Because the scientists are always traveling towards the truth _________ arriving at them, they need to help one another to find the way.

A．more than

B．bless than

C．other than

D．rather than

 

 

　　The way people hold to the belief that a fun - filled, pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably(不可避免的)brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment (义务), self - improvement.

Ask a bachelor(单身汉)why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.

Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three - day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.

Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates（解放） time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.

1. According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because _______ .

A. he finds more fun in dating than in marriage

B. he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single

C. he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities

D. he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement

2. Raising children, in the author’s opinion is ________ .

A. a rewarding task                  B. a thankless job

C. a moral duty                     D. a source of inevitable pain

3. From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from ________

A. hatred　　 B. ignorance      C. prejudice　　　D. misunderstanding

4. To understand what true happiness is one must ________ .

A. have as much fun as possible during one’s lifetime

B. be able to distinguish happiness from fun

C. put up with pain under all circumstances

D. make every effort to liberate oneself from pain

5. What is the author trying to tell us?

A. It is important to make commitments

B. One must know how to attain happiness.

C. Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain.

D. It is pain that leads to happiness.

 

阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。

注意：每个空格只填一个单词。

There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product；the other as a process. People have generally viewed personal growth as an external（外在的）result or a product that can easily be identified and measured. The worker who gets a promotion，the student whose grades improve，the foreigner who learns a new language—these are examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts.

By contrast（对照），the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine，since by definition it is a journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way.The process is not the road itself，but the attitudes，feelings people have，and their caution or courage，as they meet with new experiences and unexpected difficulties.In this process，the journey never really ends;there are always new ways to experience the world，new ideas to try，new challenges to accept.

In order to grow，to travel new roads，people need to have a willingness to take risks，to face the unknown，and to accept the possibility that they may “fail” at first. How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is necessary for our ability to grow. Do we see ourselves as quick and curious？If so，then we tend to take more chances and to be more open to unfamiliar experiences. Do we think we're shy and indecisive？Then our sense of fear can cause us to hesitate，to move slowly，and not to take a step until we know the ground is safe. Do we think we are slow to adapt to change or that we're not smart enough to deal with a new challenge？Then we are likely to take a more passive role or not try at all.

These feelings of insecurity and self-­doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow. If we protect ourselves too much，then we stop growing. We become trapped inside a shell of our own making.

Two basic ways to see growth	1.	Examples
Product	Easily identified and measured	●The worker  2.   a promotion ●The students making 3. in grades ●The foreigner learning a new language
Process	●4. to determine ● Never really ends	●People's attitudes，feelings and their caution or courage，as they are   5.  with new experiences and difficulties beyond     6.   . ●Being 7.  to take risks，to face the unknown，and to accept possible   8.
9.	●Too much self     10.   can prevent us from growing.

 

 

Catherine didn’t like her roommates, because they _____ things from her.

    A. are always borrowing        B. have always borrowed

C. had always borrowed         D. were always borrowing

 

Catch yourself daydreaming while washing the dishes again? If this happens often you probably have a pretty capable working memory and a sharper brain, new research suggests.

This mind wandering, it seems, actually gives your working memory a workout. Working memory is the mental work space that allows the brain to juggle multiple thoughts at the same time. The more working memory a person has, the more daydreaming they can do without forgetting the task at hand.

Researchers studied groups of people from the University of Wisconsin－Madison community, ranging in age from 18 to 65. The volunteers were asked to perform simple tasks, like pressing a button every time they took a breath or clicking in response to a letter popping up on a computer screen; these tasks were so easy that their minds were likely to wander, the researchers figured.

The researchers checked in periodically, asking the participants if their minds were on task or wandering. When the task was over, they measured each participant's working memory capacity by having them remember letters while doing math questions. Though all participants performed well on the task, the researchers noticed that the individuals who indicated their minds had wandered more than others also scored higher on the working memory test.

“What this study seems to suggest is that, when circumstances for the task aren't very difficult, people who have additional working memory resources allocate them to think about things other than what they're doing，” said Jonathan Smallwood, a study researcher of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitve and Brain Science.

When our minds run out of working memory, these off－topic thoughts can take the main stage without us consciously meaning them to; for instance, arriving at home with no memory of the actual trip, or suddenly realizing that they've turned several pages in a book without understanding any of the words.

“It's almost like your attention was so absorbed in the mind wandering that there wasn't any left over to remember your goal to read，” study researcher Daniel Levinson, said in a statement.

People with overall higher working memory were better able to stay focused when the task at hand required it. Those who had low working memory often had their thoughts drift away from the task, and did less well at it.

The findings add to past research suggesting these mind drifts can be positive moments. For instance, daydreaming has often been associated with creativity—researchers think that our most creative and inventive moments come when daydreaming. It's likely that the most intelligent among us also have high levels of working memory, Levinson noted.

1.The word “juggle” in the second paragraph can be replaced by “________”．

A. handle  B. search  C. understand  D. distribute

2.What can be concluded from Jonathan Smallwood's words?

A. People who often have daydreams probably own a pretty capable working memory.

B. On the working memory test, people with wandering minds will get high score.

C. Absorbed in the mind wandering, your attention left no space for your goal.

D. Dealing with some easy jobs, people with higher working memory will daydream.

3.What is the best title of the passage?

A. Mind drifts are always positive.

B. Daydreaming is good for the mind.

C. Creative moments come with working memory.

D. The more daydreaming, the more effectively one works.