One morning a few years ago，Harvard President Neil Rudenstine overslept. For this busy man，it was a sort of alarm: after years of non-stop hard work，he might wear himself out and die an early death.
Only after a week's leave—during which he read novels, listened to music and walked with his wife on a beach—was Rudenstine able to return to work.
In our modern life, we have lost the rhythm between action and rest. Surprisingly, within this world there is a universal but silly saying:“I am so busy.”
We say this to one another as if our tireless efforts were a talent by nature and an ability to successfully deal with stress. The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others. To be unavailable to our friends and family, and to be unable to find time to relax—this has become the model of a successful life.
Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the guide telling us where to go, the food providing us with strength, the quiet giving us wisdom.
How have we allowed this to happen? I believe it is this: we have forgotten the Sabbath, the day of the week—for followers of some religions—for rest and praying. It is a day when we are not supposed to work, a time when we devote ourselves to enjoying and celebrating what is beautiful. It is a good time to bless our children and loved ones, give thanks, share meals，walk and sleep. It is a time for us to take a rest, to put our work aside, trusting that there are larger forces at work taking care of the world.
Rest is a spiritual and biological need；however，in our strong ambition to be successful and care for our many responsibilities，we may feel terribly guilty when we take time to rest. The Sabbath gives us permission to stop work. In fact, “Remember the Sabbath ”is more than simply permission to rest；it is a rule to obey and a principle to follow.
50. The “alarm” in the first paragraph refers to “______”.
　　A. a signal of stress                                  B. a warning of danger
　　C. a sign of age                                      D. a spread of disease
51. According to Paragraph 4,a successful person is one who is believed to ____.
　　A. be able to work without stress　　            B. be more talented than other people
　　C. be more important than anyone else　　 D. be busy working without time to rest
52. Some people feel guilty when taking time to rest because they ____.
　　A. think that taking a rest means lacking ambitions
　　B. fail to realize that rest is an essential part of life
　　C. fail to realize that religions force them to rest
　　D. think that taking a rest means being lazy
53. What is the main idea of this passage?
　　A. We should balance work with rest.
　　B. The Sabbath givers us permission to rest.
　　C. It is silly for anyone to say “I am so busy.”
　　D. We should be available to our family and friends.

As I sat beside the window of our classroom that afternoon, my heart sank further with each passing car. This was a day I’d looked forward to for weeks: Miss Pace’s fourth-grade, end-of-the-year party.

I had happily volunteered my mother when Miss Pace looked for cookie volunteers. Mom’s chocolate chips were well-known, and I knew they’d be a hit with my classmates. But two o’clock passed, and there was no sign of her. Most of the other mothers had already come and gone, dropping off their sweet offerings.

The three o’clock bell soon took me away from my thoughts and I took my book bag from my desk.

I decided I would slam the front door, and refuse to return her hug. But when I arrived, she wasn’t at home.

I was lying face-down on my bed upstairs when I heard her come through the front door.

“Robbie,” she called out a bit urgently. “Where are you?”

I could then hear her rushing anxiously from room to room, wondering where I could be. I remained silent.

Coming through the door, she said: “I’m so sorry, honey,” she said. “I just forgot. I got busy and forgot.”

Then my mother did something completely unexpected. She began to laugh! How could she laugh at a time like this? I rolled over and faced her, ready to let her see my rage (愤怒).

But my mother wasn’t laughing at all. She was crying. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I let you down. I let my little boy down.”

I was moved by her tears.

I tried to remember her kind words from times past when I’d skinned knees or cut myself, times when she knew just the right thing to say.

“It’s okay, Mom. We didn’t even need those cookies. There was plenty of stuff to eat. Don’t cry. It’s all right. Really.”

We didn’t say another word. We just held each other. When we came to the point where I would usually pull away, I decided that, this time, I could hold on, perhaps, just a little bit longer.

1.. The author was pretty down because ______.

A. he couldn’t go to the party he had been looking forward to

B. his mother didn’t turn up at the party as she had promised

C. his mother had refused to make chocolate chips for the party

D. the cookies his mom made was not popular at the party

One morning a few years ago, Harvard President Neil Rudenstine overslept. For this busy man, it was a sort of alarm: after years of non-stop hard work, he might wear himself out and die an early death.

Only after a week’s leave—— during which he read novels, listened to music and walked with his wife on a beach—— was Rudenstine able to return to work.

In our modern life, we have lost the rhythm between action and rest. Amazingly, within this world there is a universal but silly saying: “I am so busy.”

We say this to one another as if our tireless efforts were a talent by nature and an ability to successfully deal with stress. The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others. To be unavailable to our friends and family, and to be unable to find time to relax—— this has become the model of a successful life.

Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the guide telling us where to go, the food providing is with strength, the quiet giving us wisdom.

How have we allowed this to happen? I believe it is this: we have forgotten the Sabbath, the day of the week—— for followers of some religions—— for rest and praying. It is a day when we are not supposed to work, a time when we devote ourselves to enjoying and celebrating what is beautiful. It is a good time to bless our children and loved ones, give thanks, share meals, walk and sleep. It is a time for us to take a rest, to put our work aside, trusting that there are larger forces at work taking care of the world.

Rest is s spiritual and biological need; however, in our strong ambition to be successful and care for our many responsibilities, we may feel terribly guilty when we take time to rest. The Sabbath gives us permission to stop work. In fact, “Remember the Sabbath” is more than simply permission to rest; it is a rule to obey and a principle to follow.

The “alarm” in the first paragraph refers to “_______”.

A. a signal of stress

B. a warning of danger

C. a sign of age

D. a spread of disease

According to Paragraph 4, a successful person is one who is believed to _______.

A. be able to work without stress

B. be more talented than other people

C. be more important than anyone else

D. be busying working without time to rest

Some people feel guilty when taking time to rest because they _______.

A. think that taking a rest means lacking ambitions

B. fail to realize that rest is an essential part of life

C. fail to realize that religions force them to rest

D. think that taking a rest means being lazy

What is the main idea of this passage?

A. We should balance work with rest.

B. The Sabbath gives us permission to rest.

C. It is silly for anyone to say “I am busy.”

D. We should be available to our family and friends.

One morning a few years ago，Harvard President Neil Rudenstine overslept. For this busy man，it was a sort of alarm: after years of non-stop hard work，he might wear himself out and die an early death.

Only after a week's leave—during which he read novels, listened to music and walked with his wife on a beach—was Rudenstine able to return to work.

In our modern life, we have lost the rhythm between action and rest. Surprisingly, within this world there is a universal but silly saying:“I am so busy.”

We say this to one another as if our tireless efforts were a talent by nature and an ability to successfully deal with stress. The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others. To be unavailable to our friends and family, and to be unable to find time to relax—this has become the model of a successful life.

Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the guide telling us where to go, the food providing us with strength, the quiet giving us wisdom.

How have we allowed this to happen? I believe it is this: we have forgotten the Sabbath, the day of the week—for followers of some religions—for rest and praying. It is a day when we are not supposed to work, a time when we devote ourselves to enjoying and celebrating what is beautiful. It is a good time to bless our children and loved ones, give thanks, share meals，walk and sleep. It is a time for us to take a rest, to put our work aside, trusting that there are larger forces at work taking care of the world.

Rest is a spiritual and biological need；however，in our strong ambition to be successful and care for our many responsibilities，we may feel terribly guilty when we take time to rest. The Sabbath gives us permission to stop work. In fact, “Remember the Sabbath ”is more than simply permission to rest；it is a rule to obey and a principle to follow.

50. The “alarm” in the first paragraph refers to “______”.

　　A. a signal of stress                                   B. a warning of danger

　　C. a sign of age                                       D. a spread of disease

51. According to Paragraph 4,a successful person is one who is believed to ____.

　　A. be able to work without stress　　            B. be more talented than other people

　　C. be more important than anyone else　　 D. be busy working without time to rest

52. Some people feel guilty when taking time to rest because they ____.

　　A. think that taking a rest means lacking ambitions

　　B. fail to realize that rest is an essential part of life

　　C. fail to realize that religions force them to rest

　　D. think that taking a rest means being lazy

53. What is the main idea of this passage?

　　A. We should balance work with rest.

　　B. The Sabbath givers us permission to rest.

　　C. It is silly for anyone to say “I am so busy.”

　　D. We should be available to our family and friends.

As I sat beside the window of our classroom that afternoon, my heart sank further with each passing car. This was a day I’d looked forward to for weeks: Miss Pace’s fourth-grade, end-of-the-year party. I had happily volunteered my mother when Miss Pace looked for cookie volunteers. Mom’s chocolate chips were well-known, and I knew they’d be a hit with my classmates. But two o’clock passed, and there was no sign of her. Most of the other mothers had already come and gone, dropping off their sweet offerings. The three o’clock bell soon took me away from my thoughts and I took my book bag from my desk. I decided I would slam the front door, and refuse to return her hug.

But when I arrived, she wasn’t at home. I was lying face-down on my bed upstairs when I heard her come through the front door. “Robbie,” she called out a bit urgently. “Where are you?” I could then hear her rushing anxiously from room to room, wondering where I could be. I remained silent. Coming through the door, she said: “I’m so sorry, honey,” she said. “I just forgot. I got busy and forgot.” Then my mother did something completely unexpected. She began to laugh! How could she laugh at a time like this? I rolled over and faced her, ready to let her see my rage (愤怒). But my mother wasn’t laughing at all. She was crying. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I let you down. I let my little boy down.”

I was moved by her tears. I tried to remember her kind words from times past when I’d skinned knees or cut myself, times when she knew just the right thing to say. “It’s okay, Mom. We didn’t even need those cookies. There was plenty of stuff to eat. Don’t cry. It’s all right. Really.” We didn’t say another word. We just held each other. When we came to the point where I would usually pull away, I decided that, this time, I could hold on, perhaps, just a little bit longer.

1.The author was pretty down because ________.

A．he couldn’t go to the party he had been looking forward to

B．his mother didn’t turn up at the party as she had promised

C．his mother had refused to make chocolate chips for the party

D．the cookies his mom made was not popular at the party

2.When the author returned home, ________.

A．he was so angry that he slammed the front door.

B．he was silent and refused to return his mother’s hug.

C．he rushed from room to room looking for his mother.

D．he was so disappointed that he couldn’t express his anger to his mother.

3.We can tell from the story that _______.

A．the mother didn’t get to the party because of the traffic jam

B．the mother was sorry for her absence and laughed at herself

C．the author was a caring and thoughtful boy

D．the author was overcome with anger

4.The article conveys the message that _______.

A．it is silly to be angry with your family

B．everybody should keep his or her promises

C．true love is based on understanding

D．understanding how to comfort people in low spirits is a true skill