IV. Reading Comprehension (40 points) (A) So far as I know, Miss Hannah was the first person to give the basic difference between work and labor. To be happy, a man must feel, firstly, free and secondly, important. He cannot be really happy if he is forced by society to do what he does not enjoy doing, or what he enjoys doing lowly thought of by society as valueless or unimportant. In a society where slavery in the strict sense has been got rid of, the sign that what a man does is of social value is that he is paid money to do it, but a laborer today can rightly be called a wage slave. A man is a laborer if the job that society offers him is not interesting to himself but he has to take it just owing to the necessity of earning a living and supporting his family. The opposite side to labor is play. When we play a game, we enjoy what we are doing, otherwise we should not play it, but it is a purely private activity; and society could not care less whether we play it or not. Between labor and play stands work. A man is a worker if he is personally interested in the job which society pays him to do; what from the point view of society is necessary labor is from his own point of view willing play. Whether a job is to be classified as labor or work depends, not on the job itself, but on the tastes of the individual who does it. The difference does not, for example, agree with the difference between a physical and a mental job; a gardener or a copper may be a worker, a bank clerk is a laborer. Which a man is can be seen from his attitude toward leisure. To a worker, leisure means simply the hours he needs to relax and rest in order to work efficiently. He is therefore more likely to take too little leisure than too much; workers die of heart attack and forget their wives' birthday. To the laborer, on the other hand, leisure means freedom from compulsion(强迫), so that it is natural for him to imagine that the fewer hours he has to spend laboring, and the more hours he is free to play, the better. 56. A man feels happy when ____________. A. he is supposed to do what is important in his opinion B. he has to take a job to earn a living and support his family C. he is doing something personally interesting and socially valuable D. what he enjoys doing is what he thinks highly of 57. The reason why a laborer can be called a wage slave is that ___________. A. he has a family to support B. his wages are as low as what a slave used to make C. society doesn't care whether he plays or not D. he is doing the job only for money, not for interest 58. Whether a job can be classified as labor or work depends on _____________. A. whether it is a physical or mental B. the tastes of the person who does it C. the attitude of the society toward it D. the necessity of the job to the society and individual 59. Which of the following can be the best title of the text? A. Whether to Work or to Play B. Work, Labor, and Play C. Differences between Labor and Play D. Leisure, Key to Work, Labor and Play |