Comfort is comforting, but it might narrow our experience at work — and beyond.
In our modern world, discomfort is considered a terrible thing. If not terrible, at least a thing of the past. Dishwashers, washing machines, computers, remote controls—yes, they add convenience, but also a level of comfort our forefathers did not enjoy.
As pain of any kind discourages happiness, we tend to reason, anything that compromises our ability to feel good must be bad. And that’s also particularly true for our careers. Success makes us feel great, not terrible. Such a view, however, is a matter of personal opinion. And it may blind us to hidden opportunities.
Artists throughout history have tried to experience suffering, instinctively if not consciously, to produce works that explore the darker hidden sides of the human condition. This was done, in part, because pain is a reality of life for everybody in some form at some time. Pain is something everybody can relate to. And pain makes a person very present. For such artists, to relieve or to deny pain would be to block the creative thinking, which drives them to explore and express. In fact, Germans have a term for this melancholia, “Weltschmerz”, which means “suffering from the world.” Writers, from Lord Byron to Kurt Vonnegut, have used the term to describe the psychological pain encountered along life’s roller-coaster journey. It was not to be avoided; it was to be understood, investigated and employed.
So I propose that discomfort is good for us. Or, put another way, it tells us that something needs to be addressed. It stretches us by forcing us to view our circumstances through a wholly different lens. Because we’re drawn to safety and security, we do our best to create pleasant comfort zones for ourselves and our loved ones through the cars we drive, the homes we live in, and the places we work. But by resisting discomfort, we deny ourselves an important opportunity: the chance to shake ourselves out of our predictable perspectives and allow ourselves to make knowledgeable observations we could not possibly have made before. Discomfort gives us fresh eyes.Which of the following is NOT a reason why artists throughout history have been exploring sufferings?
| A．Pain is a mirror that can reflect the life of everybody. |
| B．Pain is something that no one can escape from. |
| C．Pain can help them to avoid the creative thinking. |
| D．Pain can strengthen the feeling of existence of a person. |
The term “Weltschmerz” couldn’t be used to describe something like __________.
| A．social inequality | B．mass killings |
| C．racial discrimination | D．great achievements |
The author believes that by challenging discomfort, one may _________.
| A．lose an important chance to make a big fortune |
| B．feel upset and fail to think calmly |
| C．judge and think about the world in a new particular way |
| D．control the situation properly when things go unsteady |
By writing this passage, the author tries to __________.
| A．criticize a world full of comfort |
| B．explain why discomfort is good for us |
| C．persuade people to lead a life full of discomfort |
| D．blame those who enjoy an easy life |
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
I had just gone to bed after a very hard day when the phone rang. It was a strange farmer. I had never met him before although I had heard people talk about him. He sounded quite nervous and he had been talking for a minute or so before I understood anything. Even then all I could understand was that someone called Milly had had an accident. I hadn’t the slightest idea who she was but I obviously had to go.
It had been snowing heavily that day and I didn’t know the way. I had been driving for at least an hour when I finally found his place. He was standing there, waiting for me. “She meant more to me than anyone.even my own wife!” he said. I could see that he had been crying. I thought something terrible had taken place, a possible scandal(丑闻). I was even more shocked when he told me he had put her in the barn (厩). “I wouldn’t leave her out in the cold!” he said.
Milly had clearly been a secret lover of his. I was about to tell him he could not expect me to cover anything up when he opened the barn door. He lifted his candle and I saw a dark figure on the ground. “She was such a good cow! I wouldn’t let anyone but a doctor touch her!” he said, and burst into tears again.
What do we know about Milly from the story?
| A．She was the farmer’s wife. |
| B．She had an accident. |
| C．She was hidden somewhere. |
| D．She had caused a scandal. |
The farmer wished that the writer might .
| A．free him from a scandal |
| B．keep the whole things a secret |
| C．look into the matter |
| D．bring Milly back to life |
The person who told the story is probably a .
| A．country doctor | B．farmer |
| C．newspaper reporter | D．policeman |
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
Today，we are told，children don’t spend enough time in the fresh air．Many of them are addicted to a screen either on a computer or a TV—they seem to be living in a virtual world．They have lost touch with nature．But now 400 organizations in the UK，from playgroups to the National Health Service，are encouraging children to have some “wild time”．They want kids to exchange at least 30 minutes of watching TV or playing computer games for time to play outside．Activities such as building dens, climbing trees, and playing hide and seek are just some of the things kids can do. Even if they live in a city，they can go on adventures in the garden or the park．
Children often need a helping hand from mum and dad．They need to be shown what to do and where to go．Andy Simpson from National Health Service says，“We want parents to see what this magical wonder product does for their kids’ development，independence and creativity，by giving wild time”．
So in spite of the complicated world that young people grow up in now，it seems that going back to basics and experiencing “nature’s playground” is what modern children need．David Bond from Project Wild Thing says，“We need to make more space for wild time in children’s daily routine，freeing this generation of kids to have the sort of experiences that many of us took for granted”．
This might sound a bit old fashioned to you or maybe，like me，and it has made you think about putting on your boots, getting outdoors and recalling your childhood．There’s no age limit on enjoying yourself!
What is the best title of the text?
| A．Adventures of children |
| B．Kinds of wild time |
| C．More space for children |
| D．Wild time for children |
Children are encouraged to do the following activities except .
| A．building dens | B．climbing trees |
| C．watching TV | D．playing hide and seek |
According to Andy Simpson，we know that .
| A．wild time is good for children |
| B．wild time is hard to design |
| C．parents know the importance of wild time |
| D．parents like keeping their children indoors |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．People like recalling the past. |
| B．It is out of date to go outdoors. |
| C．It is too late for adults to enjoy nature. |
| D．People at any age can enjoy wild time. |
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.
This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was to catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the frogs and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn’t last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides (杀虫剂) and medicines. Soon there was no money left.
Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn’t been useless. They had been doing an important job—eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading (传播) diseases.
Now, the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.From Paragraph 1 we learn that the villagers __________.
| A．worked very hard for centuries |
| B．were poor but satisfied |
| C．dreamed of having a better life |
| D．lived a different life from their forefathers |
Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?
| A．The frogs made too much noise. |
| B．They needed money to buy medicine. |
| C．They wanted to please the visitors. |
| D．The frogs were easy money. |
What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?
| A．There were too many insects. |
| B．The crops didn’t do well. |
| C．The visitors brought in diseases. |
| D．There were too many frogs. |
What is the main idea of the text?
| A．Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country. |
| B．Health is more important than money. |
| C．The harmony (和谐) between man and nature is important. |
| D．Good old day will never be forgotten. |
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
For 52 years my father got up at 5:30 am every morning, went to work, and returned home at 5:30 pm. I never saw my father stayed home from work ill, nor did I ever see my father lay down to take a nap. He had no hobbies, other than taking care of his family. All he asked from me, his daughter, was to help him while he was repairing something, so we could have some time to talk.
For 22 years, after I left home for college, my father called me at 9:00 am every Sunday. Nine years ago when I bought my first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours a day for three days painting my house. He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done. All he asked for was a glass of iced tea. Five years ago, at age 71, my father spent five hours putting together a swing set for my daughter.
On the morning of January 16, 1996, my sister telephoned me: my father was in the hospital with an aneurysm(动脉瘤) in Florida. I got on an airplane immediately, and on the way I realized that I hadn't communicated with him as much as I'd always wanted to. I vowed(发誓) that when I arrived, I would have a long talk with him. I arrived in Florida at 1:00 am, only to find that my father, at the age of 76, had passed away at 9:12 pm. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me. From the first paragraph we can infer (推断) that the author's father ______.
| A．was a good driver | B．had many hobbies |
| C．sometimes fell ill | D．was in good health |
The underlined phrase "other than" in the first paragraph has the same meaning as "______".
| A．without | B．including | C．except | D．due to |
According to the last paragraph, we can know that the author's father was born in ______.
| A．1920 | B．1918 | C．1916 | D．1922 |
The author wrote the article in order to ______.
| A．praise her father |
| B．remember her father |
| C．show her father was healthy |
| D．let her father be known |
Nuclear power's(核能的) danger to health, safety, and even life itself can be described in one word; radiation(辐射). Nuclear radiation has a certain mystery about it, partly because it cannot be detected (探测) by human senses. It can't be seen or heard, or touched or tasted, even though it may be all around us. There are other things like that. For example, radio waves are all around us but we can't detect them, sense them, without a radio receiver. Similarly, we can't sense radioactivity without a radiation detector. But unlike common radio waves, nuclear radiation is not harmless to human beings and other living things. At very high levels, radiation can kill an animal or human being completely by killing masses of cells (细胞) in important organs (器官). But even the lowest levels can do serious damage. There is no level of radiation that is completely safe. If the radiation does not hit anything important, the damage may not be significant. This is the case when only a few cells are hit, and if they are killed completely. Your body will replace the dead cells with healthy ones. But if the few cells are only damaged, and if they reproduce themselves, you may be in trouble. They reproduce themselves in an unusual way. They can grow into cancer. Sometimes this does not show up for many years.
This is another reason for some of the mystery about nuclear radiation. Serious damage can be done without the knowledge of the person at the time that damage has occurred. A person can be irradiated(放射治疗) and feel fine, then die of cancer five, ten, or twenty years later as a result. Or a child can be born weak or easy to get serious illness as a result of radiation absorbed by its grandparents. Radiation can hurt us. We must know the truth.According to the passage, the danger of nuclear power lies in __________.
| A．nuclear mystery | B．radiation detection |
| C．radiation level | D．nuclear radiation |
Radiation can lead to serious results even at the lowest level ________.
| A．when it kills few cells |
| B．though the damaged cells can repair themselves |
| C．if it damages few cells |
| D．unless the damaged cells can reproduce themselves |
Radiation can hurt us in the way that it can _____.
| A．kill large numbers of cells in main organs so as to cause death immediately |
| B．damage cells which may grow into cancer years later |
| C．affect the healthy growth of our younger generation |
| D．lead to all of the above results |
Which of the following can be best inferred from the passage?
| A．The importance of protection from radiation cannot be too overemphasized (过分强调). |
| B．The mystery about radiation remains unsolved. |
| C．Cancer is mainly caused by radiation. |
| D．Radiation can hurt those who do not know about its danger. |
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