首页
登录
职称英语
[originaltext] Free-market capitalism hasn’t freed us; it has trapped us. It’
[originaltext] Free-market capitalism hasn’t freed us; it has trapped us. It’
游客
2023-08-08
69
管理
问题
Free-market capitalism hasn’t freed us; it has trapped us. It’s imperative for us to embrace a workplace revolution. We are unlikely to spend our last moments regretting that we didn’t spend enough of our lives slaving away at work. We may instead find ourselves feeling guilty about the time we didn’t spend watching our children grow, or with our loved ones, or travelling, or on the cultural or leisure pursuits that bring us happiness. Unfortunately, the average full-time employee in the world works 42 hours a week— well over a third of the time we’re awake. Some of our all too precious time is being stolen: office workers do around two billion hours of unpaid overtime each year. So it’s extremely welcome that some government coalitions have started looking into potentially cutting the working week to four days.
The champions of free-market capitalism promised their way of life would bring us freedom. But it wasn’t freedom at all: from the lack of secure, affordable housing to growing job insecurity and rising personal debt, the individual is trapped. Nine decades ago, leading economists predicted that technological advances and rising productivity would mean that we’d be working a 15-hour week by now: that target has been somewhat missed.
Here is the most malignant threat to our personal freedom, particularly as the balance of power in the workplace has been shifted so dramatically from worker to boss. A huge portion of our lives involves the surrender of our freedom and personal autonomy. It’s time in which we are directed by the needs and desires of others, and denied the right to make our own choices. That’s bad for us: it’s hardly surprising that over half a million workers suffer from work-related mental health conditions each year, or that 15.4 million working days were lost to work-related stress last year, a jump of nearly a quarter.
Yes, there are those who, far from being overworked, actually seek more hours. But a shorter working week would enable us to redistribute hours from the overworked to the underworked. We need to look at ways of cutting the working week without slashing living standards: after all, the world’s workers have already suffered the worst deduction in wages since the early 1800s. And cutting the working week would be conducive to the individual, giving millions of workers more time to spend as they see fit.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.
19. What do people often feel guilty about according to the speaker?
20. What did leading economists predict 90 years ago?
21. What is the result of denying workers’ right to make their own choices?
选项
A、Not playing a role in a workplace revolution.
B、Not benefiting from free-market capitalism.
C、Not earning enough money to provide for the family.
D、Not spending enough time on family life and leisure.
答案
D
解析
事实细节题。讲话者提到,在生命的最后时刻,我们不太可能因为没在工作上花足够的时间而遗憾,相反,我们可能会觉得内疚,因为我们没有花足够的时间看着孩子们成长,或与爱人相处,或去旅行,亦或去参与那些能给我们带来快乐的文化休闲活动。
转载请注明原文地址:http://tihaiku.com/zcyy/2909411.html
相关试题推荐
[originaltext]Manypeopledislikewalkingintothebank,standinginlongl
[originaltext]Yuppiesareyoungpeoplewhoearnalotofmoneyandlivein
[originaltext]M:Timetoeat!W:Coming.Oh,I’mstarving.Ohyuck!What’sthat
[originaltext]W:We’veallheardthesaying"Laughteristhebestmedicine"How
[originaltext]Asaresultofrisinguniversitycosts,manystudentsarefin
[originaltext]Asaresultofrisinguniversitycosts,manystudentsarefin
[originaltext]Asaresultofrisinguniversitycosts,manystudentsarefin
[originaltext]Weknowthatwehavetopayforwhatweget.Ifwebuyfood,
[originaltext]Weknowthatwehavetopayforwhatweget.Ifwebuyfood,
[originaltext]Weknowthatwehavetopayforwhatweget.Ifwebuyfood,
随机试题
Sincewearesocialbeings,thequalityofourlivesdependsinlargemeasur
Asapublicrelationsofficer,heissaid(know)______someveryinfluentialpeo
论述教育无目的论。(1)这个思想是谁提出的?请对这个人做简要介绍。(2)这个材料
施工图阶段,建筑专业需要提供的设计文件包含( )。A.封皮、图纸目录、设计图纸
A
关于测绘仪器设备保管的说法,错误的是() A.仪器箱内放人
患者女性,67岁。有肺心病病史20年,此次因两周前受凉后,出现咳嗽、咳黄脓痰、呼
价格歧视实质上是一种价格差异,通常指商品或服务的提供者在同一时间向不同的接受者提
下面四个图形中,只有一个是由上面的四个图形拼合(只能通过上、下、左、右平移)而成
房室传导阻滞发展到二度或三度时宜用A.非同步直流电除颤 B.同步直流电复律
最新回复
(
0
)