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, Nell-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 is bored with it. In fact, the blue and the 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 of interesting life. They live an 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 right mixture of submissiveness and independence. From the 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 ones fellow competitor creates constant anxiety and stress, the very causes of unhappiness and illness.
Am I suggesting that we should return to the preidustrial 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 form 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 all love and of reason are the aims of 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 deliver the idea that man is ____.
A. a necessary part of the society though each individuals 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
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 hobs
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 conclude 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 dip far away from this competitive world
4. To solve the present social problems the author puts foruard a suggestion 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 authors attitude towards industrialism might best be summarized as one of ______.
A. approval B. dissatisfaction
C. suspicion D. susceptibility
Protect Environment(环境保护)
体坛英语资讯:Basque fans celebrate Balcony Cup final instead of postponed Copa del Rey
动物园的好处
过新年
汽车事故
国内英语资讯:Chinese vice premier stresses key role of pilot open platform in Hainan port
I had an unforgettable Labour Day holiday(难忘的五一劳动节)
Which Mode of Travel Do You like?(你喜欢哪种旅游方式)
Road Safety(道路安全)
国内英语资讯:Xi Focus: Xi stresses strong public health system to safeguard peoples health
My Home Village(我的家乡)
体坛英语资讯:Bayern in unrest: Neuers complaint aimed at Salihamidzic
My Father(我的爸爸)
介绍中国第一位航天英雄杨利伟
五一见闻
我的人生计划
天英语作文 春天来了-Spring is coming on
文一的天空
是否应该为孩子购置电脑
新冠疫情重创服装租赁等共享经济
跆拳道
My Britihday Gifts(我的生日礼物)
国内英语资讯:Chinese Premier stresses providing relief to businesses, stimulating market vitality
May Day Long Holiday, Kept or Cancelled?(五一长假是否应该取消)
国际英语资讯:Two shot dead, 60 arrested in overnight protests in Chicago
研究:第六次物种大灭绝进度比预想的快
母亲节由来和发展
你怎么样度过“五一节”的
看图作文
看马戏
| 不限 |
| 英语教案 |
| 英语课件 |
| 英语试题 |
| 不限 |
| 不限 |
| 上册 |
| 下册 |
| 不限 |