高考英语速读实战(1).pdf

高考英语速读实战(1)
















教师:周建斌
5
Among rich countries, people in the United States work the longest hours. They work much longer than
in Europe. This difference is quite surprising because productivity per hour worked is the same in the United
States as it is in France, Spain and Germany, and it is growing at a similar speed.
In most countries and at most times in history, as people have e richer they have chosen to work
less. In other words they have decided to “spend” a part of their extra e on a fuller personal life. Over
the last fifty years Europeans have continued this pattern, and hours of work have fallen sharply. But not in
the United States. We do not fully know why this is. One reason may be greatly lower taxes in America,
which increase the rewards (回报) to work. Another may be more satisfying work, or less satisfying personal
lives.
Longer hours do of course increase the GDP (国内生产总值). So the United States has produced more
per worker than, say, France. The United Sates also has more of its people at work, while in France many
more mothers and older workers have decided to stay at home. The overall result is that American GDP per
head is 40% higher than in France, even though productivity per hour worked is the same.
It is not clear which of the two situations is better. As we have seen, work has to pared with
other values like family life, which often get lost in its interest. It is too early to explain the different trends
(趋势) in happiness over time in different countries. But it is a disappointing idea that in the United States
happiness has made no progress since 1975, while it has risen in Europe. Could this have anything to do with
trends in the work-life balance (平衡)?
the text we know that the author ___________.
nothing certain about which pattern is better
shorter working hours to longer ones
that longer working hours is