Minimalism (简约主义) is a term that describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is reduced to its most basic features.

As for me, minimalism functions well not in art or design, but in my daily life.

When I was packing for university, I found it extremely difficult to let go of some of the things I owned. I knew I couldn’t take everything with me, but I kept asking myself “how could I possibly throw this away?”, “what if I need it one day?”, and “what about all of the memories?” Now that I’ve moved, and left that stuff behind, I don’t even miss it. Whether or not I got rid of it, it barely makes a bit of difference to me now.

I’ve learned that over time people forget, or their need for a particular object eventually disappears. Either they store it away or they get rid of it.

You might think nostalgically（怀旧的） about the toys you cared about when you were a child, but what is making you smile now is not the thing itself but the memory of it. 1’ve heard it a hundred times, “you don’t need things to make you happy.” It takes something life-changing like moving across the country to realize how true this is.

Speaking of which, for a lot of people, minimalism is about able to move. It’s about being able to go almost anywhere at any time because you don’t have many possessions to carry. When you keep things you don’t need they become a burden that ties you to a place. Moving to university was a good time to let go of a lot of stuff. And when I visit for the holidays, I’ll probably get rid of even more, to lighten the burden.

Of course there are exceptions. There are some things that are irreplaceable, very rare or expensive or we simply love and cherish for some reason or another, since we are humans. But after we keep those, how much is left that we don’t really need?

Hence, minimalism. And why does minimalism bring happiness? That was a bit of a roundabout way of saying that, it’s because what really makes me happy is freedom. And the key to freedom is minimalism because minimalism reduces our attachment to things.

Attachment to too many objects creates a great mess and can severely hold back our freedom to do whatever we want, while minimalism helps us start new projects, move, travel, learn new things, work, expand, be debt-free, be healthy – really living life to our full potential.

I left the nest to fly onwards and upwards, I can’t do it with old things weighing me down. And that is why I have adopted minimalism with open arms.

1.In paragraph l, the writer gives the definition of minimalism to      .

A．introduce a topic                       B．present his own idea

C．describe a scene                        D．offer an argument

2.Many people don’t want to let go of some of their belongings because       .

A．they haven’t had any life-changing experiences

B．they fear their memories will be gone with the thrown-away stuff

C．they hope to live life to their full potential by storing things away

D．they may have to change their lifestyle because of the loss of them

3.Which of the following is NOT the reason why the writer favors “minimalism” in life?                          

A．It takes the burden off her while she is moving.

B．It reduces her attachment to her personal things.

C．It enables her to gain the freedom that she desires.

D．It helps her to realize how true life is.

4.By saying “there are exceptions”, the writer means       

A．little is left if we keep what we cherish most in our life

B．minimalism should be practised accordingly in different situations

C．minimalism is a method difficult to employ in reality

D．life is full of exceptions so it’s difficult to preserve what we value

5.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Minimalism brings happiness.

B．Minimalism is applied in many fields.

C．Minimalism makes people think nostalgically.

D．Minimalism is about able to move.

 

Once upon a time a man became a great archer(射手)．He asked the king to declare

him as the greatest archer of the country．The king was about to do so when an old

servant of the king said，“Wait，sir．I know an old man who lives in the forest．He is a

much greater archer．Let this young man go to him and learn from him for at least three

years．”

The man could not believe that there could be a greater archer than him，but he

went and found the old man and he was! For three years he learned from him．Then one

day, when he thought he had learned everything，the thought arose in him：“If I kill this

old man，then 1 will be the greatest archer．”

The old man had gone to cut wood and he was coming back carrying wood On his

shoulder．The young man hid behind a tree，waiting to kill him．He shot an arrow．The

old man took a small piece of wood and threw it．It struck the arrow and the arrow

turned back and wounded the young man very deeply．The old man came，took Out the

arrow and said。“I knew that some day or other you were going to do this．That’s  why

I have not taught you this secret．There is no need to kill me．My Master is still alive，

and I’m nothing before him．You must be with him for at least thirty years．And he is

very old, so go fast! Find the old man!”

The underlined word in the 1st paragraph is closest in meaning to“       ”

A．admire    B．advise    C．announce     D．admit

The young archer wanted to kill the old man in the

A．he had nothing more to learn from him

B．he could then become the greatest archer

C．the old man refused to teach him everything

D．the king’s old servant ordered him to do SO

The following pictures show what happened between the young archer and his

   master．Which is the right order of the events?

A．1—2—3—4    B．4—3—2—1

C．4—2—3—1    D．4—2—1—3

What do you think would most probably happen next?

A．The young archer died from the wound soon after．

B．The king declared the young man the greatest archer．

C．The young archer found the old man’s master and killed him．

D．The young archer set off to look for the old man’ S master．

What lesson can you learn from the story?

A．There’s always someone better than you in this world．

B．You must never try to become better than your teacher．

C．The older a man is，the better archer he usually becomes．

D．Always use a piece of wood to protect yourself from an arrow．

Parent fans, both dads and mums, are shaming British football with their bad behaviour. Hundreds of junior soccer matches had to be abandoned last season because parent fans were swearing or even fighting on the touchline. At schools and clubs across the UK, hundreds of more matches also had to be called off for the same reason.

Reports tell of abuse at referees（裁判）, players and coaches and fight breaking out on the touchline.

Enough is enough    Peter Wright, a keen referee of junior soccer, finally hung up his boots last season. He decided to walk away for good. He said “Every week I have had to take abuse and I’ve had enough of it.”

“Parents’ behaviour is reducing many school teachers, referees, coaches and volunteers to despair.”

The kids are suffering    Jim Peter, a referee, said, “We are getting desperate and the kids are suffering.” He described the way spectators（观众）behave as abysmal and getting worse year by year. The big question is why so many parents shame their children in this way. Aggressive Behavior Contracts may have to be introduced to stop the violence and abuse. If not, the game will suffer.

Sign up to good conduct    Last season players and parents were made to sign a new good behavior contract. “If a parent breaks the contract, I take his or her child off the pitch and get him or her to explain why I have done so to the child,” said Marc Nash, Wallsend’s assistant leader.

“The next step is to ban both the parent and the child, but happily, so far this has not been necessary.”

1.A number of junior soccer matches were abandoned last season because       .

A．players abused spectators in the matches

B．parent fans swore and fought outside the pitch

C．school teachers persuaded the government to call them off

D．referees and coaches fought on the touchline

2.Who’s an assistant leader in the passage?

A．Marc Nash.

B．Jim Peter.

C．Peter Wright.

D．Wallsend.

3.The underlined word “abysmal” in the passage means       .

A．extremely bad

B．weak

C．disappointing

D．impolite

 

完形填空 （共20小题；每小题1.5分， 满分30分）

  I just came home from visiting my 90-year-old grandpa after his heart surgery. We talked and laughed and before I left he __36__me, told me that he loved me and told me not to be_37_ if he died because he had loved his life.

  When my mom was in hospital due to breast cancer, I went to _38_ her. She wasn’t in her _39_. When I headed for the Nurses Station to _40_ her, I saw her coming down the hall. “ Mom, why are you out of bed? Where have you been?” She _41_ and said she’d been to the nursery floor to visit the babies.

  My lifelong friend almost lost her 50-year-old husband to cancer._42_, she did her full-time job at the hospital and two other jobs to _43_ losing their house. She continued to laugh, love and find_44_ every single day in life.

  And on and on---------

  Maybe that’s part of why I have a positive _45_. I’m really lucky to know so many _46_ people. I’ve known so many people in my life who have _47_ the difficulties and the horrors of life with grace, humor and _48_.

  When you say life isn’t worth _49_, when you say you want to die, when _50_ you know has used you, abused you, _51_ you, hated you, it’s you, your _52_ that have created a life for yourself that you don’t feel is worth living and a life no one else wants to live with you. I don’t feel_53_ for you. I don’t care about you. You’re a coward(懦夫). _54_, you should try to change things, move _55_ and learn something from the things you have experienced. Then maybe someone will really care about you.

  A. drew            B. pulled            C. hugged                   D. showed

  A. frightened       B. sad                C. nervous                  D. astonished

  A. support          B. visit                     C. encourage                D. invite

A. bed                B. office                    C. house                   D. chair

  A. hold            B. remind             C. scold                    D. find

A. sighed              B. smiled            C. nodded                   D. cried

  A. Fortunately      B.Gradually           C. Unbelievably             D. Actually

  A. avoid           B. stop               C. risk                     D. forget

A. work               B. advice            C. surprise                  D. joy

 A. attitude          B. reply             C. demand                 D. belief

 A. romantic         B. humorous         C. optimistic                D. careful

 A. lived for         B. shown off         C. looked for             D. gone through

A. strength           B. courage            C. feelings                 D. spirits

A. living            B. fighting            C. losing                   D. noticing

A. someone          B. nobody           C. everyone                D. everything

A. left              B. envied             C. educated                 D. appreciated

 A. selfishness       B. bravery             C. behavior                 D. honesty

 A. proud          B. sorry               C. excited                  D. happy

 A. Otherwise     B. Besides               C. However                D. Instead

 A. downward      B. backward             C. leftward                 D. forward  

补全对话。  根据对话内容，从对话后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。选项中有两项多余选项。（共5小题；每小题1分，满分5分）

--- Hi, David. You look so happy! Why?

--- I have just finished a short play.      

--- I’m writing a love story, but after the first few pages I just couldn’t write any more.

--- The same thing often happens in the middle of my writing.      

--- Then how should we solve it?

--- Well, take me for example.      Seeing anything interesting happens, I write it down, even it doesn’t make any sense.

--- Does that work for you?

---    

--- Then what is the way out?

--- I usually take a walk in a park and enjoy the sunshine and clean air.     

--- Great! Your measure sounds good. I hope it will work for me.