歷年考研英語閱讀理解2000年04

[00:03.34]2000 Passage4 [00:07.54]Aimlessness has hardly been typical of the postwar Japan [00:11.47]whose productivity and social harmony [00:14.20]are the envy of the United States and Europe. [00:17.42]But increasingly the Japanese are seeing a decline [00:20.54]of the traditional work-moral values. [00:24.14]Ten years ago young people were hardworking [00:27.69]and saw their jobs as their primary reason for being, [00:31.32]but now Japan has largely fulfilled its economic needs, [00:35.46]and young people don't know where they should go next. [00:39.50]The coming of age of the postwar baby boom [00:42.73]and an entry of women [00:44.33]into the male-dominated job market [00:46.55]have limited the opportunities of teen-agers [00:49.29]who are already questioning the heavy personal sacrifices [00:53.01]involved in climbing Japan's rigid social ladder to [00:56.58]good schools and jobs. [00:59.00]In a recent survey, it was found [01:01.42]that only 24.5 percent of Japanese students [01:05.35]were fully satisfied with school life, [01:07.98]compared with 67.2 percent of students in the United States. [01:13.57]In addition, far more Japanese workers expressed dissatisfaction [01:18.21]with their jobs than did their counterparts [01:21.03]in the 10 other countries surveyed. [01:23.86]While often praised by foreigners [01:26.28]for its emphasis on the basics, [01:28.39]Japanese education tends to stress test taking [01:32.22]and mechanical learning over creativity and self-expression. [01:36.66]"Those things that do not show up in the test scores-- [01:39.80]personality, ability, courage [01:42.13]or humanity --are completely ignored," [01:45.65]says Toshiki Kaifu, chairman of the ruling [01:48.68]Liberal Democratic Party's education committee." [01:52.65]Frustration against this kind of thing [01:54.97]leads kids to drop out and run wild." [01:58.40]Last year Japan experienced 2,125 incidents [02:03.84]of school violence, [02:05.66]including 929 assaults on teachers. [02:09.49]Amid the outcry, many conservative leaders [02:12.71]are seeking a return to the prewar emphasis [02:15.23]on moral education. [02:18.25]Last year Mitsuo Setoyama, [02:21.18]who was then education minister, [02:23.71]raised eyebrows when he argued [02:25.48]that liberal reforms introduced [02:27.69]by the American occupation authorities after World War Ⅱ [02:31.24]had weakened the [02:31.94]"Japanese morality of respect for parents." [02:36.27]But that may have more to do [02:38.19]with Japanese life-styles. [02:40.11]"In Japan," says educator Yoko Muro, [02:43.23]"it's never a question of [02:44.98]whether you enjoy your job and your life, [02:47.40]but only how much you can endure." [02:49.63]With economic growth has come centralization; [02:53.57]fully 76 percent of Japan's 119 million citizens [02:58.91]live in cities where community [03:01.02]and the extended family have been abandoned [03:03.65]in favor of isolated, [03:05.04]two-generation households. Urban Japanese [03:09.17]have long endured lengthy commutes [03:11.69](travels to and from work) and crowded living conditions, [03:16.66]but as the old group and family values weaken, [03:19.98]the discomfort is beginning to tell. [03:22.81]In the past decade, the Japanese divorce rate, [03:26.26]while still well below that of the United States, [03:29.29]has increased by more than 50 percent, [03:32.22]and suicides have increased by nearly one-quarter.

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