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 best-selling 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.

1. 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.

2. 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 

3. “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

4. According to the passage, downshifting emerged in the U.S. as a result of _________.
[A]the quick pace of modern life
[B]man’s adventurous spirit
[C]man’s search for mythical experiences
[D]the economic situation

1. Which of the following is true according to paragraph 1? 根据第一段，下文哪一个是正确的？
[A] Full-time employment is a new international trend. 全职工作是一个新的国际趋势。
[B] The writer was compelled by circumstances to leave her job. 作者因为环境所迫而辞职。
[C]“A lateral move” means stepping out of full-time employment. “平级调动”指的是退出全职工作。
[D] The writer was only too eager to spend more time with her family. 作者太渴望多花点时间来陪伴家人了。
【答案】 B
【考点】 事实细节题。
【分析】 根据第一段，当决定辞去自己的全职工作时作者绝对没有想到自己竟然变成了一种新的国际性潮流的一部分。作者写道“一次平行的调动伤了我的自尊，并阻碍了我的事业发展，这促使我放弃自己地位较高的职业，就像面子扫尽的政府部长那样，我也掩饰自己的离开，以‘我想花更多的时间与家人待在一起’为借口”。因此我们可以得出结论，作者是“被迫离开的”。答案为[B]。第一句中所说的“新时尚”实际上指下文提到的“放松生活节奏”，因此[A]错误。[C]指的是平行调动，而不是退出工作。[D]仅仅是作者的一个借口。

2. The writer’s experiment shows that downshifting _______. 作者的实验表明“放慢生活节奏”_______。
[A] enables her to realize her dream 使她能够实现她的梦想
[B] helps her mold a new philosophy of life 帮助她塑造一种新的人生哲学
[C] prompts her to abandon her high social status 迫使她放弃了自己很高的社会地位
[D] leads her to accept the doctrine of She magazine 使她接受了《她》杂志的教义(所倡导的生活观)
【答案】 B
【考点】 事实细节题。
【分析】 根据题干可以定位到第二段第二句，作者这个被美国人称为“放慢生活节奏”的试验，却使自己老掉牙的借口变成了现实。作者已经从一个“占有一切”哲学(琳达·凯茜过去七年中在《她》这本杂志所宣扬的)的狂热支持者，变成了一个乐于接受任何东西，凡事只要一丁点的女人。[A]不对，因为新的生活方式是从来没有想过的。[C]的错误在于她放弃很高的社会地位不是因为这个实验。[D]错在作者后来自己放弃了这一生活哲学。

3.“Juggling one’s life” probably means living a life characterized by _________. “Juggling one’s life”这个词组指的是过一种_________的生活。
[A]non-materialistic lifestyle 非物质主义生活方式
[B]a bit of everything 什么都有一点
[C]extreme stress 压力极大
[D]anti-consumerism 反消费主义
【答案】 C
【考点】 词义题。
【分析】 根据“juggle”一词可以定位到文中第三段，文中提到放弃“juggling your life”的生活哲学，转而过一种“downshifting”的生活所带来的回报，比经济成功和社会地位更有价值。“juggling your life”和“downshifting”相对立，因此可以推断“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“过于简朴、自在的生活”，那么“juggling one’s life”当指“紧张的生活方式”。[A]是“downshifting”的生活特点。[B]也是“downshifting”的生活特点。[D] “反消费主义”与“自愿过简朴的生活”是一致的。仍然是“downshifting”的生活特点。

4. According to the passage, downshifting emerged in the U.S. as a result of _________.根据本文，美国出现的“放慢生活节奏”是______的结果。
[A]the quick pace of modern life 现代生活的快节奏
[B]man’s adventurous spirit 人类的冒险精神
[C]man’s search for mythical experiences 人类寻求神秘经历的追求
[D]the economic situation 经济状况
【答案】 D
【考点】 事实细节题。
【分析】 之所以出现“downshifting”的生活方式，各国原因不一样，这一点在最后两段提到了。但是作者问的是美国的情况，而且用的“emerge”这个单词，因此可以认为答题点就是“在美国，这种趋势一开始是对经济衰落所做出的一种反应”。因此可以判断答案为[D]。