题目

阅读理解     Ms. O'grady, the head of Britains Trades Union Congress, issued a challenge on September 10th. "We can win a four-day working week, "she told members. The demand is far from new. Shorter working weeks have been tried in New Zealand and Sweden, wherein happier, healthier and more motivated employees. Those who work shorter weeks are also reported to be more productive. Should weekends, therefore, be lengthened?     France's experience suggests workers may not leap at the chance of working for fewer hours. The government reduced the full-time workers week to 35 hours in 2000. Last year the French worked 38.9 hours a week on average, seeming happy to labor above the required level and pocket the extra pay or holiday allowance.     And businesses may not seize the opportunity either. Working less may be linked to higher productivity (on a per-hour basis), but overall output could still fall because of the smaller number of hours worked. That will not get governments or employers excited.     Advocates of a four-day week could claim that improving people's quality of life is more important than boosting the economy. In an essay published during The Great Depression, John Maynard Keynes wrote of an "age of leisure and abundance" in which technological advances would allow people to work 15-hour week.     Unfortunately for any readers working hard on a Friday afternoon, Keynes jumped at his conclusion too soon. Even Ms. O'grady, now demanding a longer weekend, is pessimistic in her timescale. A four-day week is apparently achievable “in this century”. （1） The underlined phrase" leap at "in Paragraph 2 probably means _______. A . Refuse B . grab C . abandon D . obtain （2） We can infer from the last paragraph that Ms. O'grady _______. A . calls for an urgent attention to her suggestion B . feels confident of making longer weekend a reality C . regrets coming up with the idea of a longer weekend D . realizes the idea of longer weekend remains a distant dream （3） What is the text mainly about? A . A longer weekend isn't that practical. B . The French oppose a longer weekend. C . A longer weekend causes lower efficiency. D . A three-day weekend is a fresh idea in Europe. 答案： B D A

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