高一英语拓展阅读材料2014-3-27 Read the passage quickly and answer the questions: 1.What sets Spain apart from the rest of Europe according to this article?
2.Do all Spanish people enjoy the work schedule?
3.Why did the Spanish parliament recommend to turn back the clocks by one hour?
4.What actions does the Spanish government take?
Spain’s Long Lunch
What sets Spain apart from the rest of Europe?
It might be “siestas”, the three-hour lunch break that is customary (惯例的) in the country.
The Spanish start work at 8 or 9 am., but in the early afternoon they usually take a three-hour break. After lunch,
people can be seen napping in cars or on benches. During hot summer afternoons, Spanish village streets are often totally deserted (空寂无人的).
When they return to their offices at 4 pm, Spanish workers often have to make up for the lost time by working until 8 or 9 pm. So, while most other Europeans are sound asleep, Spaniards are still having dinner or watching television.
“Everything in Spain happens later, from meal times to broadcast (电视节目) entertainment,” described AP.
“This work schedule (时间安排) is a Spanish cultural vice(恶习),” said Nuria Chinchilla, head of the International Center on Work and Family at the University of Navarra in Barcelona. “Changing to the European schedule should be the most urgent (紧急的) project for the government.”
Many Spanish people complain about their never-ending workdays, and some even think the issue has affected (影响) the country’s development.
“In Spain we sleep almost an hour less than the World Health Organization recommends,” lawmakers in the Spanish parliament wrote in a proposal. “This has a negative effect on productivity, stress, accidents and school dropout rates（辍学率）.”
That’s why, last September, they recommended that the government turn back the clocks by one hour. Under the proposed new schedule, the lunchtime break would be cut to an hour or less. And a regular eight-hour workday would be introduced.
However, some doubt that changing the time zone would cause low productivity, which comes
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more from the country’s service-oriented economy (服务型经济), according to Maria Angeles Durant, a sociologist with the Spanish National Research Council.
But Ignacio Buqueras, the president of the Association for the Rationalization of Spanish Working Hours, told The New York Times that “changing the Spanish schedule would allow families more free time together and boost(推动) Spain’s economy.”
The Spanish government is treating the campaign seriously, but it hasn’t taken any action yet, reported The New York Times.
Spain’s siesta is not actually a product of its relaxed Mediterranean (地中海的) culture. At the start of the 20th century, Spain had the same working hours as many parts of Europe. It was during World War II that the country moved the clocks forward to align (结盟) them with those of Nazi Germany.
The same thing happened in Portugal. After the defeat of Hitler, Portugal returned to Greenwich Mean Time（格林威治标准时间）, but Spain did not. Decide whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE. ( )1. The work schedule is the only fact that sets Spain apart from the rest of Europe. ( )2. The Spanish , who work 12 hours a day , start work at 8 or 9 am.
( )3. Many Spanish people don’t think that it is a good work schedule and want to change it to the European schedule.
( )4. The Spanish government doesn’t pay great attention to the campaign and it hasn’t taken any action yet.
( )5. The Spanish work schedule dates back to the World War II. Find the phrases according to their Chinese meaning 1.将…区分开 3.对…抱怨 5.采取任何行动
Translate the underlined sentences into Chinese ①___________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ ②___________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ ③___________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________
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2.弥补
4.对…有负面影响
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1.It might be “siestas”, the three-hour lunch break that is customary in the country. 2.No, many Spanish people complain about their never-ending workdays.
3.Spanish people sleep almost an hour less than the World Health Organization recommends, which has a negative effect on productivity, stress, accidents and school dropout rates. 4.None -- it hasn’t taken any action yet. 3,5T
1.set… apart 2.make up for 3.complain about 4.have a negative effect on 5.take any action
1.当他们下午四点钟回到办公室的时候，西班牙人不得不工作到晚上八点到九点，来弥补失去的时间。所以，在其他欧洲人都已经睡熟的时候，西班牙人正在吃晚饭或看电视。 2.根据提议的新时间表，午餐时间将会缩减到一个小时或更短。西班牙将引进八小时的工作时间。
3.二战期间，这个国家为了与纳粹德国结盟，把时钟调快了一小时。
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