Passage 1
Unlike most of Western Europe, where paid vacations for regular workers are typical four to six weeks, the U.S. has no official vacation policy. Employers are not required to provide them, and the starting norm is good jobs remains a paltry two weeks. Millions of the hard-working poor, without steady employment, have no paid vacation at all. And millions of the hard-working well-to-do have nice allotments that exist only on paper—the excessive demands of positions make planning and taking significant time off almost impossible.
The failure to increase vacation time in the U.S. is especially scandalous these days, given how much harder most Americans are working. They are working more hours than they are scheduled to work, they do more overtime, bring more work home, and take more business trips. And 60 percent still report that they don’t have enough time at work to finish “everything that needs to get done.” Despite the fact that 68 percent report having to work “very fast” and 88 percent reporting having to work “very hard”, American corporations seem downright ungracious about vacations when viewed in this light, or when we consider that they give their European employees the same months to six weeks that European companies do.
The Western Europeans understand that being a good, hard-working employee requires an annual period of serous relaxation. Not just a three-day jet to the Bahams, but a genuine unwinding, not only from word, but also from the hectic pace of daily life. In the U.S., we tend to use vacations as opportunities for consuming, whether it’s expensive hotel stays, outlet shopping, or exotic luxury destinations. This is part of our longer pattern of work and spend, using economic progress to consume more rather than give ourselves more time off. Europeans, by contrast, are more likely to go camping, or hiking, or stay in the country, where they can live more simply, enjoy nature, and reflect on their lives. The vacation bonus ensures that everyone can afford to do this. In Western Europe, vacations have become a basic human right. In the U.S., they feel more like an endangered species.
We learn from the first paragraph that ________.
文章第一段最后一句话提到“And millions of the hard-working well-to-do have nice allotments that exist only on paper—the excessive demands of positions make planning and taking significant time off almost impossible.”由此可知一些辛苦工作的富裕的人也没有假期，因为过多的职位要求使得计划和休假几乎是不 可能的。因此选项D“许多美国高管也无法享受他们有权享受的假期”符合原文意思。
A very strong case for increasing vacation time in America is that ________.
文章第二段第一句指出“The failure to increase vacation time in the U.S. is especially scandalous these days, given how much harder most Americans are working.”，考虑到大多数美国人工作都非常努力，在美国增 加休假时间的失败尤其令人反感。由此可知美国增加休假时间的一个非常有力的理由就是大部分美国人工 作都非常努力。
In granting vacation to Europeans, American employers ________.
文章第二段最后一句指出“...they give their European employees the same months to six weeks that European companies do”，美国公司和欧洲的公司一样给来自欧洲的员工几个月到六个星期的假期。但第三 段主要描述了欧洲与美国休假内容的不同，欧洲注重的是从工作中解放身心，尽情享受自由；而美国的假 期就是用来消费、花钱。从这些方面来看，美国公司在假期上比欧洲的公司做得要更差。
What do Americans do when they take vacation?
根据文章第三段第三句话“In the U.S., we tend to use vacations as opportunities for consuming, whether it’s expensive hotel stays, outlet shopping, or exotic luxury destinations”可知在美国我们倾向于利用假期消费， 无论是昂贵的酒店住宿，购物，还是异国情调的奢侈旅游目的地。因此美国人休假的时候通常都会花很多 钱。
In discussing vacation in America, the tone of the author is ________.
文章最后一段最后一句话提到“In Western Europe, vacations have become a basic human right. In the U.S., they feel more like an endangered species.”，在西欧，度假已经成为一种基本的人权。而在美国假期更像一个濒临灭绝的物种。通读全文也可知作者对于美国假期是持批判态度的。