When I decided to quit my full time employment it never occurred to me that I might become a part of a new international trend. A lateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress prompted me to abandon my relatively high profile career although, in the manner of a disgraced government minister, I covered my exit by claiming I wanted to spend more time with my family.
Curiously, some two-and-a-half years and two novels later, my experiment in what the Americans term downshifting has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality. I have been transformed from a passionate advocate of the philosophy of have it all, preached by Linda Kelsey for the past seven years in the pages of she magazine, into a woman who is happy to settle for a bit of everything.
I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build-up of stress, that abandoning the doctrine of juggling your life, and making the alternative move into downshifting brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status. Nothing could persuade me to return to the kind of life Kelsey used to advocate and I once enjoyed: 12-hour working days, pressured deadlines, the fearful strain of office politics and the limitations of being a parent on quality time.
In America, the move away from juggling to a simpler, less materialistic lifestyle is a well-established trend. Downshifting—also known in America as voluntary simplicity—has, ironically, even bred a new area of what might be termed anti-consumerism. There are a number of bestselling downshifting self-help books for people who want to simplify their lives; there are newsletters, such as The Tightwad Gazette, that give hundreds of thousands of Americans useful tips on anything from recycling their cling-film to making their own soap; there are even support groups for those who want to achieve the mid-'90s equivalent of dropping out.
While in America the trend started as a reaction to the economic decline—after the mass redundancies caused by downsizing in the late 80s—and is still linked to the politics of thrift, in Britain, at least among the middle class downshifters of my acquaintance, we have different reasons for seeking to simplify our lives.
For the women of my generation who were urged to keep juggling through the 80s, downshifting in the mid-90s is not so much a search for the mythical good life—growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one—as a personal recognition of your limitations.
67. Which of the following is true according to paragraph 1?
[A] Full-time employment is a new international trend.
[B] The writer was compelled by circumstances to leave her job.
[C] A lateral move means stepping out of full-time employment.
[D] The writer was only too eager to spend more time with her family.
68. The writer's experiment shows that downshifting ________.
[A] enables her to realize her dream
[B] helps her mold a new philosophy of life
[C] prompts her to abandon her high social status
[D] leads her to accept the doctrine of She magazine
69. Juggling one's life probably means living a life characterized by ________.
[A] non-materialistic lifestyle
[B] a bit of everything
[C] extreme stress
[D] anti-consumerism
70. According to the passage, downshifting emerged in the US as a result of ________.
curiously /5kjuEriEsli/（好奇地；奇怪地）←curious+ly；curious（好奇的；奇怪的）即curi+ous，curi关心=care（因为元音可替换），-ous形容词后缀有……性质的，故对某事非常关心的→好奇的。It is a curious fact that in bad days we can very vividly recall the good time that is now no more； but that in good days we have only a very cold and imperfect memory of the bad.一个奇怪的事实是，在失意的日子里，我们能够生动地想起不复存在的美好时光；而在得意的时候，对苦难的日子却只留有非常淡漠而残缺的记忆。←这是德国哲学家叔本华说的，其代表作《作为意志与表象的世界》是guangxian最欣赏的哲学作品，商务印书馆出过中译本。
passionate /5pAFEnit/（充满热情的）即passion+ate，passion（激情；暴怒），-ate此作形容词后缀。A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.一个诗人首先是个热爱语言的人。Death is the only pure， beautiful conclusion of a great passion.死是伟大激情的唯一纯洁与美丽的终结。Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong. have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge and the unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.有三种情感，虽朴实却无可抗拒地主宰着我的生命：对爱的渴望，对知识的探求，以及对人类所受苦难的怜悯。Passion is in all great searches and is necessary to all creative endeavours.激情存在于一切伟大的追求中，对所有创造性的活动都是必不可少的。
preach /pri：tF/（v.鼓吹；布道）可看作pr（e）+each，pre-前缀在前，each每个，牧师走到每个人面前→布道。Preach not because you have to say something， but because you have something to say.布道不是由于你不得不说些什么，而是由于你有些话要说。
resignation /7rezi^5neiFEn/（辞职；顺从）←resign+ation名词后缀；resign（v.辞职；顺从）←re+sign，re-前缀=away或=again，sign签署，故签署后离开→辞职，再次签署→顺从。What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.所谓顺从就是确定了的绝望。no resign oneself to being defeated不甘心于失败。
doctrine /5dCktrin/（教义；学说）←doctr+ine，doctr=doctor（元音可增减），-ine名词后缀表物，故教授拿来讲授的东西→教义。参vaccine（疫苗），2003年Text 2.The wisest man preaches no doctrines； he has no scheme.最大的智者不鼓吹任何学说，没有任何体系。
equivalent /i5kwivElEnt/（相等的，等价的；相等物，等价物）即equi+val+ent，equi相等（如：equal相等的），val价值（如：value价值），-ent后缀。In truth， politeness is artificial good humor， it covers the natural want of it， and ends by rendering habitual a substitute nearly equivalent to the real virtue.礼貌实际上是人为的好性情，它掩盖了它天生的不足，结果给惯于此道者提供了与真正美德几乎相当的代用品。
drop out退隐，逃避现实。
redundancy /ri5dQndEnsi/（冗余）即red+und+ancy，red-（=re-），und词根多，-ancy名词后缀，越来越（re）多→冗余。同根词：abundant（丰富的）←ab加强前缀+und多+ant形容词后缀。redundancy—an air-bag in a politician‘s car多余物-政治家汽车里的保险气袋。
thrift /Wrift/（节俭；繁荣）可记：节俭导致繁荣；thrifty（节俭的；繁荣的）←thrift+y形容词后缀。thrift→thrive（v.繁荣），类似变化的单词有theft（n.偷）→thieve（v.偷）。It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow.节俭就是今天为明天的需要作准备。
mythical /5miWikEl/（神话的；虚构的）←myth神话+ical后缀。myth—a religion in which no one any longer believes神话-一种没有人再信仰的宗教。
recognition /7rekE^5niFEn/（n.认出，承认）是recognise（或recognize）的名词形式。Three fundamental truths without a recognition of which there can be no effective liberty： that what we believe is not necessarily true； that what we like is not necessarily good； and that all questions are open.有三条基本真理，如果不承认就不会有实在的自由：我们相信的未必真实，我们喜爱的未必美好，一切问题都无定论。The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control thoughts.道德修养有可能达到的最高境界是认识到我们应该控制自己的思想。A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become known， then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.所谓名人不过是这样一种人：他终生勤奋努力而致成名，然后戴上墨镜以免被别人认出。
adventurous /Ed5ventFErEs/（喜冒险的；充满危险的）←adventur（e）冒险+ous形容词后缀。A good critic is one who narrates the adventures of his mind among masterpieces.好的批评家是个讲述自己的精神在杰作中历险的人。adventure—the vitaminizing element in histories both in dividual and social冒险-个人历史和社会历史中的维生素。
难句解析：
①A lateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress promoted me to abandon my relatively high profile career alhough， in the manner of a disgraced government ministe， I covered my exit by claiming I wanted to spend more time with my family。▲本句中a lateral move是主语，promoted是谓语，that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress是a lateral move的定语，although， in the manner of a disgraced government minister， I covered my exit by claiming I wanted to spend more time with my family是状语，其中逗号之间的in the manner of a disgraced government minister是插入语。
△注意找准主句主谓结构。
②Curiously， some two-and-a-half years and two novels later， my experiment in what the Americans term downshifting has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality.▲本句主干是…… my experiment…… has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality.注意其谓语是一个turn sth. into sth.的结构。前面两个逗号之间的是时间状语。
△注意抓句子的主干，其中主语的修饰部分in what the Americans term downshifting看不懂可以跳过去。当然，如果我们对英语的预感较好，就可以猜测downshifting一词的意思与驾驶骑车有关，在这里，作者把生活比喻为开车，因此放弃对物质生活的热衷追求就像在开车时减档减速一样。
③I have discovered， as perhaps Kelsey will after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build-up of stress， that abandoning the doctrine of juggling your life， and making the alternative move into downshifting brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status.▲I have discovered是主句的主谓结构，that abandoning the doctrine of juggling your life， and making the alternative move into downshifting brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status是主句的宾语，其中abandoning the doctrine of juggling your life， and making the alternative move into downshifting为该宾语从句的主语，brings为谓语。as perhaps Kelsey will after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build-up of stress既是伴随状语，又是插入语，其主语为Kelsey，谓语为will，而after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build-up of stress是本插入语中的时间状语。
△注意一些词汇的含义：much-publicized十分张扬的；She是杂志的名字，因此首字母须大写；build-up积聚；juggling忙碌；brings with it far greater rewards than带来的利益远远不止……。
④Downshifting—also known in America as voluntary simplicity—has， ironically， even bred a new area of what might be termed anti-consumerism.▲本句的句子结构是Downshifting has bred a new area，破折号之间的是插入结构，ironically也是插入语，可放在句首，what相当于thought which.
△重点是抓住句子的主干成分。
⑤While in America the trend started as a reaction to the economic decline—after the mass redundancies caused by downsizing in the late ‘80s—and is still linked to the politics of thrift， in Britain， at least among the middle-class downshifters of my acquaintance， we have different reasons for seeking to simplify our lives.▲本句首先应该从in Britain的前面一分为二，前面讲的是在美国的情况，其中破折号之间的是一插入成分，而后面讲的是在英国的情况。
△注意英美两国的差异。
⑥For the women of my generation who were urged to keep juggling through the ‘80s， downshifting in the mid-’90s is not so much a search for the mythical good life—growing your own organic vegetables， and risking turning into one—as a personal recognition of your limitations.▲本句主谓结构为…… downshifting in the mid-‘90s is not……。who were urged to keep juggling through the ’80s是修饰the women of my generation的定语从句。growing your own organic vegetables， and risking turning into one既是插入语，又是the mythical good life的同位语。
△注意not so much A（a search for the mythical good life） as B（a personal recognition of your limitations）的句式含义，即与其说是A，不如说是B。
juggle的原义是耍弄，摆弄，在第三段中，juggling your life和downshifting相提并论，而downshifting这里应该和第二段第二句中的settle for a bit of everything属于同义，相应地，juggling one‘s life应该和第二段第二句中的having it all同义。根据第四段，downshifting本文指过简朴、自在的生活，那么，juggling one’s life当指进取的生活方式，工作中的不断进取当然是与工作压力成正比的。
