Rising bright and early on a Saturday used to be a matter of survival in Germany．【C1】______ the 1990s most shops closed for the weekend at 2 pm．Today you can【C2】______ into the wee hours every day except Sunday．In most German states shophours are, or about to be, fully【C3】______ ．That should lay to rest the【C4】______ that Germany is anti-consumer．But it also【C5】______ a change in attitudes to time.
Germans have long fretted over time．Wasting it is forbidden；【C6】______ is required．The country's austere Protestantism helps to explain this, but【C7】______ may a culture of industrial might．The efficient division of labor requires a【C8】______ schedule．And the family【C9】______ of a lone male breadwinner set a broad daily framework．With few mothers working, shop opening hours could be short, schools could open for only half the day and child care assistance was【C10】______ .
Yet with the economy 【C11】______ driven by services, this time corset (紧身衣) is gradually loosening．More than half of employees now 【C12】______ their own working hours．【C13】______ two-thirds of all women work, up from half in the 1970s．Then there is digital technology：【C14】______ arriving on the dot, you can send a text message apologizing for being late．【C15】______ , many Germans seem to have trouble adjusting to their new flexibility．There are objective reasons, such as the continuing【C16】______ of child-care facilities, which makes it harder for mothers to combine jobs and children.
【C17】______ , this is all an outcome of rising wealth and ever more distractions．Yet there are also 【C18】______ barriers that keep Germans from using their time better．One is a bias【C19】______ hiring help, which many see as akin to slavery．Germans spend much time toiling at home unpaid：【C20】______ other countries have so many home-improvement stores.
【C1】