单选题 Without an oversized calendar tacked to their kitchen wall, Fern Reiss and her family could never keep track of all the meetings, appointments, home-schooling lessons, and activities that fill their busy days. "I'm not sure they make a calendar large enough for us," says Ms. Reiss of Newton, Mass. , explaining that her life revolves around "two companies, three children, a spouse, a lot of community involvement, a social life, the kids' social life, and volunteering in a soup kitchen every week." "Everybody we know is leading a frenetic life," she adds. "Ours is frenetic, too, but we're spending the bulk of our time with our kids. Even though we're having a crazy life, we're having it in the right way."
Although extreme busyness is hardly a new phenomenon, the subject is getting renewed attention from researchers. "A good life has to do with life having a direction, life having a narrative with the stories we tel1 ourselves," Chuck Darrah, an anthropologist, says. "Busyness fragments all that. We're absolutely focused on getting through the next hour, the next day, the next week. It does raise questions: If not busyness, what? If we weren't so Busy, what would we be doing? If people weren't so busy, would they be a poet, a painter?"
For the Reisses, part of living a good life, however busy, means including the couple's children in volunteer work and community activities. "We want the kids to see that that's a priority," she says,
Between working full time as a publicist, caring for her home, spending time with her husband and extended family, and helping her grandmother three times a week, a woman .says, "I am exhaust- ed all the time." Like others, she concedes that she sets "somewhat unrealistic expectations" for what she can accomplish in a day,
Being realistic is a goal Darrah encourages, saying, "We can do everything, but we can't do everything well and at the same time." He cautions that busyness can result in "poor decisions, sloppy quality, and neglect of the things and people that matter most in the long run." He advises: "Stop taking on so much, and keep in perspective what's most important to you." Darrah's own schedule re- mains full, but he insists he does not feel busy. His secret? Confining activities to things he must do and those he wants to do. He and his wife do not overschedule their children. To those with one eye on the calendar and the other on the deck, Darrah offers this advice: "Before you take anything on, ask yourself: Do you have to do this? Do you want to do this? Live with a kind of mindfulness so you don't wake up and discover that your life is a whirl of transportation and communication, and you've hollowed yourself out./

单选题 The author would describe the Reisses' life as

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】本题问作者如何描述赖斯的生活。从首段首句“．．．the meetings，appointments，home-schooling lessons， and activities that fill their busy days．”及第二句都可以看出赖斯的生活是繁忙的；而首段末句谈到“Even though we're having a crazy life，we're having it in the right way”，可以看出，他们认为自己做得很好。那作者对此的态度又是如何呢?第二段谈到生活要有方向。第三段首句谈到“For the Reisses，part of living a good life，however busy，means including the couple's children…”，可以看出作者认为他们虽然忙，但还是有自己的生活方向，即他们的生活还是合理的，因而[D]“繁忙却合理”正确。注意，本文的基调是让人们不要过分忙碌，但关于赖斯一家的例子却是正面的例子(日程虽然忙碌但是有自己的目标)，不要看到他们很忙就认为是反面的例子。
[A]狂热而无意义：文中说赖斯生活繁忙，但安排得有条不紊，并无贬意，A项与此不符。
[B]枯燥但有序：赖斯的生活繁忙，但并不是说枯燥无味；相反，是很有意义的，特别是在孩子的教育方面。
[C]匆忙且杂乱：敕斯的生活匆忙，但并不杂乱。首段末句谈到他们自己感觉非常好。

单选题 What does the author mean by saying "If people weren't so busy, would they be a poet, a painter" ?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】本题问作者提到“If people weren't so busy，would they be a poet，a painter?”要表达什么意思。作者提到人类学家达拉的观点，认为一种好的生活要有生活的方向，而忙碌打乱了这一切。然后提出问题：如果不忙，我们会怎样。如果不忙，我们是不是可能成为画家或诗人呢。我们知道成天忙忙碌碌的人难以成为像画家或者诗人这样浪漫而富有想象力的人，如果不是过于忙碌的话，这样的梦想也许可能实现。因此，[D]“如果不是这么忙碌人们也许会实现自己的个人梦想”正确。注意文中的疑问句是在提出一种可能，即如果不忙的话，人们也许会有希望成为诗人或者画家，这里并不是反问的语气，不要理解为“即使不忙，难道会成为诗人或者画家吗?”。这样的理解和本段的中心“busyness fragments all that”意思相悖。
[A]成为诗人或画家这样的艺术家需要付出巨大努力：作者提出的可能性是围绕着繁忙的负面作用，并不真的是讨论成为诗人是否需要努力。
[B]如果不这么忙碌生活就会单调乏味：第二段开头谈到人生需要有方向，随后说忙碌打乱了这一切，也就是说忙碌使人生没有方向，可见作者这里认为如果不这样忙碌，人就能坚持自己的方向，而不是像现在这样碌碌无为。文中谈到的诗人和画家是指那些有成就的人，实现自己人生梦想的人，并没有生活单调乏味的含义。
[C]诗人和画家通常被认为是游手好闲的人：作者拿诗人和画家比喻浪漫而有创造性的人，其意并不是说他们比较悠闲。

单选题 The example of the publicist is used to show most people's

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】本题问广告宣传员的例子是要说明大多数人如何。赖斯的生活充实有序、主次分明；publicist的生活繁忙且“sets somewhat unrealistic expectations for what she can accomplish in a day”。因此publicist的例子反映的是人们“渴望获得太多”的心态。
[A]对勤奋的热爱：作者并非主张提倡勤奋。
[B]日程安排混乱：肤浅项。例子是为作者的观点服务的。第四段末句谈到该宣传员承认自己的目标不实际。随后谈到达拉建议人们把目标定得实际一些，可见，该例是为了说明人们的目标不够实际，而不仅仅是表面上日程安排的混乱。
[D]日常生活的艰辛：并非作者的意图。

单选题 As for their children, parents are supposed by Darrah to

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】本题问达拉认为，孩子的父母应怎样做。文章末段揭示了Darrah成功的秘密“Confining activities to things he must do and those he wants to do．He and his wife do not overschedule their children．”，说明不能给孩子安排过重的任务，即“应该给他们足够的闲暇时间”正确。题干中“are supposed to”意为“应该”，而不是“猜测”的含义。
[A]尽量让他们参与志愿工作：参与志愿工作是赖斯对孩子进行教育的一项具体内容，而不是达拉的建议。
[D]教会他们安排日程表：文章是要教会成年人如何面对繁忙，而不是针对孩子。
[D]排满课余时间：亦即“oversehedule”，与“足够的闲暇时间”背道而驰。

单选题 In Darrah's opinion, people should

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】本题问达拉认为人们应怎样做。文章末段“Stop taking on so much，and keep in perspective what's most important to you…Confining activities to things he must do and those he wants to do．”都是对人们的建议，其核心是只做必须要做的事，即“放弃那些不太重要的事”。
[B]去做那些他们自认能做到的事：达拉的观点不是仅做那些自己力所能及的事，而是做必须做的事和自己愿意做的事，这超出了力所能及的事。
[C]摆脱自私贪婪：文中谈到人们的目标有些不够实际，达拉告诫人们不要贪多，但文中并没有谈到人们不切实际的目标是因为自私的贪婪心作怪。
[D]回避繁重的任务：是否放弃某项任务取决于其重要性，而不能说只愿做轻松的事。