单选题 When I decided to quit my full time employment it never occurred to me that I might become a part of a new international trend. A lateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress prompted me to abandon my relatively high profile career although, in the manner of a disgraced government minister, l covered my exit by claiming "I wanted to spend more time with my family".
Curiously, some two-and-a-half years and two novels later, my experiment in what the Americans term "downshifting" has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality. I have been transformed from a passionate advocate of the philosophy of "having it all", preached by Linda Kelsey for the past seven years in the page of She magazine, into a woman who is happy to settle for a bit of everything.
I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build-up of stress, that abandoning the doctrine of "juggling your life", and making the alternative move into "downshifting" brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status. Nothing could persuade me to return to the kind of life Kelsey used to advocate and I once enjoyed: 12 hour working days, pressured deadlines, the fearful strain of office politics and the limitations of being a parent on "quality time" .
In America, the move away from juggling to a simpler, less materialistic lifestyle is a well-established trend. Down shifting—also known in America as "voluntary simplicity" — has, ironically, even bred a new area of what might be termed anticonsumerism. There are a number of best-selling downshifting self-help books for people who want to simplify their lives; there am newsletters, such as The Tightwad Gazette, that give hundreds of thousands of Americans useful tips on anything from recycling their cling-film to making their own soap; there are even support groups for those who want to achieve the mid-90's equivalent of dropping out.
While in America the trend started as a reaction to the economic decline—after the mass redundancies caused by downsizing in the late 80's—and is still linked to the politics of thrift, in Britain, at least among the middle-class downshifters of my acquaintance, we have different reasons for seeking to simplify our lives.
For the women of my generation who were urged to keep juggling through the 80's, downshifting in the mid-90's is not so much a search for the mythical good life—growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one—as a personal recognition of your limitations.

单选题 Which of the following is true according to paragraph one?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】是非判断题。文章第一段指出,当作者决定辞去全职工作时,从没想到会成为国际新趋势的一分子。一次没有预料到的行动(lateral move)使她放弃了具有较高形象的事业。就象一位不光彩的政府部长辞职时会说的那样,她说:“我想多花些时间和家人在一起。”A全职工作是一种新的国际趋势。事实正好相反。B“一次没有预料到的行动”意味着退出全职工作。对作者而言,这只是她个人失去了工作的原因,而不是意味着一定会使某个人因此而失去工作。D作者非常渴望能多花时间和家人在一起。这只是作者的托辞,而不是真正的原因。
单选题 The writer's experiment shows that downshifting______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】细节判断题。根据第二段,经过了大约两年半的时间并发表了两部小说之后,我的被称之为“激流勇退”(downshifting)的实验把我的那个令人厌倦的借口变成了绝对的现实。我从一个“全力以赴”哲学观狂热的倡导者变成了一个乐于随遇而安的女子。A使她实现了自己的梦想。这种生活方式是她辞职时没有预料到的。C促使她放弃了较高的社会地位。事实是作者先放弃了较高的社会地位后才开始了这种新的生活方式。D使她接受了“她”杂志所倡导的生活哲学。在经过了新的生活方式的实验后,作者是不会再过从前的那种生活的。
单选题 What's author's feeling about her "downshifting"?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】细节判断题。根据文章第三段,作者对自己选择感到不后悔,而且表露出不再愿意回到重前的那种生活状态。因此答案C是正确的。
单选题 "Juggling one's life" probably means living a life characterized by______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】细节判断题。第四段第一句指出,从“juggling”到一种更简朴的,不那么追求物质享受的生活方式的转变是一种新兴的趋势,由此可判断“juggling one's life”定是与简朴、自在的生活相对应的。故选C。A不追求物质享受的生活方式。B随遇而安,这正是简朴生活的特点。D反消费主义。根据第四段第二句,“自愿过简朴生活”与“反消费主义”是一致的。
单选题 According to the passage, downshifting emerged in the U.S. as a result of______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】细节归纳题。根据第五段第一句,在美国这种趋势是对经济衰退的一钟反应,是正确答案。