Text 4
To combat the trap of putting a premium on being busy, Gal Newport, anther of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Districted world, recommends building a habit of “deep work”,—the ability to focus without distraction.
There are a number of approaches to mastering the mastering the art of deep work- be it lengthy retreats, dedicated to a specific task;developing a daily ritual; or taking a “journalistic” approach to seizing moments of deep work when you can throughout the day. Whichever approach, the key is to determine your length of focus time and stick to it.
Newport also recommends “ deep scheduling” to combat constant interruptions and get more down in less time. At any given point, Ishold has deep work scheduled for roughly the next month. Once on the calendar I protect this time like, I would a doctor's appointment or important meeting ,he writes.
Another approach to getting more down in less time is to rethink how you prioritize your day -in particular how we craft our to - do lists. Tim Harford, author of Messy. The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives, points to a study in the early 1980s, that divided undergraduates into two groups: some were advised to set out monthly goals and study activities; others were told to plan activities and golds in much time detail day by day.
While the researchers assumed that the well- structured daily plans would be most effective when it came to the execution of tasks, they were wrong: the detaileddaily plans demotivated students. Hartford argues that inevitable distractions often render the daily to- do list ineffective, while living room for improvisation in such a list can reap the best results.
In order to make the most of our focus and energy. We also need to embrace downtime, or as Newport suggests, “ be lazy.”
“ Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is indispensable to be brain as Vitamin D is to the body…[idleness] is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done, ”he argues.
Sriri Pillay an assistant of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, believes this counter - intuitive link between downtime and productivity may be due to the way our brains operate. When our brains switch between being focused and unfocused on a task, they tend to be more efficient.
“What people don't realise is that, in order to complete these tasks they need to use both the focus and unfocus circuits in their brain”, says Pillay.
36. The key to mastering the art of deep work is to____.
A. keep to your focus time
B. list your immediate tasks
C. make specific daily plans
D. seize every minute to work
37. The study in the early 1980s cited by Harvard shows that____.
A. distractions may actually increase efficiency
B. daily schedules are indispensable to studying
C. students are hardly motivated by monthly goals
D. detailed plans many not be as fruitful as expected
38. According to Newport, idleness is ____.
A. a desirable mental state for busy people
B. a major contributor to physical health
C. an effective way to save time and energy
D. an essential factor in accomplishing any work.
39. Pillay believes that our brains’ shift between being focused and unfocused______.
A. can result in .Psychological will-being
B. can bring about greater efficiency
C. is aimed at a better balance in work
D. is driven by task urgency
40. This text is mainly about______.
A. ways to relieve the tension of busy life
B. approaches to getting more done in less time
C. the key to eliminating distractions
D. the cause of the lack of focus time
【参考答案】CCABD
Part B
Directions: Read the following text and match each of the numbered items in the left column to its corresponding information in the right column. Thereare two extra choices in the right column. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
A. Just say it
B. Be present
C. Pay a unique compliment
D. Name, places, things
E. Find the “me too”s
F. Skip the small talk
G. Ask for an opinion
Five ways to make conversation with anyone
Conversations are links, which means when you have a conversation with a new person a link gets formed and every conversation you have after that moment will strengthen the link.
You meet new people every day: the grocery worker, the cab driver, new people at work or the security guard at the door. Simply starting a conversation with them will form a link.
Here are five simple ways that you can make the first move and start a conversation with strangers.
41.__________
Suppose you are in a room with someone you don't know and something within you says “I want to talk with this person”- this is something the mostly happens with all of us. You wanted to say something- the first word- but it just won't come out. It feels like it is stuck somewhere, I know the feelings and here is my advice just get it out.
Just think: that is the worst that could happen? They won't talk with you? Well, they are not talking with you now!
I truly believe that once you get that first word out everything else will just flow. So keep it simple: “Hi”, “Hey” or “Hello”—— do the best you can to gather all of the enthusiasm and energy you can, put on a big smile and say “Hi”.
42.____________________
It’s a problem all of us face: you have limited time with the person that you want to talk with and you want to make this talk, memorable.
Honestly, if we got stuck, in the rut, of “hi”, “hello”, “how are you” “and what's going on?” you will fail to give the initial Jolt to the conversation that can make it so memorable.
So don't be afraid, to ask more personal questions. Trust me, you’ll be surprised to see how much people are willing to share if you just ask.
43.____________________
When you meet a person for the first time, make an effort to find the things which you and that person, have in common so that you can build the conversation, from that point. When you start a conversation from there and then move outward, you will find all of a sudden that the conversation becomes a lot easier.
44.____________________
Imagine you are pouring your heart out to someone and they are just busy on their phone, and if you ask, for their attention, you get the response “I can Multitask”.
So when someone tries, to communicate with you, just be in that communication wholeheartedly. Make eye contact, you can feel the conversation.
45.____________________
You all came into a conversation, where you first met the person, but after some time you may have met again, and have forgotten their name. Isn't that awkward!
So remember the little details of the people you might, or you talked with; perhaps the places they have been to, the place they want to go, the things they like, the thing they hate - whatever you talk about
When you remember such thing you can automatically become investor in their well being. So they feel a responsibility to you to keep bad relationship going
That's it. Five amazing ways that you can make conversation with almost anyone. Every person is a really good book to read, or to have a conversation with!
【参考答案】ACEBF
Section Ⅲ
Translation
46、Directions: Translate the following text from English into Chinese. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET (15 points)
A fifth grader gets a homework assignment to select his future career path from a list of occupations. He ticks “astronaut” but quickly adds “scientist” to the list and selects it as well. The boy is convinced that if he reads enough, he can explore as many career paths as he likes. And so he reads——everything from encyclopaedias to science fiction novels. He reads so fervently that his parents have to institute a “no reading policy” at the dinner table.
That boy was Bill Gates, and he hasn’t stopped reading yet——not even after becoming one of the most successful people on the planet. Nowadays, his reading material has changed from science fiction and reference books: recently, he revealed that he reads at least 50 nonfiction books a year. Gates chooses nonfiction titles because they explain how the world woks.
“Each book opens up new avenues of knowledge to explore,”——Gates say.
Section IV
Writing
Part A
47、Directions: Suppose you have to cancel your travel plan and will not be able to visit professor Smith. Write him an email to
1) apologize and explain the situation;
2) suggest a future meeting.
You should write about 100 words on the ANSWER SHEET.
Don’t use your own name, use “Li Ming” instead. Don’t write your address. (10 points)
Part B
48、Directions: Write an essay based on the following chart. In your essay, you should
1) interpret the chart, and
2) give your comments.
You should write about 150 words neatly on the ANSWER SHEET. (15 points)
