨意
I took leave to consider this matter settled. 請原諒我認為這事已經解決了。
4. conformity 與……一致，遵從
5. guilt 有罪，內疚
6. ridden （ride 的過去分詞）受……支配的，受……壓迫
7. guilt-ridden 負罪感
8. amass 積累，積聚
9. a rat-race 激烈的競爭
10. shrug off 對……聳肩表示不屑一理，輕視，擺脫
11. spotless 無污點的，純潔的
12. shed 擺脫，拋棄
13. annihilate 殲滅
14. bequeath 贈送，把……傳給后代
15. sanity 頭腦清醒健全
難句譯注
1. convict haircut. Convict 義：罪犯。罪犯和短發兩字合在一起為“囚犯理的發式”。但在這里其含義根據上下文決定。前面講到“誰說世界上所有的男人都應穿淺灰色的西裝”，后面只能譯成“剪成像罪犯似的短發呢”。本義有haircut義：修理整齊的短發。整齊劃一表示紳士派的工作人中作風正派，認真負責，一絲不茍的精神。作者用了convict罪犯一字表示諷刺：“罪犯也是整齊劃一的短發跟紳士們的要求一樣，難道他們也是作風正派，認真負責，一絲不茍嗎？”
寫作方法與文章大意
這是一篇論及“代溝”的文章。主要采用對比手法，一開始就提出了一個老問題：“老人們經常說年輕人不是從前那樣了。這一評語代代相傳，永遠是對的，而今天比以前任何時候更正確。”下面幾段就論述他們之不同點以及對比老少兩代人的態度。
答案祥解
1. D. 艱苦工作。這在第一段中第四句“青年一代受了更好教育，有大量的錢話，有更多的'自由。他們成長的很快，不那么依賴于父母，他們獨立思考得更多，不盲目接受老一代的理想……。”
A. 受更好的教育。 B. 更多的錢和自由。 C. 獨立性。這三項均提及到。
2. C. 順從。第二段集中講到這一點。“因為老人們經常認為自己懂得多，理由就是他們經歷得多。他們不喜歡自己的價值觀受到懷疑或威脅。而這正是青年在做的。他們對老人們的設想提出疑問，打亂他們的自鳴得意。他們甚至敢于懷疑老一代創造了世界上可能最佳的社會。他們最反對的莫過于順從。例如：他們說辦公時間就是強制奴役，如果人們完全自由，絕對負責，他們的工作不會更好嗎？而穿衣呢？誰說世界上所有的男人都該穿單調的灰色西裝和剪成像罪犯似的短發？……。”這些詞語都表示他們最反對的東西是遵從，“一致性”。所以
A. 價值。 B. 長者的設想。 D. 傳統習俗觀念。都是具體的某一點。
3. A. 他們在炸彈的陰影下成長。第三段倒數第四句起“由于年輕人是在炸彈戰爭的陰影下成長壯大：在不斷受到全面殲滅的威脅之下，所以也只能期望他們重視目前。這是他們的光榮遺產。他們經常詢問贈給他們遺產的這代人的頭腦是否清醒。對此我們能表示驚訝嗎？”遺產指的是第二段的種種問題所體現出來的東西，如：“誰說人類之差異能通過常規政策或暴力手段予以很好的解決？為什么老一代人常用暴力來解決他們的問題？為什么他們（老一代）個人生活那么不愉快。老有負罪感？為什么老糾纏于要積聚越來越多的物質財富？……。”
B. 他們不喜歡過去。 C. 他們認為現世界是最好的。 D. 他們害怕破壞。
4. A. 享受不是犯罪。這在第三段中間“老年人——如果他們準備承認的話——可以從他們的孩子們那里學到一兩件事。他們能學的最大的課堂之一是享受不是犯罪。”“享受”是人可適用于生活各個方面的原則。從工作中獲得樂處，享受閑暇時間，肯定不是錯誤。拋棄約束限制，生活在現在而不是生活在過去肯定也不是錯。
B. 人們應有更多的閑暇。 C. 人可以享受生活。 D. 一個人應當享受工作。
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