单选题
It is already common knowledge, on the beaches and
in the cafes of mainland Europe, that Americans work too hard—just as it is well
known on the other side of the Atlantic that Europeans, above all the French and
the Germans, are slackers who could do with a bit of America's vigorous work
ethic. But a new survey suggests that even those vacations
American employees do take are rapidly vanishing, to the extent that 40 per cent
of workers questioned at the start of the summer said they had no plans to take
any holiday at all for the next six months, more than at any time since the late
1970s. It is probably mere coincidence that George W. Bush, one
of the few Americans who has been known to enjoy a French-style month off during
August, cut back his holiday in Texas to a fortnight. But the survey by the
Conference Board research group, along with other recent statistics, suggests an
epidemic of overwork among ordinary Americans. A quarter of
people employed in the private sector in the US get no paid vacation at all,
according to government figures. Unlike almost all other industrialized nations,
including Britain, American employers do not have to give paid
holidays. The average American gets a little less than four
weeks of paid time off, including public holidays, compared with 6.6 weeks in
the UK—where the law requires a minimum of four weeks off for full-time
workers—and 7.9weeks for Italy. One study showed that people employed by the US
subsidiary of a London-based bank would have to work there for 10 years just to
be entitled to the same vacation time as colleagues in Britain who has just
started their jobs. Even when they do take vacations,
overworked Americans find it hard to switch off. One in three find not checking
their email and voicemail more stressful than working, according to a study by
the Travelocity website, while the traumas of travel take their own toll. "We
commonly complain we need a vacation from our vacations," the author Po Bronson
wrote recently. "We leave home tired; we come back exhausted "
Christian Schneider, a German-born scholar at the Wharton business school in
Philadelphia, argues that there is "a tendency to really relax in Europe, to
disengage from work. When an American finally does take those few days of
vacation per year they are most likely to be in constant contact with the
office. " Mindful that well-rested workers are more productive
than burnt-out ones, the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has started
closing all its US offices completely twice a year, for 10 days over Christmas
and about five around Independence Day. "We wanted to create an environment
where people could walk away and not worry about missing a meeting, a conference
call or 300 emails," Barbara Kraft, a partner at the company, told the New York
Times. Left to themselves, Americans fail to take an average of
four days of their vacation entitlement—an annual national total of 574 million
unclaimed days.
单选题
According to the first paragraph, what do the people in America think
of Europeans? ______
A. They work less vigorously except the French and the Germans.
B. They work almost as vigorously as Americans.
C. They should work with some more vigor as Americans do.
D. They could work a bit more vigorously than Americans.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】
单选题
The author mentions George W. Bush cutting back his holiday to
indicate that ______.
A. the tendency to overwork is limited to people holding important
positions
B. ordinary Americans overwork and important ones are no exception
C. the president finds it necessary to cut back his holiday, let alone
others
D. the president has every reason to overwork, but ordinary Americans
don't
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】
单选题
In which of the following countries are employees entitled to more
weeks per year for their holidays? ______
A. The US.
B. The UK.
C. France.
D. Italy.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】
单选题
Why do Americans "... need a vacation from our vacations"(para. 6)?
______
A. Because they do not have enough vacations compared with Europeans.
B. Because they cannot take their mind off work during their
vacations.
C. Because emails and voicemails that keep pouring in disrupt their
vacations.
D. Because travel is more stressful and exhausting than their normal
work.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】
单选题
What did PricewaterhouseCoopers do to make it possible for its
employees to really relax in their vacation? ______
A. It created an environment for its employees to be disengaged from
work.
B. It advised its employees not to worry about missing telephone calls or
emails.
C. It set aside for its employees 10 days for Christmas and Independence
Day.
D. It left it to its employees themselves to decide on more vacation
entitlement.