Finding time to enjoy life is becoming harder and harder. As the average workweek lengthens, leisure time drops. Yet some of the world’s busiest people are able to develop rewarding careers and also make time for family and leisure activities. Here is their best advice plus that of time-management experts:
1. Use your peak hours wisely.
People tend to be most alert in late morning and midevening. Afternoon brings an increase in sleepiness. Use your high-efficiency hours to handle difficult jobs or engage in creative thinking. For low-efficiency times, concentrate on cleaning up or sorting your mail. By adapting to your mental condition, you can accomplish more in less time.
2. Make a plan.
Just 20 minutes of organizing can save an hour of extra effort remembering what must be done. “Don’t try to carry your life around in your head,” says Lucy Hedrick, author of Five Days to an Organized Life. “Write things down so you can free your brain for more inventive pursuit (追求).”
3. Discourage drop-ins.
The person who welcomes every visitor will get plenty of conversation but won’t accomplish much.
The trick is to develop harmless ways to protect yourself from minute-stealing interruptions. David E. Levy, a public-relations consultant (顾问), uses an alternative to the open-door policy by keeping his door half open. The message is clear: he really doesn’t want you to come in, but you can if it is important.
4. Tame (驯服) the telephone.
Few devices save more minutes—or waste so many more—than the telephone. Signal the end of your conversation with a phrase such as “Before we hang up…” You can save even more time by not taking every incoming call.
Keep a record of when people you call regularly are least busy and call them at those times. Even better, make appointments to call important contacts.
To help us gain an extra hour every day, a clockmaker in Dallas has created a timer measuring each minute at 57.6 seconds. The 2.5 seconds borrowed from each minute add up to an extra 60 minutes at the end of each day.According to Lucy Hedrick, you should ________.
| A．carry out your plans when you are free |
| B．stop occupying your mind with lots of things |
| C．forget everything annoying when taking a walk |
| D．enjoy your life whenever you can |
Why does David E. Levy keep his door half open?
| A．To show drop-ins are not welcome at all. |
| B．To tell drop-ins to come if they want. |
| C．To keep unimportant visitors from dropping in. |
| D．To indicate he is expecting a visitor. |
Who works most efficiently according to the passage?
| A．An editor who is trying to produce a title for his article in the afternoon. |
| B．A manager who is designing selling plans with his office door open. |
| C．A visitor to a mayor without making an appointment. |
| D．A student in class without taking any incoming calls. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Gain an Extra Hour Every Day |
| B．Live One Day at a Time |
| C．How to Live Your Life to the Fullest |
| D．Create Your Own Opportunities |
The day of my holiday arrived, but I wasn’t looking forward to it. I had little money and had only been able to afford to stay with my Aunt Rosa in Spain. So, I wasn’t really excited as I knew exactly what it was going to be like; Lots of noisy cousins and Aunt Rosa begged me to take her for a ride.
After I had checked in, I made my way slowly to the departure gate. As I was waiting to board the plan, I kept thinking about my ideal holiday destination; Jamaica, with its long, sandy beaches and crystal clear water.
As soon as the plane took off, I fell fast asleep and only woke to the sound of the announcement; “Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seat belts, as we will shortly be landing in Kingston.” I froze in my seat. Was I dreaming? Kingston? Jamaica? I had boarded the wrong plane!
Immediately after the plane landed, I explained the situation to the authorities. It seems there were also three of other passengers heading for Spain. Apparently it had been the airline’s fault, since the flight numbers for Spain and Jamaica were exactly the same! Therefore, with no flight to London for a week, the airline had no choice except to pay for our stay.
So there I was, lying on the beach, enjoying the music and marvelous food of Jamaica! As for Aunt Rosa, I suppose she just had to live without me!Why did the waiter choose to spend her holiday with her aunt in Spain?
| A．She could hardly afford any better trip. |
| B．Her aunt begged her to go there. |
| C．She missed her cousins very much. |
| D．Spain was her ideal destination. |
In the story, the writer ended up _____.
| A．heading for Spain from Jamaica |
| B．flying to London immediately |
| C．enjoying a free beach holiday |
| D．complaining to the authorities |
Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
| A．Terrible Adventure | B．Nice Dream |
| C．A Well-Planned | D．A Lucky Mistake |
When asked to point out one or two things that are most important to themselves, many put friends ahead of homes, jobs, cloth and cars．
A true friendship carries-a-long history of experience that determines who we are and keeps us connected．It is a treasure we should protect．Unfortunately, the better friends you are, the more probably you’ll have disagreements．And the result can be what you don’t want an end to the relationship．
The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended First, don’t let your pride get in your way．Most of us can forgive each other when differences are brought out in the open ．second, apologize when you’re wrong – even if you’ve been wronged．Over the course of a friendship, even the best people make mistakes．Sometimes, it may be best if the wronged person takes the lead and apologizes．When you apologize, give your friend a chance to admit that he has been wrong．Third, see things from your friend’s point of view．And finally, accept that friendships change as our needs and lifestyle change．Making friends can sometimes seem easy．The hard part is keeping the connections strong during the natural ups and downs that have an effect on all relationships ．My suggestion: Consider friendship an honor and a gift , and worth the effort to treasure and nurture ．What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Easy Ways to Make Friends |
| B．Ups and Downs in Friendship |
| C．How to Mend a Troubled Friendship |
| D．How to Take the Lead in Making Friends |
The “wronged person” underlined in the text refers to a person
| A．who has been mistaken for another |
| B．who has been blamed unfairly |
| C．who has treated friends badly |
| D．who has admitted his mistakes |
According to the text a friendship can last long only if
| A．we have much in common |
| B．we know our friends’ mistakes |
| C．we treat our disagreements wisely |
| D．we have know one another for long |
What should we do if we follow the author’s second suggestion?
| A．Stick to our own prints of view |
| B．Avoid making mistakes |
| C．Make an apology first |
| D．Change our lifestyles |
One morning more than thirty years ago, I entered the Track Kitchen, a restaurant where everyone from the humblest（卑微的） to the most powerful came for breakfast．I noticed an empty chair next to an elderly, unshaven man, who looked somewhat disheveled．He was wearing a worn-out hat and was alone．I asked if I might join him．He agreed quietly and I sat down to have my breakfast．
We cautiously began a conversation and spoke about a wide rang of things．We never introduced ourselves．I was concerned that he might have no money and not be able to afford something to eat．So as I rose to go back to the counter and buy a second cup of coffee, I asked,
“May I get you something?”
“A coffee would be nice．”
Then I bought him a cup of coffee, We talked more, and he accepted another cup of coffee, Finally, I rose to leave, wished him well, and headed for the exit．At the door I met one of my friends．He asked,
“How did you get to know Mr. Galbreath?”
“Who?”
“The man you were sitting with．He is chairman of the Board of Churchill Downs．”
I could hardly believe it．I was buying, offering a free breakfast, and feeling pity for one of the world’s richest and most powerful men!
My few minutes with Mr. Galbreath changed my life．Now I try to treat everyone with respect, no matter who I think they are, and no matter another human being with kindness and sincerity．What does the underlined word “disheveled” mean?
| A．Unfriendly． | B．Untidy． |
| C．Gentle． | D．Kind． |
The author bought coffee for the old man because
| A．he thought the old man was poor |
| B．he wanted to start a conversation |
| C．he intended to show his politeness |
| D．he would like to thank the old man |
What is the message mainly expressed in the story?
| A．We should learn to be generous． |
| B．It is honorable to help those in need． |
| C．People in high positions are not like what we expect． |
| D．We should avoid judging people by their appearances． |
Women are friendly．But men are more competitive．Why? Researchers have found it's all down to the hormone oxytocin （荷尔蒙催生素）．Although known as the love hormone, it affects the sexes differently．
"Women tend to be social in their behavior．They often share with others．But men lend to be competitive．They are trying to improve their social status," said Professor Ryan．
Generally, people believe that the hormone oxytocin is let out in our body in various social situations and our body creates a large amount of it during positive social interactions （互动） such as falling in love or giving birth．
But in a previous experiment Professor Ryan found that the hormone is also let out in our body during negative social interactions such as envy．
Further researches showed that in men the hormone oxytocin improves the ability to recognize competitive relationships, but in women it raises the ability to recognize friendship．
Professor Ryan's recent experiment used 62 men and women aged 20 to 37．Half of the participants（参与者）received oxytocin．The other half received placebo （安慰剂）．
After a week, the two groups switched with participants．They went through the same procedure with the other material．
Following each treatment, they were shown some video pictures with different social interactions．Then they were asked to analyze the relationships by answering some questions．The questions were about telling friendship from competition．And their answers should be based on gestures, body language and facial expressions．
The results indicated that, after treatment with oxytocin, men's ability to correctly recognize competitive relationships improved, but in women it was the ability to correctly recognize friendship that got better．
Professor Ryan thus concluded: "Our experiment proves that the hormone oxytocin can raise people's abilities to better distinguish different social interactions．And the behavior differences between men and women are caused by biological factors （因素） that are mainly hormonal．"What causes men and women to behave differently according to the text?
| A．Placebo． | B．Oxytocin． |
| C．The gesture． | D．The social status． |
What can we learn from Professor Ryan's previous experiment?
| A．Oxytocin affects our behavior in a different way． |
| B．Our body lets out oxytocin when we are deep in love． |
| C．Our body produces oxytocin when we feel unhappy about others' success． |
| D．Oxytocin improves our abilities to understand people's behavior differences． |
Why did Professor Ryan conduct the recent experiment?
| A．To test the effect of oxytocin on the ability to recognize social interactions． |
| B．To know the differences between friendship and competition． |
| C．To know people's different abilities to answer questions． |
| D．To test people's understanding of body language． |
The author develops the text by______．
| A．explaining people's behaviors |
| B．describing his own experiences |
| C．distinguishing sexual differences |
| D．discussing research experiments |
Growing up in Philadelphia, Lieberman started cooking with his stay-at-home dad when he was seven．His food-loving family had two kitchens, and he quickly learned what was the best way to bake his cakes．Lieberman improved his kitchen skills greatly during a year abroad before college, learning from a cook in Italy and studying local specialties（地方特色菜）in Germany, Spain and France．At Yale, he was known for throwing dinner parties, single-handedly frying and baking while mixing drinks for dozens of friends．Just for fun, he and some friends decided to tape a show named Campus Cuisine about his cooking．Lieberman was a real college student showing his classmates how to do things like make drinks out of dining-hall fruit．That helped the show become very popular among the students．They would stop Lieberman after classes to ask for his advice on cooking．Tapes of the show were passed around, with which his name went beyond the school and finally to the Food Network．
Food Network producer Flay hopes the young cook will find a place on the network television．He says Lieberman’s charisma is key．“Food TV isn’t about food anymore,” says Flay．“It’s about your personality（个性）and finding a way to keep people’s eyeballs on your show．”
But Lieberman isn’t putting all his eggs in one basket．After taping the first season of the new show, Lieberman was back in his own small kitchen preparing sandwiches．An airline company（航空公司）was looking for someone to come up with a tasteful, inexpensive and easy-to-make menu to serve on its flights, Lieberman got the job．We can learn from the text that Lieberman’s family ____．
| A．have relatives in Europe | B．love cooking at home |
| C．often hold parties | D．own a restaurant |
The Food Network got to know Lieberman ____．
| A．at one of his parties | B．from his teachers |
| C．Through his taped show | D．on a television program |
What does the word “charisma” underlined in the text refer to?
| A．A natural ability to attract others． |
| B．A way to show one’s achievement． |
| C．Lieberman’s after-class interest． |
| D．Lieberman’s fine cooking skill． |
Why did the airline company give Lieberman the job?
| A．He could prepare meals in a small kitchen． |
| B．He was famous for his shows on Food TV． |
| C．He was good at using eggs to make sandwiches． |
| D．He could cook cheap, delicious and simple meals． |
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