Many people say that they are working too many hours. They don't have enough time to relax or to stay with their family.
Work hours are different from one country to another. In France, people spend about 1,646 hours a year at work. In Japan, however, people work about 2,159 hours a year. That means a Japanese worker works 513 more hours a year than a French worker.
Why do people work so many hours? Some people work
extra hours because they want to make more money. However, many companies don't pay overtime. Their workers don't get more pay for more work. Some people think it's their duty to work more hours. Some are afraid of losing their jobs if they don't work more hours.
Many people say that their vacations are too short. In France, people get five weeks of paid vacation a year. In Germany, they get four to six weeks, and in the United States, two weeks. One study shows fewer than half of workers used all their vacation days. In Great Britain, there is a saying, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull (迟钝的) boy." If that is true, there must be a lot of dull people in the world.
小题1:A Japanese worker works __ more hours a year than a French one.
| A．513 | B．1,646 | C．2,159 | D．3,805 |
小题2:The word "extra" in Paragraph 3 means ".
小题3:People in ________ get only two weeks of paid vacation a year.
| A．France | B．Germany |
| C．the United States | D．Great Britain |
小题4:Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．No companies offer vacations to their workers. |
| B．Many people say they have enough time to relax. |
| C．Not all companies pay their workers for more work. |
| D．More than half of workers use all their vacation days. |
小题5:What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Many workers have to work long hours. |
| B．Many people have vacations long enough. |
| C．Work hours are the same around the world. |
| D．There are a lot of dull people in the world. |
