| 任务型阅读：请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。 注意：每个空格只填一个单词。 | ||||||||||||||
| Among rich countries, people in the United States work the longest hours. They work much longer than in Europe. This difference is quite surprising because productivity per hour is the same in the United States as it is in France, Spain, and Germany, and it is growing at a similar speed. In most countries and at most times in history, as people have become richer they have chosen to work less. In other words, they have decided to "spend" a part of their extra income on a fuller personal life. Over the last fifty years Europeans have continued this pattern, and hours of work have fallen sharply. But this is not true in the United States. One reason may be lower taxes in America, which increase the rewards to work. Another may be more satisfying work, or less satisfying personal lives. Longer hours do of course increase the GDP (国内生产总值). The United States has more of its people at work, while in France many more mothers and older workers have decided to stay at home. The overall result is that America's GDP per head is 40% higher than in France, even though productivity per hour is the same. It's not clear which of the two situations is better. It is too early to explain the different trends in happiness over time in different countries. But it is a disappointing idea that in the United States happiness has made no progress since 1975, while it has risen in Europe. Could this have anything to do with trends in the work-life balance? | ||||||||||||||
|