单选题
That everyone"s too busy these days is a cliche. But one specific complaint is made especially mournfully: There"s never any time to read.
What makes the problem thornier is that the usual time-management techniques don"t seem sufficient. The web"s full of articles offering tips on making time to read: "Give up TV" or "Carry a book with you at all times." But in my experience, using such methods to free up the odd 30 minutes doesn"t work. Sit down to read and the flywheel of work-related thoughts keeps spinning—or else you"re so exhausted that a challenging book"s the last thing you need. The modern mind, Tim Parks, a novelist and critic, writes, "is overwhelmingly inclined toward communication... It is not simply that one is interrupted; it is that one is actually inclined to interruption." Deep reading requires not just time, but a special kind of time which can"t be obtained merely by becoming more efficient.
In fact, "becoming more efficient" is part of the problem. Thinking of time as a resource to be maximised means you approach it instrumentally, judging any given moment as well spent only in so far as it advances progress toward some goal. Immersive reading, by contrast, depends on being willing to risk inefficiency, goallessness, even time-wasting. Try to slot it in as a to-do list item and you"ll manage only goal-focused reading—useful, sometimes, but not the most fulfilling kind. "The future comes at us like empty bottles along an unstoppable and nearly infinite conveyor belt," writes Gary Eberle in his book Sacred Time, and "we feel a pressure to fill these different-sized bottles (days, hours, minutes) as they pass, for if they get by without being filled, we will have wasted them." No mind-set could be worse for losing yourself in a book.
So what does work? Perhaps surprisingly, scheduling regular times for reading. You"d think this might fuel the efficiency mind-set, but in fact, Eberle notes, such ritualistic behaviour helps us "step outside time"s flow" into "soul time." You could limit distractions by reading only physical books, or on single-purpose e-readers. " Carry a book with you at all times" can actually work, too—providing you dip in often enough, so that reading becomes the default state from which you temporarily surface to take care of business, before dropping back down. On a really good day, it no longer feels as if you"re "making time to read," but just reading, and making time for everything else.
单选题
The usual time-management techniques don"t work because ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 根据题序原则，到文章开头寻找关键信息usual time-management techniques(通常的时间管理办法)，可以定位到第二段第一句的the usual time management techniques和第三句的these methods(这些办法)，但是真正解释其中原因的句子在第二段结尾：Deep reading requires not just time, but a special kind of time which can"t be obtained merely by becoming more efficient．(深度阅读不仅需要时间，而且需要一种特别的时间，获取这种时间需要摆脱效率的尺度。)
A项根据modem mind(现代人的头脑)找到第二段第五句：The modem mind, Tim Parks, a novelist and critic, writes, "is overwhelmingly inclined toward communication...显然句子的内容与“时间管理办法“无关；但是选项把“办法”与“现代人的头脑”用动词ease(舒缓)联系起来，不符合原文的内容。
B项关键词信息challenging books(挑战性书籍)可以定位，但是repetitive reading(重复性阅读)没有出现在段落中，说明选项信息多余。段落中与challenging books相关的内容是last thing(最不愿意做的事情)，也与阅读无关。
C项关键信息carrying a book with them(随身带书)出现在第二段第二句中，但是这个信息属于“常规时间管理办法”之一，与题干的要求不符。
D项关键信息deep reading(深度阅读)出自定位句：Deep reading requires not just time, but a special kind of time which can"t be obtained merely by becoming more efficient．(深度阅读不仅需要时间，而且需要一种特别的时间，获取这种时间需要摆脱效率的尺度。)本题对考生的概括能力要求很高，反倒降低了定位的要求，所以要求考生对段落的大意把握准确。
单选题
The "empty bottles" metaphor illustrates that people feel a pressure to ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据引号提示可以定位到第三段第五句："The future comes at US like empty bottles along an unstoppable and nearly infinite conveyor belt," writes Gary Eberle in his book Sacred Time, and "we feel a pressure to fill these different-sized bottles(days, hours, minutes)as they pass, for if they get by without being filled, we will have wasted them." [Gary Eberle在其著作《神圣时间》中说，“未来就像永不停止的传动带上的空瓶子那样走向我们，转过我们身边时我们感到一份压力，要把大大小小的瓶子(天，时，分)装满，否则我们会觉得时间被浪费了。”]与题干缺省信息直接对应的是句子中的：we feel a pressure to fill these different-sized bottles(days, hours, minutes)as they pass。
A项关键信息to-do lists(待办事项单)出现在上一个句子中，但与题干中的people feel a pressure(人们迫于压力)没有逻辑关系。可以看出，命题者在任意组合不同句子的元素，试图混淆考生视线。
B项考查关键词make的理解：“使过往的时间变得更加充实。”其实括号里的几个时间单词已经解释了“空瓶子”的意义。
C项关键信息their plans(他们的计划)与选项A项的to-do lists是一个概念。
D项关键信息carefree reading(无忧无虑的阅读)不同于上文所提到的immersive reading(浸泡式阅读)，该选项没有出处，故意误导考生。
单选题
Eberle would agree that scheduling regular times for reading helps ______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 根据人名提示可以定位到第四段第三句：You"d think this might fuel the efficiency mind-set, but in fact, Eberle notes, such ritualistic behaviour helps US "step outside time"s flow" into "soul time." (你也许觉得这种做法会刺激效率心态，但是按照Gary Eberle的说法，类似仪式化的行为有助于我们“跳出时间流”，进入“心灵时间”。)所以，题干其实考查的是考生对“心灵时间”的理解。联系上文，所谓“心灵时间”也是与阅读相关的，就是真正用心阅读。
A项关键信息efficiency mind-set(效率心态)指向定位句的前半句，动词encourage(鼓励)也符合原文fuel(激发)，不过这并非Eberle的观点，故不符合题目要求。
B项关键信息online reading habit(网上阅读习惯)没有出处；下文虽然提到了e-readers，但是与阅读习惯无关。
C项关键信息ritualistic reading(仪式化阅读)定位没有问题，但是不能等同于原文的such ritualistic behavior，因为这种behavior指的是“规划阅读时间”的行为，不是“仪式化阅读”本身。
D项关键信息immersive reading(浸泡式阅读)的出处在定位中没有，但是根据上文，可以知道作者其实倡导的就是这种阅读方式，而这种阅读只有在“心灵时间”才能实现。所以可以理解成immersive reading与soul time的意义对等。
单选题
"Carry a book with you at all times" can work if ______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 根据引号提示语可以定位到第四段第五句："Carry a book with you at all times" can actually work, too—providing you dip in often enough, so that reading becomes the default state from which you temporarily surface to take care of business，before dropping back down．(“书不离手”也管用，不过你得不停翻阅，这样阅读才能成为生活常态，你可以暂时浮出水面，处理公务，然后再回归常态。) 题干中的if对应句子中providing后面的部分。此处providing就是引出条件句，所以本身也是一个考点；此外，default state(常态)也是重点考查的对象。
A项关键信息primary business of the day(一天的主要活动)可以解释定位中的default state(常态)，属于替换关系。
B项关键信息all the daily business(所有的公务)没有定位依据；根据原句，公务不是一天的全部，而是一部分，而阅读才是一天的全部活动。
C项描述business(公务)与reading(阅读)的关系，即“看完书再回归公务”，与原句的逻辑相反，原句的逻辑是“处理完公务再回归阅读”。
D项阐述business与reading的时间分配关系，符合定位句的要求；但是副词evenly(平均)是考查重点。根据原句，我们知道“公务”与“阅读”的时间分配绝对不是平均进行，而是在“阅读”的基础上抽空处理“公务”。