The American Attitude Toward Manual Labor 原文amp;译文.docVIP

Original Homework Reference The American Attitude Toward Manual Labor Many of the people who settled in the United States were poor. The country they came to was a wilderness. Land had to be cleared of trees in order to make farms; mines had to be developed; houses, shops, and public buildings had to be built. Everyone had to help build them. Manual labor was highly valued. Later it was the man who worked with his head to achieve success in business and industry who was looked up to. Now there is in America a curious combination of pride in having risen to a position where it is no longer necessary to depend on manual labor for a living and genuine delight in what one is able to accomplish with one抯 own hands. The attitude toward manual labor is seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at the home of a middle-aged couple. It is not only comfortable but even luxuriously furnished, and there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook and serve the dinner. In addition, she does much of the household work, and even though the husband may be a professional man, he talks about washing the car, digging in the flowerbeds, or painting the house. His wife may even help him with these things, just as he often helps her with the dish washing and other household chores. The son or daughter who is away at college may get a summer job entailing manual labor to earn next year抯 school expense. It has been an American ideal to rise from a humble beginning to a better position. Therefore the 搒ervant class?has not remained a fixed group. In fact, it has almost ceased to exist because people, who in earlier days might have been servants, now get higher wages working in factories. The majority of families cannot afford to pay what people who do housework or gardening charge for their services. Women who do housework by the ho