英文阅读：The quest for quality of life
At present I'm reading an autobiography by Lee Iacocca who is a legend inthe US auto industry.
Son of an immigrant Italian, who grew up during the Depression years, the
book makes good, inspiring reading and is suitable for any intermediate or above
student.
Though in his 80's, Iacocca (pronounced similar to "try a coke ah")
certainly shoots from the hip.
Inside many issues are tackled that would be of use to an English Language
test taker having to speak or write about globalization, pollution, energy,
environment, development, family and religion.
What stuck in my mind however was a comment he made regarding the necessity
for giving ourselves time away from work.
Remembering he is a multi millionaire, he writes that "except for periods
of real crisis I've never worked on Friday night, Saturday, or Sunday."
He then goes on to say that he is "constantly amazed by the number of
people who can't seem to control their own schedules" and ridicules high flying
business men who are too busy trying to make money rather than spending time
with family.
This really put me in a quandary and made me reflect.
To confess, unless I am really organized, over time spent at work isn't
that much more productive than if I had spent the usual 9-5 Mon – Fri hours on
the job.
At times I try to make myself feel good about the fact that I spend a lot
of time at work, but I wonder if sometimes, some days I have got it all
wrong.
For students and language learners possibly this is also true.
How often do you sit down to study but with no clear goal in mind, or with
no clear objective for the time? Nevertheless you make yourself feel good by
saying, "Oh I was in the library, or at my desk, or I had my books open?" And in
reality you spent a lot of time day dreaming, reading a magazine or surfing the
internet or just doing something completely unrelated to the real task?
I know the very nature of society, sees people work and study very hard,
but perhaps we need to ask ourselves if the time we are devoting is really that
effective, and if it is coming at the expense of other, just as important
activities?
Also as a society, the pressure to dedicate long hours at the office or in
the classroom may need to be looked at for its wide reaching implications on our
quality of life.
Of course the situation in 1960's baby boom America of which Iacocca was
apart of is far different to 2008 China – though our needs as people and as
families are still just as relevant.
I wonder if we have a choice and if we are able to work more effectively
with the time we have available?
For greatest efficiency and effectiveness, I find drawing up a list of "to
do's" at the start of every day, first thing when I get to work, really helps.
It also allows me to look back over my diary and assess where I have achieved
and where I have let things slip.
I also use a 4 colored pen that allows me to clearly detail different
projects and assignments and makes it easier for me to group tasks. So if you
open my diary you'll see it's a mess of red, green, blue and black, circles and
boxes and crossed out tasks.
As in work as in study, a good plan, a clear set of goals and the knowledge
of what we need to do to achieve those goals, can give us more chance at
success.
And if we listen to the multi millionaire 'Try a coke ahh' Iacocca, success
is more than money, it's about quality of life, which means friends, family and
free time to laugh and be happy.
Language Tips
• shoots from the hip = this refers to the old cowboys in the western
films, they were brave and fast and could shoot the bad guy very quick without
having to take their gun out of their belt, where it was still placed at their
hip, hence shoot from the hip; these days it means getting straight to the point
when you say something, to be direct e.g. "The teacher really shot from the hip
when she told Brendan he was a lazy student"
• issues are tackled = to tackle an issue means to address a subject, to
confront a topic, not just lightly but more deep and investigative, to really
explore for understanding e.g. "the Bush administration refuses to accept
ownership of the chaos and tragedy that has resulted from their invasion of
Iraq. They are not tackling the issues that they have created"
• quandary = dilemma, difficulty, problematic situation
• baby boom = The term baby boom most often refers to the dramatic
post-World War II increase in the number of births. People of this generation
experienced favorable economic conditions compared to earlier years.
• let things slip = when you do not complete duties, responsibilities,
chores etc properly, eg. I've been so lazy with my studies recently, I've really
let things slip and I am so far behind now.
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