Nowadays more and more people are trapped in too busy work to relax themselves. We have no time to tell a bed-time story to our children, or enjoy a nice dinner with our family, or take a break to think about how we live the precious life, or even meet friends. All we notice is that the distinctions that used to guide and steady us ------ between Sunday and Monday, public and private, here and there ------ are gone. We have more ways to communicate, but less and less to say. Partly because we’re so busy communicating.

Maybe that’s why more and more people I know, even if they have no religious commitment, seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or tai chi. Some friends of mine try to go on long walks every Sunday, or to “forget” their cell phones at home. A series of tests in recent years has shown that after spending time in quiet rural settings, subjects “exhibit greater attentiveness, stronger memory and generally improved cognition. Their brains become both calmer and sharper.” More than that, empathy, as well as deep thought, depends on neural processes that are “inherently slow. ” The very ones our high-speed lives have little time for.

In my own case, I turn to eccentric and often extreme measures to try to keep my sanity and ensure that I have time to do nothing at all. I’ve not yet used a cell phone and I’ve never Tweeted or entered Face book. I try not to go online till my day’s writing is finished, and I moved from Manhattan to rural Japan.

None of this is a matter of principle or asceticism (苦行主义): it’s just pure selfishness. Nothing makes me feel better-----calmer, clearer and happier----than being in one place, absorbed in a book, a conversation, a piece of music. It’s actually something deeper than mere happiness: it’s joy, which the monk David Steindl-Rast describes as “that kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.” That is the highest of the highest we have been longing for----The Joy of Quiet.

1.The writer sometimes doesn’t do anything because ________.

A．he is out of work .                       B．whatever he does make no sense

C．he is worried about his writing.             D．he can enjoy himself in his leisure time.

2.When the writer uses the word “forget” , his real meaning is _______.

A．Somebody really forgets his cell phone at home.

B．Somebody thinks cell phone is not a suitable means of communication.

C．Somebody hates modern techniques such as the cell phone.

D．Somebody leaves his cell phone at home on purpose.

3.Which of the following is right?

A．It is better to go back to the ancient times since we are so busy now.

B．The writer is unwilling to help others since he is selfish.

C．Slowing down to find time and space to think and enjoy oneself is urgent.

D．We have more to say because we have more ways to communicate.

4.What does the underlined word mean?

A．difference         B．sameness          C．simplicity          D．complication

5.What is the main idea of the article?

A．The importance of spending time in quiet.

B．We can do some sports such as yoga to relax.

C．Principle or asceticism is important in one’s life.

D．The more we communicate, the more we will be closer.

Nowadays more and more people are trapped in too busy work to relax themselves. We have no time to tell a bed-time story to our children, or enjoy a nice dinner with our family, or take a break to think about how we live the precious life, or even meet friends. All we notice is that the distinctions that used to guide and steady us ------ between Sunday and Monday, public and private, here and there ------ are gone. We have more ways to communicate, but less and less to say. Partly because we’re so busy communicating.
Maybe that’s why more and more people I know, even if they have no religious commitment, seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or tai chi. Some friends of mine try to go on long walks every Sunday, or to “forget” their cellphones at home. A series of tests in recent years has shown that after spending time in quiet rural settings, subjects “exhibit greater attentiveness, stronger memory and generally improved cognition. Their brains become both calmer and sharper.” More than that, empathy, as well as deep thought, depends on neural processes that are “inherently slow. ” The very ones our high-speed lives have little time for.
In my own case, I turn to eccentric and often extreme measures to try to keep my sanity and ensure that I have time to do nothing at all. I’ve not yet used a cellphone and I’ve never Tweeted or entered Facebook. I try not to go online till my day’s writing is finished, and I moved from Manhattan to rural Japan.
None of this is a matter of principle or asceticism (苦行主义): it’s just pure selfishness. Nothing makes me feel better-----calmer, clearer and happier----than being in one place, absorbed in a book, a conversation, a piece of music. It’s actually something deeper than mere happiness: it’s joy, which the monk David Steindl-Rast describes as “that kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.” That is the highest of the highest we have been longing for----The Joy of Quiet.
【小题1】The writer sometimes doesn’t do anything because ________.

Nowadays more and more people are trapped in too busy work to relax themselves. We have no time to tell a bed-time story to our children, or enjoy a nice dinner with our family, or take a break to think about how we live the precious life, or even meet friends. All we notice is that the distinctions that used to guide and steady us ------ between Sunday and Monday, public and private, here and there ------ are gone. We have more ways to communicate, but less and less to say. Partly because we’re so busy communicating.
Maybe that’s why more and more people I know, even if they have no religious commitment, seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or tai chi. Some friends of mine try to go on long walks every Sunday, or to “forget” their cell phones at home. A series of tests in recent years has shown that after spending time in quiet rural settings, subjects “exhibit greater attentiveness, stronger memory and generally improved cognition. Their brains become both calmer and sharper.” More than that, empathy, as well as deep thought, depends on neural processes that are “inherently slow. ” The very ones our high-speed lives have little time for.
In my own case, I turn to eccentric and often extreme measures to try to keep my sanity and ensure that I have time to do nothing at all. I’ve not yet used a cell phone and I’ve never Tweeted or entered Face book. I try not to go online till my day’s writing is finished, and I moved from Manhattan to rural Japan.
None of this is a matter of principle or asceticism (苦行主义): it’s just pure selfishness. Nothing makes me feel better-----calmer, clearer and happier----than being in one place, absorbed in a book, a conversation, a piece of music. It’s actually something deeper than mere happiness: it’s joy, which the monk David Steindl-Rast describes as “that kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.” That is the highest of the highest we have been longing for----The Joy of Quiet.
【小题1】The writer sometimes doesn’t do anything because ________.

D
“Pay has little to do with motivation in the workplace”．That’s the argument put forward by best-selling author Daniel Pink in his new book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us．“Pay for performance is supposed to be a folk tale,” he says．
Daniel argues that, if employees receive a basic level of payment, three other factors matter more than money: a sense of independence, of mastery over one’s labor, and of serving a purpose larger than oneself．For example, in 2008 at the offices of Best Buy’s Richfield, salaried workers there were allowed to organize their own work day, putting in only as many hours as they felt necessary to get their jobs done．Productivity increased by 35% according to The Harvard Business Review．
But the managers at Goldman Sachs aren’t exactly making some efforts to adjust．Like others on Wall Street, the banking giant argues that fat bonuses （extra rewards） are essential to make its numbers．“That’s exactly the attitude that leads to the recent financial crisis in the United States,” responds Daniel, “as managers always focus on short-term rewards that encourage cheating, shortcuts, and dishonest behavior．”
Moreover, the 45-year-old author and former Al Gore speechwriter refers to social-science experiments and experiences at such workplaces as Google and 3M．In one 2005 experiment he describes, economists working for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston tested the power of incentives （激励） by offering cash rewards to those who did well in games that included reciting a series of numbers and throwing tennis balls at a target．The researchers’ finding: Over and over, higher incentives led to worse performance --- and those given the highest incentives did the poorest job．
From this and other cases, Daniel draws a conclusion that monetary incentives remove the element of play and creativity, transforming “an interesting task into a dull one．” It’s even possible, he adds, for oversized rewards to have dangerous side effects, like those of a drug dependency in which an addicted requires ever larger amounts．He refers to scientific testing that shows the promise of cash rewards increase a chemical in the brain similar to that brought on by cocaine or nicotine．
Daniel, however, is also aware that his company examples --- no GE, no IBM, no Microsoft --- hardly represent the commanding heights of the economy．But he thinks his approach will catch on, even in the biggest companies．“Managers tend to be realistic, and in time they will respond,” he says．
53．In his book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel Pink is promoting the idea that _____．
A．it is a money-driven society    B．all workers are not driven by money
C．money plays a key role in management  D．pay has nothing to do with workplaces
54．In Daniel’s point of view, many Wall Street managers are _______．
A．dishonest      B．considerate   C．short-sighted       D．ridiculous
55．In paragraph 5, the example of drug-taking is given to show _______．
A．money is as addictive as cocaine or nicotine
B．big rewards bring about dangerous side effect
C．nicotine and money bring the same chemical
D．workers do not need the incentives of money at all
56．We can learn from the last paragraph that _______．
A．Daniel’s approach will be popular in a wider field
B．realistic managers will first consider Daniel’s approach
C．Daniel’s approach meets the demand of economic crisis
D．GE, IBM and Microsoft will join in Daniel’s approach next