Since finishing my studies at Harvard and Oxford, I've watched one friend after another land high­-ranking, high-­paying Wall Street jobs. As executives (高级管理人员) with banks, consulting firms, established law firms, and major corporations, many are now  21  on their way to impressive careers. By society's  22 , they seem to have it made.

On the surface, these people seem to be very lucky in life. As they left student life behind, many had a  23  drink at their cheap but friendly local bar, shook hands with longtime roommates，and  24  out of small apartments into high buildings. They made reservations at restaurants where the cost of a bottle of wine  25  a college year's monthly rent.They replaced their beloved old cars with expensive new sports cars.

The thing is, a number of them have  26  that despite their success, they aren't happy. Some  27  of unfriendly coworkers and feel sad for eight-­hour workweeks devoted to tasks they  28 . Some do not respect the companies they work for and talk of feeling tired and  29 . However, instead of devoting themselves to their work, they find themselves working to support the  30  to which they have so quickly become  31 . 

People often speak of trying a more satisfying path, and  32  in the end the idea of leaving their jobs to work for something they  33  or finding a position that would give them more time with their families almost always leads them to the same conclusion: it's  34 . They have loans, bills, a mortgage (抵押） 36  in their lives, but it's  37  to step off the track.

In a society that tends to  38  everything in terms of dollars and cents, we learn from a young age to consider the costs of our  39  in financial terms. But what about the personal and social costs  40  in pursuing money over meaning? These are exactly the kinds of costs many of us tend to ignore—and the very ones we need to consider most. 

1.

A much

B never

C seldom

D well

解析：选D。D　考查副词在语境中的辨析。根据第一段第二句“ I have watched one friend…and major corporations,"和后面的they seem to have it made可知，大学毕业后，我观察到现在我的很多朋友们并没有创造出一番令人赞叹的事业。

2.

A policies

B standards

C experiments

D regulations

解析：选B。B　考查名词在语境中的辨析。我认为他们没有，但按照当前的标准，他们似乎已经达到了。standard标准，符合语境。policy政策；experiment试验；regulation规章，规则。

3.

A last

B least

C second

D best

解析：选A。A　考查形容词在语境中的辨析。根据第二段第二句的as they left student life behind可知，当他们离开学校时，很多人在廉价的当地酒吧喝完最后一杯酒。

4.

A cycled

B moved

C slid

D looked

解析：选B。B　考查动词在语境中的辨析。离开狭小的学生公寓进入高楼大厦中。move out of搬离，符合语境。详解同上。

5.

A shared

B paid

C equaled

D collected

解析：选C。C　考查动词在语境中的辨析。在饭店里一瓶酒的价格相当于大学一个月的租金。equal与……相等或相同，符合语境。

6.

A advertised

B witnessed

C admitted

D demanded

解析：选C。C　考查动词在语境中的辨析。很多人承认，尽管他们很成功，但并不快乐。admit承认，符合语境。advertise作广告；witness目击；demand要求。

7.

A complain

B dream

C hear

D approve

解析：选A。A　考查动词在语境中的辨析。根据第三段中的unfriendly coworkers and feel sad可知，一些人抱怨同事不友好。complain of抱怨，诉苦，符合语境。

8.

A distribute

B hate

C applaud

D neglect

解析：选B。B　考查动词在语境中辨析。完成他们不喜欢的工作任务他们才感到悲伤。

9.

A calm

B guilty

C warm

D empty

解析：选D。D　考查形容词在语境中的辨析。根据第三段中的feeling tired and可知选择与tired相近的词，empty空虚，符合语境。calm镇静的；guilty有罪的。

10.

A family

B government

C lifestyle

D project

解析：选C。C　考查名词在语境中的辨析。但他们并不专心于自己的工作，他们工作只是为了维持这种很快就习以为常的生活方式。lifestyle生活方式，符合语境。

11.

A accustomed

B appointed

C unique

D available

解析：选A。A　考查形容词在语境中的辨析。固定表达become accustomed to对……变得习以为常，习惯于。

12.

A yet

B also

C instead

D rather

解析：选A。A　考查副词在语境中的辨析。根据上下文可知，这里表示转折关系，故要用yet。

13.

A let out

B turn in

C give up

D believe in

解析：选D。D　考查动词在语境中的辨析。离职去从事他们自己所信仰的事情。believe in信奉，信仰，符合语境。let out使出来，放出；turn in上交，呈交；give up放弃。

14.

A fundamental

B practical

C impossible

D unforgettable

解析：选C。C　考查形容词在语境中的辨析。根据第四段中的they have loans...可知，放弃现在的工作去从事自己喜爱的事情是不可能的。

15.

A take off

B drop off

C put off

D pay off

解析：选D。D　考查动词在语境中的辨析。因为他们有抵押贷款要偿还。pay off付清，还清，符合语境。take off取下，起飞；drop off落下，减少；put off推迟。

16.

A missing

B inspiring

C sinking

D shining

解析：选A。A　考查形容词在语境中的辨析。这时他们意识到生活中缺失了什么。missing失掉的，失踪的，找不到的，符合语境。

17.

A harmful

B hard

C useful

D normal

解析：选B。B　考查形容词在语境中的辨析。但很难离开现在的生活轨迹。

18.

A measure

B suffer

C digest

D deliver

解析：选A。A　考查动词在语境中的辨析。在一个倾向于用金钱来衡量一切的社会里，我们在很小的时候就知道，应该考虑我们决定的经济代价。measure衡量。

19.

A disasters

B motivations

C campaigns

D decisions

解析：选D。D　考查名词在语境中的辨析。从小时候我们就学会了从经济的角度来考虑所做出的决定的代价。

20.

A assessed

B involved

C covered

D reduced

解析：选B。B　考查动词在语境中的辨析。追求金钱所涉及的个人和社会代价呢？(be) involved in牵涉，涉及，符合语境。