Question

It is a wonderful morning, as I write this: hot, but without being too hot．Outside my window, I can see the sunniest sky of the year reflected in a huge natural expand of water．It is the kind of sun that makes you well aware of summer's temporary nature a reminder that if I am ever to go around to book this year's holiday, time is running out．

It is now close to four years since I last took a holiday．This is because I have come to the conclusion, over the course of my adult life, that I am not very good at it．You might say this sounds like saying you are not very good at drinking tea or listening to music．What could possibly be difficult about the natural act of putting your working life on hold for a couple of weeks and going somewhere to do nothing?

So what is my problem? On the surface, I'm probably a bit of homebody．And I just find the pressure of being on holiday too severe: it always feels like having a gun held to my head and being forced to have fun．Somehow, packing a carefully itemized（详细列举的）list of possessions and meeting a scheduled flight has none of the excitement of suddenly deciding to take a day off and driving somewhere for the fun of it．

Thankfully, I am not alone． This summer, most of my friends have decided not to have a break． And a recent survey highlighted the downside（负面）of holidays, with the results showing that nearly two thirds of people found that the calming effects of a holiday wore off within 24 hours, as stress levels returned to normal．And this year's the Idler magazine published its hook, Awful Holidays．Here you will find a list of the five most ecologically-damaging vacations it's possible to take, along with 50 horrible holidays experiences voted for on the idler website． Over the last decade, The Idler has become well known for promoting the idea of an easy, lazy life．The leisure（休闲）industry might seem an unlikely target of its criticism, but Dan Kienan, the book ' s editor, says that he was flooded with entries from readers for his list of awful holidays．

1.According to the first paragraph we can know that the writer ．

A． has a strong desire to book a holiday

B． wishes that the weather would change

C． finds it is too late to enjoy the sunshine

D． realizes it's time to decide whether to go on a holiday

2.The reason why the writer dislikes going on holidays is that ．

A． it usually costs too much money

B． he is tired of making preparations too much for holidays

C． it is far less enjoyable than breaks planned in advance

D． he feels embarrassed when other people are having fun but he isn't

3.We can learn from the survey that ．

A． most people pretend to enjoy their holiday

B． all people fail to relax while they are on holiday

C． a lot of people feel that the benefits of going on holidays are limited

D． many people have made the same decision as the writer and most of his friends

4.The writer takes the book of Awful Holidays as an example to ．

A． damage the reputation of the magazine

B． prove the idea of living an easy, lazy life to be wrong

C． indicate that his dislike of holidays is widely shared

D． focus entirely on bad personal experiences of holidays

 

Answer 1

1.D

2.B

3.C

4.C

【解析】

试题分析: 作者看着窗外的太阳，感受着这美好的时光，想起了以往这个时候都会去度假。然而现在作者不太想度假了，因为本该休闲的假期，却应度假更劳累。

1.It is the kind of sun that makes you well aware of summer's temporary nature a reminder that if I am ever to go around to book this year's holiday, time is running out．可知，窗外的太阳 提醒作者这是个夏天度假的好时间。故猜测作者想要度假。故选D。

2.Somehow, packing a carefully itemized（详细列举的）list of possessions and meeting a scheduled flight has none of the excitement of suddenly deciding to take a day off and driving somewhere for the fun of it．可知度假前详细的准备工作让作者失去了对假期的期待。故选B。

3.And a recent survey highlighted the downside（负面）of holidays, with the results showing that nearly two thirds of people found that the calming effects of a holiday wore off within 24 hours, as stress levels returned to normal．最近的一个调查显示了度假的负面影响。调查结果显示将近三分之二的人们认为假期带来的美好感觉在24小时内消耗殆尽，紧张感又重新回到生活。也就是说人们认为度假的好处是有限的。故选C。

4.Thankfully, I am not alone． This summer, most of my friends have decided not to have a break． And a recent survey highlighted the downside（负面）of holidays, with the results showing that nearly two thirds of people found that the calming effects of a holiday wore off within 24 hours, as stress levels returned to normal．通过调查说明了很多人和他一样，都认为度假的负面影响大于它带来的快乐。所以作者认为他并不孤独。故选C。

考点：考查记叙类短文阅读。