Math are my weak subject. Recently l almost　　　　　　　　　　   1.________

failed in all math tests. This made me worry　　　　　　　　　　　　    2.________

and discouraged. Knowing that he was in low spirits,　　　　　　　　　　 3.________

Mr. Liu, who was taking care my class, advised me to　　　　　　　　　　 4.________

read an article. l finished read it right away. It　　　　　　　　　　　　   5.________

was a true story about a girl student who was lost　　　　　　　　　　    6.________

both her arms and a leg in the age of two. But she　　　　　　　　　　    7.________

didn’t lose heart as many people had thought her.　　　　　　　　　　    8.________

Instead, she smoothed away various difficulties　　　　　　　　　　　　 9.________

and learned to write with her own only foot.　　　　　　　　　　　　    10.________

I was deeply moved by her story. Now I’ve made up

my mind to work harder and learn math well.

 

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.

66. 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

67. 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

68. 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.

69. 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

70. 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.