Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for. Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world. They feel that the long-hours work culture to make moremoney to buy more things is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes. Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting is one of them.
Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year. One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz. They used to work in central London. He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank. They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs(郊区), leaving their two children with a nanny（保姆）. Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock, and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings. They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by.
Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales. “I always wanted to have a farm here,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift. It’s taken some getting used to, but it’s been worth it. We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays. However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier.”
Liz, however, is not quite sure. “I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours. I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals. One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children. My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all.”
68. What do the first two paragraphs tell us?
A．People seldom work long hours to make money.
B．People hardly buy more things than necessary.
C．People are sure everything they own is in the right place.
D．People realize there is more to life than just making money.
69. Daniel and Liz both agree that the move to the farm.
A．was easy to organizeB. has improved family life
C．was extremely expensiveD. has been a total success
70. What does the underlined “it” in the last paragraph refer to?
A．Child-caring.B．Liz’s advice.
C．DownshiftingD．Liz’s job.
71. The underlined word “downshifting” in the second paragraph means.
A．repairing your car by yourselfB．spending money carefully
C．moving out to the countryside to live a simpler and better life
D．living in a big house in the suburbs and dining out once a week
D （平行班做，竞赛班不做）
Joanne Rowling was born in Bristol in England. Joanne always wanted to write and she wrote her first story when she was only five or six. It was a simple story about a rabbit and the title she gave it was Rabbit! At school her favorite subject was English and she used to make up stories with her friends. When she left school, she went to university and studied French. While there she studied in Paris for a year, and after leaving university, she had a variety of different jobs. However, most of all, she wanted to write! One day, during a long train journey, she got the idea of writing about a boy who is a wizard, but doesn’t know it.
In 1992, she left England to go to Portugal to teach English. While she was there she got married to a Portuguese journalist and she had a daughter, Jessica. The marriage ended in divorce and Joanne returned to live in Edinburgh in Scotland. She had very little money and she lived in a very small flat, which was often cold. She could not afford to pay to heat it. While she was there, she finished her story about Harry Potter, a young boy who is a wizard. At first, no one wanted to publish her book. Then, one day, in 1997, she found a publisher. She was very excited and happy!
Much to her surprise, her book was an instant success! It sold in millions! It won many awards and prizes! It made Joanne very rich and it made her famous. Everybody wanted to read about Harry Potter. Adults and children now read her books. Her stories have been translated into many languages, and they can now be read all over the world. Her first novel has now been made into a film. Joanne Rowling has written several more books about Harry Portter and all of them have sold millions of copies. Some of these later books are also being made into films.
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