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.
【小题1】In paragraph l, the writer gives the definition of minimalism to      .

I finished my last work of the week and could hardly wait to get home, take off my nursing shoes, and relax.

As I _36_ my car, I saw one of my _37_ standing by the bus stop. I thought it would only take a couple of extra minutes to give her a ride home, and _38_, it was too cold to be standing outside on the coldest _39_ in January. I didn’t know where she lived, but I was _40_ I would be able to find my way back.

We _41_ about our work as I drove and _42_ we knew it, we arrived at her house. I started driving back. _43_ looked familiar, but at first that didn’t _44_ me. But soon I _45_ something wrong. I recognized nothing. But I told myself to stay _46_.

I was _47_ neighborhoods, streets and even streetlights. I no longer knew where I was now. How could I be so stupid! I looked down at my _48_. It was now 2:30 a.m. My gas was slowly running out. I _49_ the car and turned off the engine. In total defeat, I put my head down on the wheel, _50_. Then I raised my head and saw a(n) _51_ down the road in front of me. I turned my headlights on. A car! I drove a little _52_, got out of my car and knocked on the window of that car. An elderly man _53_ rolled his window down.

I said that I didn’t know how to get back into town. In silence, he started driving. I ran back to my car and drove behind him. Finally I _54_ a familiar street. As I turned to head home, the car disappeared. Then I _55_ my driveway (车道) when the warning light for my gas tank (汽油箱) turned on.

Though so many years have passed, I still thank the old man from my deepest heart.

短文改错（共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分）

　　假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线,（  ）并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1.每处错误及修改均仅限一词;

　　　2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

June 12, Sunday, Fine

Today is Sunday. I didn't get up early as usually. In the morning after I finished my home-work, I do some washing.  Then I telephoned one of my classmate and invited him to see a film. And unfortunately, when we got to the cinema at 3:00 p.m. we found all the tickets had sold out. So we went to our school and played the football.  After that, when we were about to go home, we saw our English teacher, Mr. Wang, came into the school gate. He told us we had made many progress in English this term. He also suggested that we should read more and wrote more.  We promised that we would take his advices.

There’s a guy like me in every state and federal prison in America，I guess—I’m the guy who can get these for you：cigarettes，a bag of cigar，if you want that，a bottle of wine to celebrate your son or daughter’s high school graduation，or almost anything else．．．within reason，that is．It wasn’t always that way．

I came to Shawshank when I was just twenty，and I am one of the few people in the prison who is willing to admit what he did．I committed murder．I put a large insurance policy on my wife，who was three years older than 1 was，and then I fixed the brakes of the car her father had given us as a wedding present．It worked out exactly as I had planned，except I hadn’t planned on her stopping to pick up the neighbour woman and the woman’s son on the way down Castle Hill and into town．The brakes let go and the car crashed through the bushes，gathering speed．Bystanders said it must have been doing fifty or better when it hit the base of the Civil War statue in the town arid burst into flames．

I also hadn’t planned on getting caught，but caught 1 was．I got a pass into this place．My state has no death penalty(死刑)，but I was tried for all three deaths and given three life sentences，to run one after the other．That fixed up any chance of parole(假释)I might have，for a long，long time．The judge called what I had done‘an extremely evil crime’, and it was ,but it is also in the past now．

Have I transformed myself，you ask ?I don’t know what that word means，at least as far as prisons and corrections go．I think it’s a politician’s word．It may have some other meaning，and it may be that 1 will have a chance to find out，but that is the future．．．

I was young，good—looking，and from the poor side of town．I met a pretty，headstrong girl who lived in one of the fine old houses on Carbine Street．She got pregnant later．Her father was agreeable to the marriage if 1 would take a job in the company he owned and ‘work my way up’．I found out that what he really had in mind was keeping me in his house and under his thumb，like a disagreeable pet that has not quite been housebroken and which may bite．Enough hate eventually piled up to cause me to do what I did．

?? Given a second chance 1 would not do it again，but I'm not sure that means I am transformed．

1.What do we know about the man from the passage?

A．He is treated unfairly in the prison．

B．He is in charge of the federal prison．

C．He is quite an able person as a prisoner．

D．He is the most powerful man in the prison．

2.By saying that“I got a pass into this place”(in Para．3)，the man means that________.

A．he has got to stay in prison

B．he was allowed to go home

C．he was caught by the police without a pass

D．he has stayed in the federal prison before

3.The man committed such an evil crime because__________.

A．he had made a secret deal with an insurance company

B．he had been angry for a long time with his father—in—law

C．his wife’s family members had disapproved of their marriage

D．his wife had looked on him as a pet and he didn’t feel respected

4.Which of the following is TRUE about the man?

A．He regrets having committed the crime．

B．He will be out of prison in the near future．

C．He thinks the trial a mistake and is unfair．

D．He has found out the