“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。
40. 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]。
难句解析：
1. A lateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress promoted 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”。
【结构分析】 本句的主句是“a lateral move promoted me to abandon my relatively high profile career”。“although”引导一个让步状语从句。“that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress”是“a lateral move”的定语，“in the manner of a disgraced government minister”是插入语，表示方式。
2. 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。
【结构分析】 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。“some two-and-a-half years and two novels later”是时间状语。“what”引导一个宾语从句。
3. 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。
