2015年高考(上海卷)英语听力真题 短文(2)

 

We are hearing a lot these days about downshifting. So what is it?

现在，我们常常听到“慢生活”这个说法，那它到底是什么意思呢？

The term "downshifting" first appeared in 1994.

“慢生活”这个词第一次出现是在1994年。

It was coined by the Trans-research Institute to describe a new philosophy by which higher achievers at work chose a lower salary in exchange for a better quality of life.

由跨研究院创造，用来形容一种新的生活哲学，即高薪人士选择较低收入的工作以换取更高质量的生活。

According to a recent study, 4 out of 10 people under 35 years old are planning to downshift from stressful jobs to a slower pace of life.

根据最近的一项调查，40%的35岁以下的人正打算放弃充满压力的工作，而转向慢节奏的生活。

It's not just the dream of the young.

这不仅是年轻人的梦想。

It is also popular with 35 to 54-year-olds, 12% of whom are making plans to downshift, 16% hoping to have down so in the next two years.

这种观念在35岁至54岁的人中也很流行。这个年龄段中，12%的人正在计划着放慢生活节奏，而16%的人希望能在2年后实现慢生活。

The study found that 7% of workers had already downshifted.

调查发现，7%的工作人士已经实现了慢生活。

Doctor Lucy Grand, a psychologist looking at the phenomenon, believes that downshifting is a dream that more and more people want to turn into a reality.

看到这种现象，心理学家露西·格兰德博士相信，慢生活是越来越多人想要变成现实的一个梦想。

People are not satisfied with their lives, and they want to make changes.

人们不满足于他们的生活，他们想要做一些改变。

However, Doctor Grand adds that some people will hesitate because they don't actually believe they can make it happen,

露西·格兰德博士还说，然而一些人会有所犹豫，因为他们其实不相信自己能够实现这个梦想，

while others will rush into downshifting to discover that their dream ends up with the financial crisis¹.

而另一些人急着实现慢生活的梦想，却最终陷入财政危机。

So it's something that requires a lot of thought and planning to get right.

因此，这是一个需要足够的思考和计划才能实现的梦想。

高考大纲3500单词卡片及默写本点击购买

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。