In general, our society is becoming one of giant enterprises directed by a bureaucratic management in which man becomes a small, well-oiled cog in the machinery. The oiling is done with higher wages, well-ventilated factories and piped music, and by psychologists and "human-relations" experts; yet all this oiling does not alter the fact that man has become powerless, that he does not wholeheartedly participate in his work and that he is bored with it. In fact, the blue and the white-collar workers have become economic puppets who dance to the tune of automated machines and bureaucratic management. The worker and employee are anxious, not only because they might find themselves out of a job; they are anxious also because they are unable to acquire any real satisfaction or interest in life. They live and die without ever having confronted the fundamental realities of human existence as emotionally and intellectually independent and productive human beings. Those higher up on the social ladder are no less anxious. Their lives are no less empty than those of their subordinates. They are even more insecure in some respects. They are in a highly competitive race. To be promoted or to fall behind is not a matter of salary but even more a matter of self-respect. When they apply for their first job, they are tested for intelligence as well as for the right mixture of submissiveness and independence. From that moment on they are tested again and again—by the psychologists, for whom testing is a big business, and by their superiors, who judge their behavior, sociability, capacity to get along, etc. This constant need to prove that one is as good as or better than one's fellow-competitor creates constant anxiety and stress, the very causes of unhappiness and illness. Am I suggesting that we should return to the preindustrial mode of production or to nineteenth century "free enterprise" capitalism? Certainly not. Problems are never solved by returning to a stage which one has already outgrown. I suggest transforming our social system for a bureaucratically managed industrialism in which maximal production and consumption are ends in themselves into a humanist industrialism in which man and full development of his potentialities—those of love and of reason—are the aims of all social arrangements. Production and consumption should serve only as means to this end, and should be prevented from ruling man.
单选题
By "a well-oiled cog in the machinery" the author intends to render the idea that man is______. A. a necessary part of the society though each individual's function is negligible B. working in complete harmony with the rest of the society C. an unimportant part in comparison with the rest of the society, though functioning smoothly D. a humble component of the society, especially when working smoothly
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】细节推理题。本题问作者用“机器中润滑良好的小齿轮”想表达什么观点。此处作者把现代社会中的人比作“a well-oiled cog in the machinery”(机器中润滑良好的齿轮)，暗指人在社会中所发挥的作用如同大机器中的小齿轮一样，虽然发挥功能，但其作用是微不足道的。这与[C]意思吻合，故为正确答案。[A]项“尽管每个人的作用微不足道，人仍然是社会不可分割的一部分”与原文不符；[B]项“人与社会的其余部分完全和睦相处”文章中未提到；[D]项“人是社会中一地位卑贱的零件，特别是工作顺利的时候”与内容不符。
单选题
The real cause of the anxiety of the workers and employees is that______. A. they are likely to lose their jobs B. they have no genuine satisfaction or interest in life C. they are faced with the fundamental realities of human existence D. they are deprived of their individuality and independence
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】细节题。本题问工人和职员忧虑的真正原因是什么。关键词是anxiety of workers…。文章第二段指出了工人和雇员忧虑的原因：一是可能失业(out of a job)，与[A]符合；二是对生活不能得到真正的满足和兴趣，与[B]符合。第三也是最深刻的原因，他们一生都没有感受到这样一个事实：自己在情感和智力上都是一个独立的、有创造力的人，与[D]“被剥夺了个性和独立性”一致；他们一生没有去面对人类生存中的根本现实，与[C]相反；[A]、[B]项只是部分原因，而[D]项也可能是造成A，B项的原因，因此表达了这一问题的真正原因，故[D]项为正确答案。
单选题
From the passage we can infer that real happiness of life belongs to those______. A. who are at the bottom of the society B. who are higher up in their social status C. who prove better than their fellow-competitors D. who could keep far away from this competitive world
单选题
To solve the present social problems the author suggests that we should______. A. resort to the production mode of our ancestors B. offer higher wages to the workers and employees C. enable man to fully develop his potentialities D. take the fundamental realities for granted