Passage Three
We spend our leisure hours efficiently for higher production, live by the clock even when time does not matter, modernize our homes and speed the machinery of living in order that we can go to the most places and do the most things in the shortest period of time possible. We try to eat, sleep, and talk efficiently. Even on holidays and Sundays, the efficient man relaxes on timetable with one eye on the clock and the other on an appointment sheet.
To squeeze the most out of each shining hour we have shortened the opera, quickened the pace of the movie and put culture in pocket-sized packages. We make the busy bee look like a lazy creature, the ant like a sluggard. We live sixty-mile-minute and the great efficiency smiles.
We wish we could return to that pleasant day when we considered time a friend instead of an enemy; when we did things willingly and because we wanted to, rather than because our timetable called for it, B
A. the modern pace
B. our interest in shortened operas
C. how to make the best use of leisure time
D. planning our time scientifically
The worst thing about television and radio is that they entertain us, saving us the trouble of entertaining ourselves.
A hundred years ago, before all these devices were invented, if a person wanted to entertain himself with a song or a piece of music, he would have to do the singing himself or pick up a violin and play it. Now-, all he has to do is turn on the radio or TV As a result, singing and music have declined.
Italians used to sing all the time. Now, they only do it in Hollywood movies. Indian movies are mostly a series of songs and dances wrapped around silly stories. As a result, they don’t do much singing in Indian villages anymore. Indeed, ever since radio first came to life, there has been a terrible decline in amateur singing throughout the world.
There are two reasons for this sad decline: One, human beings are astonishingly lazy. Put a lift in a building, and people would rather take it than climb even two flights of steps. Similarly,
A. TV and radio can amuse us with beautiful songs and music
B. TV and radio have weakened our interest in entertaining ourselves
C. people should not be too lazy or embarrassed to sing
D. parents should sing songs and read books aloud to their children
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