新東方優美背誦短文50篇 Unit22:Collectibles

22 Collectibles

Collectibles have been a part of almost every culture since ancient times. Whereas some objects have been collected for their usefulness, others have been selected for their aesthetic beauty alone. In the United States, the kinds of collectibles currently popular range from traditional objects such as stamps, coins, rare books, and art to more recent items of interest like dolls, bottles, baseball cards, and comic books.

Interest in collectibles has increased enormously during the past decade, in part because some collectibles have demonstrated their value as investments. Especially during cycles of high inflation, investors try to purchase tangibles that will at least retain their current market values. In general, the most traditional collectibles will be sought because they have preserved their value over the years, there is an organized auction market for them, and they are most easily sold in the event that cash is needed. Some examples of the most stable collectibles are old masters, Chinese ceramics, stamps, coins, rare books, antique jewelry, silver, porcelain, art by well-known artists, autographs, and period furniture. Other items of more recent interest include old photograph records, old magazines, post cards, baseball cards, art glass, dolls, classic cars, old bottles, and comic books. These relatively new kinds of collectibles may actually appreciate faster as short-term investments, but may not hold their value as long-term investments. Once a collectible has had its initial play, it appreciates at a fairly steady rate, supported by an increasing number of enthusiastic collectors competing for the limited supply of collectibles that become increasingly more difficult to locate.

23亨利•福特
盡管亨利•福特的名字和大生產的概念相連，但他在勞工保護上得到同樣的贊譽，因為
他早在1913年便實行了用今天的標準來衡量依然是先進的標準。安全措施得到改進，日工作時間從當時普遍的10或12小時減少到8小時。
為了適應更短的日工作時間，整個工廠從雙班變成了三班。而且，病假和改善了的工傷醫療得以制度化。福特汽車公司是最早建
立技術學校來培訓專門技工和為移民開設英語學校的工廠之一。公司甚至為雇傭殘疾人和
有前科的人而作出了一些努力。最受廣泛稱贊的革新是實行五美元一天的最低工資。其目的是招收和留住那些最好的技工并阻礙工會的發展。
福特從效率和利潤分享的角度來解釋這項新的工資政策。他也提到這樣一個事實，他的員工可以買他們生產的汽車--這實際上是為其產品另開辟了一個市場。
為了夠資格得到最低工資，員工必須建立一個得體的家庭并顯示出良好的個人習慣，包括節制、儉省、勤勉和可靠。雖然有人批評福特過多地干涉
了員工的私人生活，但毫無疑問，在移民們被用惡劣的方式剝削的時代，亨利•福特卻幫助了許多人在美國扎下根來。