5．Why do people feel so rushed？Part of this is a perception （認(rèn)知） problem．Generally，people in rich countries have more free time than they used to．This is particularly true in Europe，but even in America free time has been inching up．Women's paid work has risen a lot over this period，but their time in unpaid work，like cooking and cleaning，has fallen even more significantly，thanks in part to dishwashers，washing machines and microwaves，and also to the fact that men shift themselves a little more around the house than they used to．
The problem，then，is less how much time people have than how they see it．Ever since a clock was first used at a workplace to record labor hours in the 18th century，time has been understood in relation to money．Once hours are financially quantified （量化），people worry more about wasting，but tend to save or use them more profitably．When economies grow and incomes rise，everyone's time becomes more valuable．And the more valuable something becomes，the rarer it seems．
Once seeing their time in terms of money，people often grow stingy with the former to maximize the latter．Workers who are paid by the hour volunteer less of their time and tend to feel more upset when they are not working．
The relationship between time，money and anxiety is something Gary Becker noticed in America's post-war boom years．"If anything，time is used more carefully today than a century ago，"he noted in 1965．He found that when people are paid more to work，they tend to work longer hours，because working becomes a more profitable use of time．So the rising value of work time puts pressure on all time．Leisure time starts to seem more stressful，as people are forced to use it wisely or not at all．
55．Women's time in unpaid work has fallen partly becauseC．
A．women become more skilled at household equipment
B．men's ability to support a family has been improved
C．men's involvement in housework has increased
D．women's leisure time was taken up by heavy housework
56．From the second paragraph，we learn thatD．
A．The rise of incomes makes time less valuable
B．labor hours were recorded with a clock
C．people haven't realized the value of time
D．more work hours bring in more money
57．The underlined phrase grow stingy with can probably be replaced by"A"．
A．hesitate to spend
B．refuses to delay
C．intend to kill
D．try to accumulate
58．According to Gary Becker，what causes people feel anxious about time？D
A．More and more leisure time．
B．The wrong way of time being spent．
C．People's willingness to work hard．
D．The increasing value of work time．
分析 本文是一篇社會現(xiàn)象類文章，講述了人們生活節(jié)奏越來越快的原因，主要是因為時間被賦予的價值越來越高，人們工作的時間越長，得到的報酬越多，因此活得非常忙碌．
解答 55．C．細(xì)節(jié)分析題．根據(jù)文章第一段Women's paid work has risen a lot over this period，but their time in unpaid work，like cooking and cleaning，has fallen even more significantly，thanks in part to dishwashers，washing machines and microwaves，and also to the fact that men shift themselves a little more around the house than they used to可知女性在家務(wù)中花費(fèi)的時間變少主要是因為與以前相比，男性更多的承擔(dān)了家務(wù)，故選C．
56．D．細(xì)節(jié)分析題．根據(jù)第二段When economies grow and incomes rise，everyone's time becomes more valuable．And the more valuable something becomes，the rarer it seems可知人們的工作時間越長，報酬越高，選D．
57．A．推理判斷題．根據(jù)文章第三段Once seeing their time in terms of money，people often grow stingy with the former to maximize the latter并結(jié)合上下文可知，因為時間與金錢掛鉤，人們開始變得比之前吝嗇花費(fèi)時間，故選A．
58．D．推理判斷題．文章末段提到So the rising value of work time puts pressure on all time．Leisure time starts to seem more stressful，as people are forced to use it wisely or not at all由此判斷gary認(rèn)為工作時間的價值變高使得人們變得焦慮，故選D．
點(diǎn)評 考察學(xué)生的細(xì)節(jié)理解和推理判斷能力，做細(xì)節(jié)理解題時一定要找到文章中的原句，和題干進(jìn)行比較，再做出正確的選擇．在做推理判斷題不要以個人的主觀想象代替文章的事實(shí)，要根據(jù)文章事實(shí)進(jìn)行合乎邏輯的推理判斷．
