大学英语四级阅读篇-Unit.doc

Unit Thirt?y-One Passa?ge 1 Work and Play What do we mean by leisu?re, and why shoul?d we assum?e that it repre?sents? a probl?em to be solve?d by the arts? The great? ages of art were not consp?icuou?s for their? leisu?re—at least?, art was not an activ?ity assoc?iated? with leisu?re. It was a craft? like any other?, conce?rned with the makin?g of neces?sary thing?s. Leisu?re, in the prese?nt meani?ng of the word, did not exist?. Leisu?re, befor?e the Indus?trial? Revol?ution?, meant? no more than time or oppor?tunit?y; If your leisu?re serve?d, I would? speak? with you. says one of Shake?spear?es chara?cters?. Phras?es which? we still? use, such as at your leisu?re, prese?rve this origi?nal meani?ng. But when we speak? of leisu?re nowad?ays, we are not think?ing of secur?ing time or oppor?tunit?y to do somet?hing; time is heavy? on our hands?, and the probl?em is how to fill it. Leisu?re no longe?r signi?fies a space? with some diffi?culty? secur?ed again?st the press?ure of event?s: rathe?r it is a perva?sive empti?ness for which? we must inven?t occup?ation?s. Leisu?re is a vacuu?m, a despe?rate state? of vacan?cy—a vacan?cy of mind and body. It has been comma?ndeer?ed ( 强占) by the socio?logis?ts and the psych?ologi?sts: it is a probl?em. Our diurn?al exist?ence is divid?ed into two phase?s, as disti?nct as day and night?. We call them work and play. We work so many hours? a day, and, when we have allow?ed the neces?sary minim?um for such activ?ities? as eatin?g and shopp?ing, the rest we spend? in vario?us activ?ities? which? are known? as recre?ation?s, an elega?nt word which? disgu?ises the fact that we usual?ly do not even play in our hours? of leisu?re, but spend? them in vario?us forms? of passi?ve enjoy?ment or enter?tainm?ent—not footb?all but watch?ing footb?all match?es; not actin?g, but theat?re-going?; not walki?ng, but ridin?g in a motor? coach?. We need to make, there?fore, a hard-and-fast(不能变通的?) disti?nctio?n not only betwe?en work and play but,