酷兔英语

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Aimlessness has hardly been typical of the postwar Japan whose productivity and social harmony are the envy of the United States and Europe. But increasingly the Japanese are seeing a decline of the traditional work-moral values. Ten years ago young people were hardworking and saw their jobs as their primary reason for being, but now Japan has largely fulfilled its economic needs, and young people don't know where they should go next.

The coming of age of the postwar baby boom and an entry of women into the maledominated job market have limited the opportunities of teenagers who are already questioning the heavy personal sacrifices involved in climbing Janpan's rigid social ladder to good schools and jobs. In a recent survey, it was found that only 24.5 percent of Japanese students were fully satisfied with school life, compared with 67.2 percent of students in the United States. In addition, far more Japanese workers expressed dissatisfaction with their jobs than did their counterparts in the 10 oher countries surveyed.

While often praised by foreigners for its emphasis on the basics, Japanese education tends to stress test taking and mechanical learning over creativity and self-expression. "Those things that do not show up in the test scores - personality, ability, courage or humanity - are completely ignored," says Toshiki Kaifu, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's educatin committee. "Frustration against this kind of thing leads kids to drop out and run wild." Last year Japan experienced 2.125 incidents of school violence, including 929 assaults on teachers. Amid the outcry, many conservative leaders are seeking a return to the prewar emphasis on moral education. Last year Mitsuo Setoyama, who was then education minister, raised eyebrows when he argued that liberal reforms introduced by the American occupation authorities after World War II had weakened the "Japanese morality of respect for parents."

But that may have more to do with Japanese life-styles. "In Japan," says educator Yoko Muro, "it's never a question of whether you enjoy your job and your life, but only how much you can endure." With economic growth has come centralization; fully 76 percent of Japan's 119 million citizens live in cities where community and the extended family have been abandoned in favor of isolated, two-generation households. Urban Japanese have long endured lengthy commutes(travels to and from work) and crowded living conditions, but as the old group and family values weaken, the discomfort is beginning to tell. In the past decade, the Japanese divorce rate, while still well below that of the United States, has increased by more than 50 percent, and suicides have increased by nearly one-quarter.
关键字:考研英语
生词表:
  • increasingly [in´kri:siŋli] 移动到这儿单词发声 ad.日益,愈加 四级词汇
  • traditional [trə´diʃənəl] 移动到这儿单词发声 a.传统的,习惯的 四级词汇
  • dissatisfaction [di,sætis´fækʃən] 移动到这儿单词发声 n.不满 六级词汇
  • taking [´teikiŋ] 移动到这儿单词发声 a.迷人的 n.捕获物 六级词汇
  • experienced [ik´spiəriənst] 移动到这儿单词发声 a.有经验的;熟练的 四级词汇
  • outcry [´autkrai] 移动到这儿单词发声 n.喊叫;强烈抗议 四级词汇
  • morality [mə´ræliti] 移动到这儿单词发声 n.道德;教训;伦理学 四级词汇
  • extended [iks´tendid] 移动到这儿单词发声 a.伸长的;广大的 六级词汇
  • abandoned [ə´bændənd] 移动到这儿单词发声 a.被抛弃的;无约束的 六级词汇
  • discomfort [dis´kʌmfət] 移动到这儿单词发声 n.不适;不安;困难 六级词汇



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