in any period or in any conditions that can now be foreseen, any organ of state in Great Britain would be in a position, even if it had the will, to marshal and deploy the labour force over the whole economy by military discipline like an army in the field. This, like other nightmares of a totally planned economy, can be left to those who like to frighten themselves and others with scarecrows.
1. The word “sanction”(Line 2, Paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to______.
[A] corrective measures [B] encouraging methods
[C] preventive efforts [D] revolutionary actions
2. Which of the following is implied in the first paragraph?
[A] People used to be forced to work under whips.
[B] The author dislikes the function of politics in economy.
[C] Incentives are always less available than regulations.
[D] People have an instinct of working less and getting more.
3. The author’s attitudes towards future, as is indicated in the beginning of the second paragraph, is one of______.
[A] reluctant acceptance [B] sheer pessimism
[C] mild optimism [D] extreme hopefulness
4. The author of the text seems to oppose the idea of______.
[A] free market [B] military control
[C] strict regulations [D] unrestrained labors
5. The last sentence of the text indicates the author’s______.
[A] hatred [B] affection [C] stubbornness [D] rejection
Text 7
Over the last decade, demand for the most common cosmetic surgery procedures, like breast enlargements and nose jobs, has increased by more than 400 percent. According to Dr. Dai Davies, of the Plastic Surgery Partnership in Hammersmith, the majority of cosmetic surgery patients are not chasing physical perfection. Rather, they are driven to fantastic lengths to improve their appearance by a desire to look normal. “What we all crave is to look normal, and normal is what is prescribed by the advertising media and other external pressures. They give us a perception of what is physically acceptable and we feel we must look like that.”
In America, the debate is no longer about whether surgery is normal; rather, it centres on what age people should be before going under the knife. New York surgeon Dr. Gerard Imber recommends “maintenance” work for people in their thirties. “The idea of waiting until one needs a heroic transformation is silly,” he says. “By then, you’ve wasted 20 great years of your life and allowed things to get out of hand.” Dr. Imber draws the line at operating on people who are under 18, however. “It seems that someone we don’t consider old enough to order a drink shouldn’t be considering plastic surgery.”
In the UK cosmetic surgery has long been seen as the exclusive domain of the very rich and famous. But the proportionate cost of treatment has fallen substantially, bringing all but the most advanced laser technology within the reach of most people. Dr. Davies, who claims to “cater for the average person”, agrees. He says:“I treat a few of the rich and famous and an awful lot of secretaries. Of course, ￡3,000 for an operation is a lot of money. But it is also an investment for life which costs about half the price of a good family holiday.”
Dr. Davies suspects that the increasing sophistication of the fat injecting and removal techniques that allow patients to be treated with a local anaesthetic in an afternoon has also helped promote the popularity of cosmetic surgery. Yet, as one woman who recently paid ￡2,500 for liposuction to remove fat from her thighs admitted, the slope to becoming a cosmetic surgery Veteran is a deceptively gentle one. “I had my legs done because they’d been bugging me for years. But going into the clinic was so low key and effective it whetted my appetite. Now I don’t think there’s any operation that I would rule out having if I could afford it.”
1. According to the text, the reason for cosmetic surgery is to _____.
