How a person thinks about time can kill
him, according to Dossey, a pioneer in the emerging science of chronobiology,
the study of how time interacts with life. One of the most common ills in our
society, he says, is "time sickness", a sense of time pressure and hurry that
cause anxiety and tension. These {{U}}symptoms{{/U}} can contribute to heart disease
and strokes, two of our most frequent causes of death.
A. [■] Almost all living things in our world carry their own biological
clocks synchronised with the rhythms of nature.
B. [■] A crab can {{U}}sense{{/U}} when the tide is about to change. A mouse
wakes when night nears. A squirrel knows when to prepare for its long winter
nap.
C. [■] They adjust to changes in the environment.
D. [■] . Light is the most powerful synchroniser in most living
things. But in humans there is another powerful synchroniser: other people.
Pioneering studies in Germany reported that when people were put together in
groups isolated from {{U}}external{{/U}} time cues of light, temperature and
humidity, their own complex internal time-keeping rhythms became desynchronised;
then they resynchronised in unison. Even body temperatures started to rise and
fall together, a sign that subtle biochemical changes in each body were now
happening together. These experiments may have discovered one of the mysterious
forces that reshape individuals into members of a team, cult or mob.
The mind can alter rhythms of time in various ways. People brought back
from the brink of death often recall their entire lives flashing before them in
an instant. Those who have been in a serious accident often report that, as it
occurred, everything happened in slow motion; apparently this is a survival tool
built into the brain, an ability to {{U}}accelerate{{/U}} to several times normal
perceptual speed, thereby "slowing down" the world and giving the victim "time"
to think about how to avoid disaster. Because the time our society
keeps has been taught to us since birth, we think of it as something that
everyone everywhere must somehow share. But cultures differ in how they perceive
time. In North America and the industrialised countries of northern Europe, life
is tightly scheduled. To keep someone waiting is frowned upon. But in southern
Europe and in the Hispanic countries of Latin America, people are given priority
over schedules, and in making appointments, the starting time is more
flexible. Each view of time has advantages and disadvantages. But
the costs can be great. When our natural inner rhythms are out of
synchronisation with clock time, stress results. Under the tyranny of clock
time, western industrialised society now finds that heart disease and related
illnesses are the leading causes of death. However, such "time illnesses" can be
treated and prevented by changing the way we think about time. He applies simple
techniques that you can also use to change and master your own time:
1) Unclock your life. Stop wearing a wristwatch. Time
becomes much less of a concern when we break the habit of looking at clocks or
watches. 2) Set your own inner sense of time. To
illustrate that time is relative, Einstein observed that to a person sitting on
a hot stove, two minutes could feel like two hours; to the young man with a
pretty girl, two hours could seem like two minutes. 3) Tap your
body's power to change time. We all possess an inborn ability to
relax. Most people can summon it up merely by dismissing disturbing thoughts and
by controlling their breathing—for example, by thinking the word "one" with each
outgoing breath. Within several minutes this can produce deep calm.
4) Synchronize yourself with nature. Take time to watch a sunset,
or a cloud cross the sky. Remember that there is a time far older than what
humankind has created with clocks. The cultural pattern we call
time is learnt, and if we wish to live in harmony with nature, we must learn to
recognize that its time still shapes our world and should not be ignored. We
created the mechanical time around which our society operates, and we have the
freedom to choose whether we will be its slave or its master.
单选题
The word {{U}}symptoms{{/U}} in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _____.
A. distresses
B. indications
C. reasons
D. representatives
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为词汇题，主要考查考生根据上下文对单词symptom的理解。根据原文第一段“One of the most common ills in our society, he says, is 'time sickness', a sense of time pressure and hurry that cause anxiety and tension. These symptoms can contribute to heart disease and strokes...”我们得知，这是由于时间压力给人造成的一种焦虑和紧张的感觉。那么“these symptoms”则是进一步说明这种“症状，征兆”会造成心脏疾病等。因此，symptom与选项B(迹象)意思接近，选项B为本题的正确答案。而选项A(悲伤)、选项C(原因)和选项D(典型)都不合适。
单选题
The word {{U}}sense{{/U}} in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _____.
A. assume
B. perceive
C. comprehend
D. observe
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为词汇题，主要考查考生根据上下文对单词sense的理解。根据第二段“A crab can sense when the tide is about to change (潮水要变化时，蟹会有知觉)”，我们可以判断选项B(感知)是正确的。而选项A(设想)、C(理解)和D(观察)都不符合题意。
单选题
The word {{U}}external{{/U}} in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _____.
A. outside
B. inner
C. latter
D. former
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为词汇题，重点考查考生根据上下文对单词external的理解。根据第三段单词所在的句子“when people were put together in groups isolated from external time cues of light, temperature and humidity, their own complex internal timekeeping rhythms became desynchronised”可知，当人们被集聚在一起并与外部时间提示，如光、温度和湿度隔离开来时，他们自身复杂的内部时间节奏就会与外部时间提示不一致。所以选项A(外面的)是最恰当的。而选项B(内部的)、选项C(后面的)和选项D(前面的)都不符合题意。
单选题
According to the author, which of the following is true of the concept
of time?
A. It is the same everywhere in the world.
B. It is different from culture to culture.
C. It is taught by society.
D. It is born within people.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为事实信息题，主要考查考生排除细枝末节的干扰并抓住文章中阐明的重要事实和信息的能力。题目问：根据文章的描述，下列哪一项是正确的?原文第五段指出：“But cultures differ in how they perceive time”，即不同的文化对时间看法也不同。因此选项B(因文化的不同而不同)最恰当。选项A(各地的理解都是一样的)不符合原文的意思。选项C(取决于社会的教育)以及选项D(人们与生俱来的)是对文意的曲解。
单选题
According to the passage, the fact that everything in an accident
happens in slow motion occurs because _____.
A. it is the result of the mind's regulation
B. it is to delay people's reactions
C. it is to accelerate the motion of the world
D. it is an illusion of the eyes
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题仍为事实信息题。题目问：如何理解在事故发生时，一切都似乎以慢动作发生?第四段开头部分提到：“The mind can alter rhythms of time in various ways (意识可以不同的方式改变时间的节奏)”，之后举了车祸的例子“Those who have been in a serious accident often report that, as it occurred, everything happened in slow motion”来证实这一观点。选项A(是意识规律的作用)就是说明这一点，所以为该题的正确答案。而选项B(延迟人的反应)、选项C(为世界的运动加速)是与文意不符合的；选项D(是眼睛的错觉)只是外在的表象，而非实质性的原因。
单选题
The author's description of the condition resulting in stress mentions
which of the following?
A. We cannot treat "time illnesses".
B. Our view of time has disadvantages.
C. Our biological clocks do not keep pace with clock time.
D. We do not have a flexible timetable.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题也是事实信息题。题目问：作者在描述导致压力的条件时提到下列哪一选项?根据原文第六段中提到的“When our natural inner rhythms are out of synchronisation with clock time, stress results (当我们内部自然的节奏与时钟的时间不一致时，就会产生压力)”可知，选项C是正确的。而选项A(我们无法治愈这种时间疾病)、选项B(我们对时间的认识不够完善)和选项D(我们没有灵活的时间表)都不正确。
单选题
Which of following can be inferred about the author's main purpose in
writing this essay?
A. To ask people not to be slaves of time.
B. To ask people to manage time efficiently.
C. To show the importance of time.
D. To show the relationship between time and money.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题是推论题，考查考生能否根据文章中没有提到但暗示了的信息作出推论。题目问：下列哪一项能推出关于作者写这篇短文的主要意图?根据原文第六段提到的“He applies simple techniques that you can also use to change and master your own time (他采用了一些简单易行的方法，可使人们学会如何改变和把握时间)”可知，作者是在帮助读者改变时间观念，成为时间的主人。因此选A(让我们不要成为时间的奴隶)为正确答案。选项B(让人们有效地安排时间)、选项C(为了说明时间的重要性)和选项D(说明时间和金钱的关系)都不符合题目的要求。
单选题
The word {{U}}accelerate{{/U}} in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to
_____.
A. warm up
B. keep up
C. speed up
D. look up
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题是词汇题，主要考查考生根据上下文对单词accelerate的理解。第四段该词所在的短语“an ability to accelerate to several times normal perceptual speed”可理解为：一种将正常感觉速度提高几倍的能力。所以选项C(加速)为该题的正确答案。而选项A(热身)、B(保持)、D(注视)则都是干扰项。
单选题
The author's description of external time cues mentions all of the
following EXCEPT _____.
单选题
Which of the following can be inferred from Paragraph 4 about the
comment that the mind can alter rhythms of time?
A. It is a survival tool built into the brain.
B. It is something that happens in slow motion.
C. It is the entire lives flashing in an instant.
D. It is a chance to give the victim "time" to avoid disaster.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题是推论题。题目问：关于作者对“the mind can alter rhythms of time”的评论，可以推出下列哪一项?选项A是对作者意识可以改变时间节奏这一观点的理解，而其他三项都是意识改变时间节奏的方式。因此，由“意识可以改变时间节奏”这一表述可以推论得出选项A为正确答案。
单选题
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true of the
statement that time still shapes our world and should not be ignored?
A. Time sickness contributes to heart disease and strokes.
B. A squirrel knows when to prepare for its long winter hibernation.
C. Life is tightly scheduled in North America.
D. Light is the most powerful synchroniser in most living things.
单选题
Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following
sentence could be added to the passage. These living clocks are
not accurate in any robot-like mechanical sense. Where would
the sentence best fit?
问答题Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief
summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the
THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some
sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not
presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This
question is worth 2 points. Since people have
been taught to schedule their lives by society's clock since childhood, their
life is actually controlled by time. ●
● ●
Answer Choices
A. In
modern bureaucratic society, the concept of time that we follow is often linear
chronological time. B. When our natural inner rhythms are out
of synchronization with clock time, stress results, which can cause "time
sickness" and other kinds of sickness. C. Dossey thinks "time
sickness" can be treated and prevented by changing the way we think about
time. D. The time our society keeps has been taught to us since
birth. We think of it as something that everyone everywhere must somehow
share. E. To illustrate that time is relative, Einstein
observed that to a person sitting on a hot stove, two minutes could feel like
two hours. F. What's more, Dossey also offers some simple
techniques, which can help you change and master your own life.
【正确答案】B. When our natural inner rhythms are out of synchronization with clock time, stress results, which can cause "time sickness" and other kinds of sickness.
C. Dossey thinks "time sickness" can be treated and prevented by changing the way we think about time.
F. What's more, Dossey also offers some simple techniques, which can help you change and master your own life.