Money played a great role in marriage—even an unhappy one. Approximately 18 percent of all those interviewed said they stayed married because they lacked money to get a divorce, while less than 8 percent said that financial strain in their marriage has caused them to divorce.
Lack of money also influenced education choices. Nearly one in four Americans has postponed or decided not to attend college because of financial pressures. Even with the sustained prosperity of the past eight years, Gen-Xers were most likely to have altered their college plans. A 39-year-old Hispanic billing clerk in New York spoke about how the need for money limited her teenager son's ability to take part in extracurricular activities that could increase his chances of getting into college. "Since age 14, my son's been working, and I think he is a superb person. Not having a lot of money has made him realize what work is all about. On the other hand, he was elected to go to a youth leadership conference in Washington, and I can't send him because I don't have the money. Lack of money takes away opportunities he otherwise could have had."
On the question of what money can and can't buy, a large majority of Americans said that money could buy "freedom to live as you choose", "excitement in life", and "less stress". In a number of follow-up interviews, many people commented that having extra money would immediately alleviate one source of profound stress—the need to work overtime. Those with college and graduate degrees were far more likely to believe that money can buy freedom, perhaps because better-educated people already have a wider array of choices. College educated professionals, for instance, were much more likely to consider wealth a way of financing travel, starting a business of their own, or funding charitable works in their communities.
A 55-year-old Hispanic woman in Los Angeles with a graduate degree and an income of more than $90,000 described a midlife career switch. After resigning from a high-level, high paying— but extremely stressful—civil service job, she became a florist. "After I started tearing my hair out," she said, "I decided to go into business for myself—flowers don't talk back."
Can money buy peace of mind? Fifty-two percent of Americans said no. "It all depends on what 'peace' means to you," observed a businesswoman in California who is nearing 60 and would like to retire at 62 and go back to college. "For my husband, peace of mind means working as long as he can and collecting the biggest possible pension. For me, it means knowing I've worked long enough so that I can afford to go after an old dream. I guess you should say that my peace of mind is his worry."
According to the writer, older Baby Boomer women went to work chiefly because ______.
A. there were more job opportunities
B. they were bored staying at home
C. they don't have enough money to buy their own house
D. life was costly
Which of the following sentences is NOT tree?
A. Oral evidence is unnecessary in France because the judges and prosecutors read the records.
B. When trial by ordeal was finally abandoned throughout Europe, trial by jury was introduced in Britain.
C. In the adversarial system, it is the lawyers who play the leading roles.
D. Lawyers in Britain are prepared to lie in order to win their cases.
As computer monitoring increases, there comes a concern for the types of effects it may have in the workplace. The article says: "By the end of the decade, as many as 30 million people may constantly be monitored in their jobs." As computer systems become so sophisticated, this number will drastically increase. As we enter this new age of technology, we must remember that with more power comes more responsibility by employers and employees alike. Knowledge can be used as a weapon or as a tool. For instance, monitoring abuse can be found in the situation of airline agents. The agents discovered that by keeping customers on hold while finishing their work they could gain an extra 5-minute break. In the future, employees who are accustomed to evading the monitoring system may no longer be able to tolerate it. These types of employees may find they can no longer survive the added pressure of not being able to evade the system.
While monitoring can add pressure to some employees, it can also be a relief to others. It is a relief to the employee, because it provides information readily at hand. With the use of prompts, acting as reminders to workers, the information needed is passed on efficiently allowing employees to do a better job. However, if prompts are used to tell an employee how much time has been wasted or how bad an employee is doing his job, it could cause the opposite effect. Monitoring can have a positive effect on workers by letting the employees access their own information. In a study, early information about job performance given by a computer is accepted better than a performance rating given by a boss. At this time, monitoring is based on the output of an employee's performance. In the future, there will be more freedom for employees to use their own ideas, therefore making monitoring more effective. One example of monitoring as a weapon is seen when a woman who took an extra minute in the bathroom was threatened with loosing her job. With this added stress she suffered a nervous breakdown. The company insisted that they were not "spying" but were only trying to improve their business. If monitoring is not used correctly, businesses will suffer with increases in operating costs because of increased turnover, absenteeism, medical costs and worker's compensation. Employers who use positive reinforcement with monitoring will guarantee better motivation.
Legislation has the potential to help employees with issues of better treatment and the fight to privacy. In the new century, companies that succeeded will be the ones who learn from the past and from the "me boss and you employee" mentality. A good blacksmith can take a hammer and forge a weapon into a tool that can benefit the whole village. Employers are the blacksmiths; employees are the hammers. Monitoring is the tool. It takes both to make a tool to benefit the future.
From Paragraph 1, we can learn that ______.
A. computer monitoring is basically used by people with bad intentions
B. computer monitoring is basically used by people with good intentions
C. computer monitoring is basically used by people with good and bad intentions
D. good intentions will give rise to abuse
According to the passage, left-handedness ______.
A. is discouraged but not discriminated against
B. hals caused discrimination as serious as sexism and racism
C. is a subject that has drawn more and more attention
D. is an advantage in running for public office