Question

If you live in America in the 21^st century you'll probably have to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It's become the default response when you ask anyone how they are doing: “Busy!” “Crazy busy!”. It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the common response is a kind of congratulation:“ That's a good problem to have, ”or“ Better than the opposite.”

    Notice it isn't generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the ICU or commuting by bus to three minimum-wage jobs who tell you how busy they are. What those people are is not busy but tired. Exhausted! Dead on their feet. It's almost always people whose busyness is purely self-imposed work and obligations they've taken on voluntarily, classes and activities they've “encouraged” their kids to participate in. They're busy because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety, because they're addicted to busyness and dread that they might have to face in its absence.

    Almost everyone I know is busy. They feel anxious and guilty when they aren't either working or doing something to promote their work. It's something they have chosen. Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance(令人安心的保证），a measure against emptiness, obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or tiny or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day.

Idleness is not just a vacation. It is as necessary to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as ugly as rickets. The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration.” Idle dreaming is often the essence of what we do”, wrote Thomas Pynchon. Archimedes' “Eureka” in the bath, Newton's apple :history is full of stories of inspirations that come in idle moments.

1.When many Americans say “Crazy busy”, they mean______.

A. they are really tired of their present situation

B. they are really proud of their present life

C. they are complaining about their current work

D. their life are full of all kinds of problems

2.The writer mentions Archimedes'“Eureka” and Newton's apple to show that________.

A. history is full of interesting stories

B. Archimedes and Newton were very busy, so they made great discoveries

C. people may get inspiration when they are idle

D. inspirations come from hard work

3.The word “its” in the second paragraph refers to_________________.

 ambition       B. anxiety                 C. busyness                      D. dread

4.From the article, we can infer that ___________________.

A. generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the ICU tell you they are busy

B. “Dead on their feet” means “being tired out”

C. all the kids are self-imposed due to the drive and motivation

D. The author seems to agree that idleness is better than busyness

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.B

2.C

3.C

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文叙述了21世纪的美国人们的生活现状。“忙！”“很忙。”“忙疯了。”已经变成了“你最近还好吗”的默认回答。很明显，这些都是伪装在抱怨之下的自我标榜。对于它们的常备答复是：“忙一点好，”或者“总比不忙强。”他们忙，是出于自己的志向、动力或者焦虑情绪，只因为他们对忙碌上瘾，并且恐惧无所事事的感觉。但是历史总是充满了灵感的故事，它们恰恰来自于悠闲的时光与白日梦。

1.推理题：根据“It is,pretty obviously,a boast disguised as a complaint. And the common response is a kind of congratulation:"That's a good problem to have,"or"Better than the opposite.”很显然,这是一个伪装的抱怨。和常见的反应是一种祝贺:“这是个好问题,”或“比相反的"。意思是他们以自己的生活为傲。故选B。

2.细节题：根据"Eureka"in the bath, Newton's apple :history is full of stories of inspirations that come in idle moments.人们得到灵感是他们闲的时候，故选C。

3.推理题：根据他们忙，是出于自己的志向、动力或者焦虑情绪，只因为他们对忙碌上瘾，并且恐惧无所事事的感觉。故选C。

4.推理题：根据What those people are is not busy but tired.Exhausted!可以判断是人累坏了，故选B。

考点：考查社会现象类阅读