（D）
As you move around your home, take a good
look at the things you have．It’s likely that your living room will have a television set and a
video, and your kitchen will have a washing machine and a microwave oven．Your bedroom drawers will be
filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need． You almost certainly own a car
and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out
at least once a week．
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-hour
work culture to make more money 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 more is involved in life than just making money．
69．Daniel agrees that the move to the farm __________．
A．was easy to
organize
B．has improved
family life
C．was extremely
expensive D．has been a total success
70．The underlined word "downshifting" in the second paragraph
means ________．
A．repairing your car by yourself
B．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
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