单选题 Laziness is a sin, everyone knows that. We have probably all had lectures pointing out that laziness is immoral, that it is wasteful, and that lazy people will never amount to anything in life. But laziness can be more harmful than that, and it is often caused by more complex reasons than simple wish to avoid work. Some people who appear to be lazy are suffering from much more serious problems. They may be so distrustful of their fellow workers that they are unable to join in any group task for fear of ridicule or fear of having their ideas stolen. These people who seem lazy may be paralyzed by a fear of failure that prevents fruitful work. Or other sorts of fantasies may prevent work; some people are so busy planning, sometimes planning great deals or fantastic achievements that they are unable to deal with whatever "lesser" work is on hand. Still other people are not avoiding work; strictly speaking, they are merely procrastinating—rescheduling their day.
Laziness can actually be helpful. Like procrastinators(拖延者),some people may look lazy when they are really thinking planning, contemplating, researching. We should all remember that some great scientific discoveries occurred by chance or while someone was "goofing off(游手好闲)". Newton wasn't working in the orchard when the apple hit him and he devised the theory of gravity. All of us would like to have someone "lazy" build the ear or stove we buy, particularly if that "laziness" were caused by the worker's taking time to check each step of his work and to do his job right. And sometimes, being "lazy"—that is,taking time off for a rest —is good for a overworked student or executive. Taking a rest can be particularly helpful to the athlete who is trying too hard or the doctor who's simply working himself overtime too many evenings, at the clinic. So be careful when you're tempted to call someone lazy. That person may be thinking, resting, or planning, his or her next book.

单选题 The main idea of this passage is that ______ .
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】此题考查归纳能力。通读全文,不难得出短文第一段侧重于懒惰可能带来的坏处,而第二段则转而说明懒惰也可以是有益的,并举了几个例子证明这一点。选项B概括得最全面、最贴切。
单选题 The passage states that ______ .
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】此题可用排除法。A选项“懒惰是一种疾病”,B“有些人看起来懒惰是因为他觉得不安全”,C“懒惰的益处多于坏处”,在短文中均未提及,都应排除。参照短文第一段第五句:“They may be so distrustful of...their ideas stolen”,只有D选项是正确的。
单选题 Which of the following conclusions does the passage support?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】此题可用排除法。选项B、C、D在文中均未提及。作者开头就给出许多已有的对懒惰的看法,第二段转而说明懒惰的益处,并因此说明人们从前对懒惰的理解可能是不正确的,只有A意思和此意相吻合。
单选题 The final paragraph is ______ .
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】通读第二段,可知作者用一种轻松诙谐的笔触把懒惰和成功联系起来说明懒惰的益处,观点颇为新颖,其笔调既不是忧郁、严肃、也不是陈腐的。