Sitting is an art that isn't getting passed along. People these days feel as though they have to be doing something. If they are not working, they are jogging, or playing tennis or golf, or taking courses to improve their minds or bodies--or they are parked in front of the TV. Sitting in front of the TV isn't sitting--it's watching.

　　People used to sit a whole lot. You would walk down the street or drive down the road, and there they would be, out on the doorsteps, sitting. You could go down to the store and sit on the bench out front in the summer or around the fire in the winter. There were sitting benches out in the town square. At the garage, there were straight-backed chairs. There among the oilcans and tires and spare parts, you could kick back and sit.

　　Houses used to have sitting rooms, where the grown-ups would go after Sunday dinner. Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Aunt Ruby would sit and digest（消化）the fried chicken and talk about Aunt Ethel's illness, and how well the minister did today. Outside, the children would play, and the afternoon would pass by in a comfortable haze（悠闲的氛围）.

　　That sort of thing looks like doing nothing. A recharging battery（正充电的电池）doesn't look as if it's doing anything either. Sitting restores your soul. If you want to enjoy a truly full life, don't just do something--sit there.

(1)What message does the author try to get through to us?

[　　]

A．People should make better use of their sitting room.

B．People should spend less time watching TV.

C．People should pass down their good habits.

D．People should take things easy for their own good.

(2)We can learn from the second paragraph that ________.

[　　]

A．people lived a more restful life in the past

B．towns were built to make living convenient

C．small town garages had a lot to offer

D．people enjoyed going out for a drive

(3)The sitting room mentioned in the text used to be a place for ________.

[　　]

(4)From the text we know the writer believes ________.

[　　]

A．sitting has a good spiritual effect

B．sitting helps people remember the past

C．a sitting room may have different purposes

D．a sitting room is important for the old

　　Sitting is an art that isn't getting passed along. People these days feel as though they have to be doing something. If they are not working, they are jogging, or playing tennis or golf, or taking courses to improve their minds or bodies--or they are parked in front of the TV. Sitting in front of the TV isn't sitting--it's watching.

　　People used to sit a whole lot. You would walk down the street or drive down the road, and there they would be, out on the doorsteps, sitting. You could go down to the store and sit on the bench out front in the summer or around the fire in the winter. There were sitting benches out in the town square. At the garage, there were straight-backed chairs. There among the oil can sand tires and spare parts, you could kick back and sit.

　　Houses used to have sitting rooms, where the grown-ups would go after Sunday dinner. Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Aunt Ruby would sit and digest （消化）the fried chicken and talk about Aunt Ethel's illness, and how well the minister did today. Outside, the children would play, and the afternoon would pass by in a comfortable haze（悠闲的氛围）.

　　That sort of thing looks like doing nothing. A recharging battery（正充电的电池）doesn't look as if it's doing anything either. Sitting restores your soul. If you want to enjoy a truly full life, don't just do something--sit there.

(1) What message does the author try to get through to us?

[　　]

A．People should make better use of their sitting room.

B．People should spend less time watching TV.

C．People should pass down their good habits.

D．People should take things easy for their own good.

(2) We can learn from the second paragraph that ________.

［　　］

A．people lived a more restful life in the past

B．towns were built to make living convenient

C．small town garages had a lot to offer

D．people enjoyed going out for a drive

(3) The sitting room mentioned in the text used to be a place for ________.

[　　]

(4) From the text we know the writer believes ________.

[　　]

A．sitting has a good spiritual effect

B．sitting helps people remember the past

C．a sitting room may have different purposes

D．a sitting room is important for the old

 Sitting is art that isn’t getting passed along. People these days feel as though they have to be doing something. If they are not working, they are jogging, or playing tennis or golf, or taking courses to improve their minds or bodies –or they are parked in front of the TV. Sitting in front of the TV isn’t sitting – it’s watching.

People used to sit a lot. You would walk down the street or drive down the road, and there they would be, out on the doorsteps, sitting. You could go down to the store and sit on the bench out front in the summer or around the fire in the winter. There were sitting benches out in the town square. At the garage, there were straight-backed chairs. There among the oilcans and tries and spare parts, you could kick back and sit.

Houses used to have sitting rooms, where the grown ups would go after Sunday dinner. Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Aunt Ruby would sit and digest (消化) the fried chicken and talk about Aunt Ethel’s illness, and how well the minister did today. Outside, the children would play, and the afternoon would pass by in a comfortable haze (悠闲的氛围).

That sort of thing looks like doing nothing. A recharging battery (正在充电的电池) doesn’t look as if it’s doing anything either. Sitting restores your soul if you want to enjoy a truly full life, don’t just do something –sit there.

1.What message does the author try to get through to us ?

2.We can learn from the second paragraph that  _____________

3.The sitting room mentioned in the text used to be a place for______________.

4. From the text we know the writer believes_______________

Sitting is art that isn’t getting passed along. People these days feel as though they have to be doing something. If they are not working, they are jogging, or playing tennis or golf, or taking courses to improve their minds or bodies –or they are parked in front of the TV. Sitting in front of the TV isn’t sitting – it’s watching.
People used to sit a lot. You would walk down the street or drive down the road, and there they would be, out on the doorsteps, sitting. You could go down to the store and sit on the bench out front in the summer or around the fire in the winter. There were sitting benches out in the town square. At the garage, there were straight-backed chairs. There among the oilcans and tries and spare parts, you could kick back and sit.
Houses used to have sitting rooms, where the grown ups would go after Sunday dinner. Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Aunt Ruby would sit and digest (消化) the fried chicken and talk about Aunt Ethel’s illness, and how well the minister did today. Outside, the children would play, and the afternoon would pass by in a comfortable haze (悠闲的氛围).
That sort of thing looks like doing nothing. A recharging battery (正在充电的电池) doesn’t look as if it’s doing anything either. Sitting restores your soul if you want to enjoy a truly full life, don’t just do something –sit there.
【小题1】What message does the author try to get through to us ?

Not every president is a leader, but every time we elect a president we hope for one, especially in time of trouble. Leadership is as much a question of timing as anything else. The leader must appear on the scene at a moment when people are looking for leadership. And when he comes, he must offer a straightforward and powerful message.

Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers who cut through argument, debate and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand and remember. We have an image of what a leader ought to be. We even recognize the physical signs: leaders may not necessarily be tall, but they must have bigger- than-life, commanding features. We expect our leaders to stand out a little, not to be like ordinary men. Half of President Ford’s trouble lay in the fact that, if you closed your eyes for a moment, you couldn’t remember his face, figure, or clothes.

It also helps for a leader to be able to do something most of us can’t. Mao swam the Yangtze River at the age of 72. We want our leaders to be like us but better, special, more so. Yet if they are too different, we reject them.

A leader must know how to use power (that’s what leadership is about), but he also has to have a way of showing that he does. A leader should know how to appear relaxed and confident. His walk should be firm and purposeful. He should be able to give a good, hearty, belly laugh. Ronald Reagan’s career as an actor showed to good effect in the debate with his opponent. He managed to convey the impression that in fact he was the President.

A leader rides the waves, moves with the tides, understands the deepest feelings of his people. He cannot make a nation that wants peace at any price go to war, or stop a nation determined to fight from doing so. His purpose must match the national mood. His task is to focus the people’s energies and desires, to inspire, to make what people already want seem possible and important to achieve.

68． The passage is mainly about____________________.

A．how a leader is elected                         B．what it takes to be a leader

C．when a leader is needed                  D．where a leader lays his power

69．The author thinks that President Ford_________________.

A．was an ordinary-looking man

B．got into more trouble than the other presidents

C．was not tall enough for his status

D．stood too far away from real life

70． According to the passage, Reagan succeeded in winning his election largely due to the fact that _______.

A．he was once an actor         

B．he was able to well present himself

C．Reagan did much for America    

D．Reagan was a very lucky man

71．In the last paragraph the author emphasizes that a leader should_________________.

A．encourage his people to think about things in a new way

B．like to swim like Mao to fight with waves and tides

C．spare no efforts to get his people to follow him   

D．try to know his people and make them happy