Text One
Concern with money, and then more money, in order to buy the conveniences and luxuries of modern life, has brought great changes to the lives of most Frenchmen. More people are working than ever before in France. In the cities the traditional leisurely midday meal is disappearing. Offices, shops and factories are discovering the greater efficiency of a short lunch hour in company lunchrooms. In almost all lines of work emphasis now falls on ever-increasing output.Thus the “typical” Frenchman produces more, earns more and buys more consumer goods than his counterpart of only a generation ago. He gains in creature comforts and ease of life. What he loses to some extent is his sense of personal uniqueness or individuality.
Some say that France has been Americanized. This is because the United States is a world symbol of the technological society and its consumer products. The so-called Americanization of France has its critics. They fear that “assembly-line life” will lead to the disappearance of the pleasures of the more graceful and leisurely (but less productive)old French style. What will happen, they ask, to taste, elegance, and the cultivation of the good things in life—to joy in the smell of a freshly picked apple, a stroll by the river, or just happy hours of conversation in a local care?
Since the late 1950‘s life in France has indeed taken on qualities of rush, tension, and the pursuit of material gain.Some of the strongest critics of the new way of life are the young, especially university students. They are concerned with the future, and they fear that France is threatened by the triumph of this competitive, goods oriented culture. Occasionally, they have reacted against the trend with considerable violence.
In spite of the critics, however, countless Frenchmen are committed to keeping France in the forefront of the modern economic world. They find that the present life brings more rewards, conveniences, and pleasures than that of the past. They believe that a modern, industrial France is preferable to the old.
Which of the following is NOT given as a feature of the old French way of life?
细节题。 原文中第二段提到“They fear that 'assembly-line life' … What will happen, they ask, to taste, elegance, and the cultivation of the good things in life, efficiency” 为现代生活方式的一种特征。 故得出答案 C。
Which of the following is NOT related to the new French way of life?
细节题。 原文首段中提到“In the cities the traditional leisurely midday meal is disappearing”， 即在城市中，原来传统的悠闲午饭时光消失了。 与 D 项对应。 故 D 为本题答案。
Which of the following is NOT true about Frenchmen?
细节题。 原文第二段中提到“They fear that 'assembly-line life' …old French style”， 证明法国人不喜欢这样的生活。 选项与原文描述的内容正好相反。 故答案为 B。
The passage suggests that________.
推断题。 根据文章第一段“He gains in creature comforts and ease of life. What he loses to some extent is his sense of personal uniqueness or individuality.”故可以判断出法国人在寻求物质方面丢失不少。 故答案为 A。
Which of the following is true about the critics?
细节题。 文章第三段最后一句“Occasionally, they have reacted against the trend with considerable violence”与选项 C 对应， 即偶然， 学生会诉诸暴力反对这一趋势。 故可推断出答案为 C。