This is the age of the quick action. We have instant satisfaction, fast food, speed reading, mobile phones; even the stress management books have titles like "Stress Management in 60 Seconds".
Canadian Classics Professor Margaret Visser points out that the perception that we have "no time" is one of the most strict concepts of Western culture. Visser says that "no time" is used as an excuse and also as a spur(刺激); it both goads us and forces us, just as a concept such as "honour" did for the ancient Greeks. According to Visser, the feeling that Westerners have "no time" is abstract, quantitative, amoral (非道德性的), unarguable, bringing pressure on each person as an individual. At the same time, the "no time" excuse escapes censure by claiming to be a condition created entirely out of our good fortune.
Life offers "so many pleasures, so many choices".
The fact that women now work outside the home has contributed to the "no time" trend. But more important, Visser says, is the fact that feeling rushed has become an important component of our economy. Marketing of "time-saving" products causes people to buy more and work longer. So we eat out or buy prepared food to save time. The fax-it-to-me-in-my-car technology only contributes to the constant hurry. In our rushed and exhausted state, even the obligation (义务) to sit down to casual meal with family seems like a pressure. In comparison with the decision to act on a sudden whims (一时的兴致) to consume a microwave mug of soup, the act of eating together and not getting up from the table until everyone else has finished seems an incredibly time consuming event. Being in one' s own personal hurry in the West is somehow "free and preferable".
What does "goad" in "it both goads us and forces us" in the second paragraph probably mean?（ ）
词义题。 free“ 释放 ” ， sour“ 变坏，恶化 ” ， instruct“ 指导 ” ， stimulate“ 刺激 ” 。根据 goad 所在句子的前一句 “Visser says that‘no time ’is used as all excuse and also as a spur( 刺激 )” 可推测，这里的 goad 与 spur 的意思相近。故选 D 。
The word "censure" in "the 'no time' excuse escapes censure" in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to " （ ）".
词义题。 examination“ 考试 ” ， force“ 力量 ” ， blame“ 责备 ” ， pressure“ 压力 ” 。根据上下文来看，人们以 have no time 为借口，其实是想为自己逃脱苛责找借口。故选 C 。
The following things have led to the "no time" trend in the West according to the passage EXCEPT（ ）.
细节题。根据文章最后一段前两句 “The fact that women now work outside the home has contributed to the‘no time’trend ． But more important ， Visser says ， is the fact that feeling rushed has become an important component of our economy ．” 可知， A 项和 B 项内容均是导致西方 “no time”trend 的原因。根据最后一段第六句 “In our rushed and exhausted state ， even the obligation( 义务 )to sit down to casual meal with family seems like a pressure ． ” 可知， D 项内容也是原因之一。 C 项说法在文章最后一句有体现，但它并不是导致 “no time”trend 的原因，只是陈述现状。故选 C 。
Which of the following doesn't contribute to feeling rushed?（ ）
细节题。由最后一段中 “feeling rushed has become an important component of our economy ． Marketing of‘time-saving’products causes people to buy more and work longer ． …The fax-it-to-me-in-my-car technology only contributes to the constant hurry ．”可知， A 、 B 和 D 项都使人感到越发匆忙。由最后一段倒数第二句中 “the act of eating together and not getting up from the table until everyone else has finished seems an incredibly time-consuming event” 可知，这种行为是很耗费时间的，并不能促使人们感觉匆忙。故选 C 。
We can learn from the passage that "no time" trend （ ）.
推断题。全文讲这个时代是一个脚步匆匆的时代，人们因为忙而不得不找各种借口说自己没有时间干某事。由文中“the feeling that Westerners have‘no time’is abstract ， quantitative ， amoral( 非道德性的 ) ， unarguable ， bringing pressure on each person as an individual” 可以判断个人的压力是非常大的。故选 A 。