One morning a few years ago, Harvard President Neil Rudenstine overslept. For this busy man, it was a sort of alarm: after years of non-stop hard work, he might wear himself out and die an early death.

Only after a week’s leave—— during which he read novels, listened to music and walked with his wife on a beach—— was Rudenstine able to return to work.

In our modern life, we have lost the rhythm between action and rest. Amazingly, within this world there is a universal but silly saying: “I am so busy.”

We say this to one another as if our tireless efforts were a talent by nature and an ability to successfully deal with stress. The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others. To be unavailable to our friends and family, and to be unable to find time to relax—— this has become the model of a successful life.

Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the guide telling us where to go, the food providing is with strength, the quiet giving us wisdom.

How have we allowed this to happen? I believe it is this: we have forgotten the Sabbath, the day of the week—— for followers of some religions—— for rest and praying. It is a day when we are not supposed to work, a time when we devote ourselves to enjoying and celebrating what is beautiful. It is a good time to bless our children and loved ones, give thanks, share meals, walk and sleep. It is a time for us to take a rest, to put our work aside, trusting that there are larger forces at work taking care of the world.

Rest is s spiritual and biological need; however, in our strong ambition to be successful and care for our many responsibilities, we may feel terribly guilty when we take time to rest. The Sabbath gives us permission to stop work. In fact, “Remember the Sabbath” is more than simply permission to rest; it is a rule to obey and a principle to follow.

The “alarm” in the first paragraph refers to “_______”.

A. a signal of stress

B. a warning of danger

C. a sign of age

D. a spread of disease

According to Paragraph 4, a successful person is one who is believed to _______.

A. be able to work without stress

B. be more talented than other people

C. be more important than anyone else

D. be busying working without time to rest

Some people feel guilty when taking time to rest because they _______.

A. think that taking a rest means lacking ambitions

B. fail to realize that rest is an essential part of life

C. fail to realize that religions force them to rest

D. think that taking a rest means being lazy

What is the main idea of this passage?

A. We should balance work with rest.

B. The Sabbath gives us permission to rest.

C. It is silly for anyone to say “I am busy.”

D. We should be available to our family and friends.

There are many American expressions about insects--- like bees, for example. Bees are known as very hard workers. They appear to be busy, moving around their homes, or hives (蜂窝). So you might say you were as busy as a bee if you spent your weekend cleaning your house. In fact, you might say your house was a beehive of activity if your whole family was helping you clean. You also might say you made a beeline for something if you went there right away. When we go to see a movie, my friend always makes a beeline for the place where they sell popcorn (爆米花) .

Here is an expression about bees that is not used much any more, but we like it anyway. We think it was first used in the 1920s. If something was the best of its kind, you might say it was the bee’s knees. Now, we admit that we do not know how this expression developed. In fact, we do not even know if bees have knees!

If your friend cannot stop talking about something because she thinks it is important, you might say she has a bee in her bonnet (女帽). If  someone asks you a personal question, you might say “that is none of your beeswax”. This means none of your business.

Speaking of personal questions, there is an expression when their children ask, “Where do babies come from?” Parents who discuss sex and reproduction (生殖) say this is talking about the birds and bees.

Butterflies are beautiful insects, but you would not want to have butterflies in your stomach. That means to be nervous about having to do something, like speaking in front of a crowd. You would also not want to have ants in your trousers. That is, to be unable to sit still.

1. If you make a beeline for something, you _____ .

A．are as busy as a bee	B．go quickly and directly towards it
C．always go to the same place	D．buy something at a certain place

2. The underlined expression “ it is the bee’s knees” ______ .

A．is not used at all now	B．was first used in the 1820s
C．reminds us that bees have knees	D．means “it is very good”

3. If you ask your American friend Jack “How old is your wife?” he may say “_____.”

A．It is none of your beeswax	B．You have a bee in your bonnet
C．It is the bee’s knees	D．You are talking about the birds and bees

4. When you have butterflies in your stomach, you _____ .

A．are too sick to sit still	B．have ants in your trousers
C．are nervous about something	D．have a stomachache

 

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。该项中有两项为多余选项。

    My mother is a diligent and kind woman. She is very busy from morning till night. As a teacher, she works hard.  ___1.___ Both my brother and I love her dearly as she loves us.

    My mother has been teaching math at a middle school in my hometown. She goes to work early in the morning and does not return home until late in the afternoon. ___2.___She treats them with patience and teaches them well. For her excellent quality and very good teaching results, she has been elected as a model teacher several times.

    ___3.___ Every day, when she comes back home from work, she sets about doing housework, sweeping the living room and bedrooms or cleaning the furniture, and putting everything in good order. She seems to be busy all the time. As she has been very busy working every day, she looks older than her age. But she looks as cheerful and happy as ever. Mother never buys expensive dresses for herself, but she often buys some inexpensive but high quality clothes for us. ___4.___ She just eats a plain meal outside when she is too busy to cook herself. She lives a busy yet simple life, without any complaints.

    Often she says to us, “Work while you work, and play while you play. That is the way to be happy and gay. If you do not work, you will become lazy and be of no use to society”. What a piece of good advice this is! ___5.___ This advice of hers will always serve as a guide to my behavior. My mother is great indeed, and I always feel proud of her.

A. As a mother, she takes good care of us and gives us every comfort.

B. She enjoys listening to classic music.

C Can you tell us something about your mother?

D. She loves her students and cares for them.

E. She never goes to expensive restaurants to enjoy meals.

F. My mother is hard-working and never wastes money.

G. I never forget it and always bear it in my mind.

 

完形填空

　　Most of us can remember the days when we didn't use e-mail as an everyday vehicle for communication. Slowly but surely, it crept into 1 . E-mail is a 2 tool for college students at any level. It's available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 3 at holidays. Most universities assign students an account upon entrance, 4 there is usually not even an option (choice) involved.

　　You can do everything from consulting on homework and projects, 5 classmates, family and friends, arid getting daily news services to 6 you informed of world 7 . But, what are the 8 ?

　　E-mail can. be e-jail. You might 9 hours writing and replying to e-mail. 10 you should be busy with the books for an upcoming exam. 11 , you might be signed up for so many daily services, 12 horoscopes, news services, or personals, that your mailbox is so 13 “junk mail,” the finding the 14 e-mails through your box might take hours.

　　If you're a student, 15 is precious. Create and organize your e-mail folders into important school-related mail, correspondence with friends and family, and a folder for jokes, horoscopes and other news, services. 16 put the mail into the proper folders first, and when you're finished, head for the important school-related folder first. Respond to the most important e-mails first and, 17 you have time, you can get to the others.

　　 18 your friends from forwarding those tiresome joke lists, sex quizzes, and chain mails. The minute you 19 you've got one, delete it 20 so you won't be tempted to read it.

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