Section II Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions:
Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)
Text 4
To combat the trap of putting a premium on being busy, Cal Newport, author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, recommends building a habit of “deep work”-the ability to focus without distraction.
There are a number of approaches to 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 moment 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 done in less time. “At any given point, I should have deep work scheduled for roughly the next mouth. 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 done in less time is to rethink how you priorities 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 goals in much more 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 detailed daily plans demotivated students .Harford argues that inevitable distractions often render the daily to-do list ineffective, while leaving 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 as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body …”idleness.is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done,” he argues.
Srini Pillay, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, believes this counterintuitive link between downtime and productivity may be due to the may 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.
(1).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
参考答案：A
(2).The study in the early 1980s cited by Harford 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 may not be as fruitful as expected
参考答案：D
(3).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
参考答案：D
(4).Pillay believes that our brains’ shift between being focused and unfocused .
A. can result in psychological well-being
B. can bring about greater efficiency
C. is aimed at better balance in work
D. is driven by task urgency
参考答案：B
(5).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：B
Part B
Directions:
Read the following text and answer the questions by choosing the most suitable subtitles from the list A-G for each numbered paragraph (41-45). There are two extra subtitles which you do not need to use. 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 that 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 feeling and here is my advice: just get it out.
Just think: what 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 is 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 result of “hi”, “hello”, ”how are you?” and “what is 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 conversation from there and then move outwards, you'll 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. Mike eye contact. Trust me, eye contact is where all the magic happens. When you 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 met or you talked with; perhaps the places they have been to, the places they want to go, the things they like, the things they hate - whatever you talk about.
When you remember such things you can automatically become investor in their wellbeing.
So they feel a responsibility to you to keep that 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!
(1).____
(2).____
(3).____
(4).____
(5).____
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