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新东方网英语四级频道为大家整理了英语四级听力美文，希望可以为大家带来帮助，一起来学习吧。
2017年12月英语四级听力美文100篇
Leisure and Boredom
Technology and the division of labour have done two things: by eliminating
in many fields theneed for special strength or skill, they have made a very
large number of paid occupationswhich formerly were enjoyable work into boring
labour, and by increasing productivity theyhave reduced the number of necessary
labouring of the population, that is to say, itslabourers, will have almost as
much leisure as in earlier times was enjoyed by the aristocracy.
It seems interesting and relaxing good news at the first sight, but when
one recalls howaristocracies in the past actually behaved, the prospect is not
cheerful.
The past aristocracies invented a lot of activities to make fun out of
boredom, however, theproblem of dealing with boredom may be even more difficult
for such a future mass societythan it was for aristocracies. The latter, for
example, ritualized their time; there was a season toshoot grouse, a season to
spend in town, a season to hold a lot of parties, etc.
The masses are more likely to replace an unchanging ritual by fashion which
it will be in theeconomic interest of certain people to change as often as
possible.
Again, the masses cannot go in for hunting, for very soon there would be no
animals left tohunt. For other aristocratic amusements like gambling, dueling,
and warfare, it may be onlytoo easy to find equivalents in dangerous driving,
drug-taking, and senseless acts of violence. Workers seldom commit acts of
violence, because they can put their aggression into theirwork, be it physical
like the work of a smith, or mental like the work of a scientist or an artist.
The role of aggression in mental work is aptly expressed by the phrase “getting
one’s teethinto a problem”.
2017年12月英语四级听力美文100篇
英语四级必备工具：测测你的词汇量能过四级吗 |
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发表于 2017-10-31 23:20:59