Busy Hour
Without an oversized calendar tacked to their kitchen wall, Fern Reiss and her family could never keep track of all the meetings, appointments, home-schooling lessons, and activities that fill their busy days. "I’m not sure they make a calendar large enough for us," says Ms. Reiss of Newton, Mass. , explaining that her life revolves around "two companies, three children, a spouse, a lot of community involvement, a social life, the kids’ social life, and volunteering in a soup kitchen every week." "Everybody we know is leading a frenetic life," she adds. "Ours is frenetic, too, but we’re spending the bulk of our time with our kids. Even though we’re having a crazy life, we’re having it in the right way."
Although extreme busyness is hardly a new phenomenon, the subject is getting renewed attention from researchers. "A good life has to do with life having a direction, life having a narrative with the stories we tel1 ourselves," Chuck Darrah, an anthropologist, says. "Busyness fragments all that. We’re absolutely focused on getting through the next hour, the next day, the next week. It does raise questions: If not busyness, what If we weren’t so Busy, what would we be doing If people weren’t so busy, would they be a poet, a painter"
For the Reisses, part of living a good life, however busy, means including the couple’s children in volunteer work and community activities. "We want the kids to see that that’s a priority," she says,
Between working full time as a publicist, caring for her home, spending time with her husband and extended family, and helping her grandmother three times a week, a woman .says, "I am exhaust- ed all the time." Like others, she concedes that she sets "somewhat unrealistic expectations" for what she can accomplish in a day,
Being realistic is a goal Darrah encourages, saying, "We can do everything, but we can’t do everything well and at the same time." He cautions that busyness can result in "poor decisions, sloppy quality, and neglect of the things and people that matter most in the long run." He advises: "Stop taking on so much, and keep in perspective what’s most important to you." Darrah’s own schedule re- mains full, but he insists he does not feel busy. His secret Confining activities to things he must do and those he wants to do. He and his wife do not overschedule their children. To those with one eye on the calendar and the other on the deck, Darrah offers this advice: "Before you take anything on, ask yourself: Do you have to do this Do you want to do this Live with a kind of mindfulness so you don’t wake up and discover that your life is a whirl of transportation and communication, and you’ve hollowed yourself out./
What does the author mean by saying "If people weren’t so busy, would they be a poet, a painter"
A:It will take pains to become an artist as poet or painter. B:Life will become tedious if people are not so busy. C:Poets and painters are usually considered to be idle. D:People may fulfill their personal dreams if not so busy.
Without an oversized calendar tacked to their kitchen wall, Fern Reiss and her family could never keep track of all the meetings, appointments, home-schooling lessons, and activities that fill their busy days. "I’m not sure they make a calendar large enough for us," says Ms. Reiss of Newton, Mass. , explaining that her life revolves around "two companies, three children, a spouse, a lot of community involvement, a social life, the kids’ social life, and volunteering in a soup kitchen every week." "Everybody we know is leading a frenetic life," she adds. "Ours is frenetic, too, but we’re spending the bulk of our time with our kids. Even though we’re having a crazy life, we’re having it in the right way."
Although extreme busyness is hardly a new phenomenon, the subject is getting renewed attention from researchers. "A good life has to do with life having a direction, life having a narrative with the stories we tel1 ourselves," Chuck Darrah, an anthropologist, says. "Busyness fragments all that. We’re absolutely focused on getting through the next hour, the next day, the next week. It does raise questions: If not busyness, what If we weren’t so Busy, what would we be doing If people weren’t so busy, would they be a poet, a painter"
For the Reisses, part of living a good life, however busy, means including the couple’s children in volunteer work and community activities. "We want the kids to see that that’s a priority," she says,
Between working full time as a publicist, caring for her home, spending time with her husband and extended family, and helping her grandmother three times a week, a woman .says, "I am exhaust- ed all the time." Like others, she concedes that she sets "somewhat unrealistic expectations" for what she can accomplish in a day,
Being realistic is a goal Darrah encourages, saying, "We can do everything, but we can’t do everything well and at the same time." He cautions that busyness can result in "poor decisions, sloppy quality, and neglect of the things and people that matter most in the long run." He advises: "Stop taking on so much, and keep in perspective what’s most important to you." Darrah’s own schedule re- mains full, but he insists he does not feel busy. His secret Confining activities to things he must do and those he wants to do. He and his wife do not overschedule their children. To those with one eye on the calendar and the other on the deck, Darrah offers this advice: "Before you take anything on, ask yourself: Do you have to do this Do you want to do this Live with a kind of mindfulness so you don’t wake up and discover that your life is a whirl of transportation and communication, and you’ve hollowed yourself out./
The author would describe the Reisses’ life as
A:crazy and meaningless. B:tedious but orderly. C:hasty and messy. D:busy but sensible.
There are many factors which may have an influence on adults and children being able to lead a healthy life.
Nowadays, people are very busy. Often, both parents work outside the home. Children are expected to take on more responsibility at home to help their parents. They also have sporting and leisure activities as well as school expectations.
The busyness also adds another factor: the need to use cars to get from one place to another quickly.
Today, society places a lot of emphasis on technology. Computers, DVDs, CDs, television, Playstations and Xboxes have become major leisure activities, rather than traditional more active pursuits. This has led to a more sedentary lifestyle.
The media provide entertainment and information. Unfortunately, they also promote fast food which fits easily into busy lifestyles. It is much more convenient at times to buy a quick takeaway rather than prepare a meal. The media constantly bombard (轰炸) their audience with "perfect" body images, the need to buy the most fashionable clothes, the most up-to-date computer games, the best places to visit and the best things to do.
Environments vary. We may be exposed to pollution, such as cigarette smoke. This can be harmful to people who suffer from breathing difficulties. Environments where passive smoking is unavoidable make it difficult to lead a healthy life.
Perhaps the important factor influencing healthy lifestyles is motivation, or the desire to be healthy. Any person who wants to be healthy will find a way to be healthy—if he/she is motivated enough!
A:Cheap price. B:The media. C:Busy lifestyle. D:Convenience.
Passage One
There was a nasty (肮脏的,卑鄙的) accident in our town not long ago, and I saw it happen. I was standing near a road which was under repair, not doing anything special—just watching the men at work. It was not far from the new motorway (高速公路) that runs past the town. It was an old road that used to be very busy—and dangerous before the motorway was built. Today, most cars use the new "superhighway" and the old road is pretty quiet, although cars do often come off the motorway into the town faster than they should.
Anyway, the men were repairing part of the road and there were signs up for at least 200 meters, telling everybody that the road was narrower than usual. Most of the drivers in both directions saw the signs and slowed down.
Then three cars came along close together, the third one moving at a very high speed. The first one pas sed the workmen and wanted to turn left. Meanwhile the third car came flying past the second one. The sec and car stopped. I think the driver knew something was going to happen. It did. The third car had no chance of stopping. Its driver braked (刹车) and pulled over to miss the first car and went right off the road.
There were four people in that car: a man, two women and a child. The child was a boy of nine. I read later that they were going shopping—just shopping, nothing more important than that. The driver was badly hurt. The little bay was hurt too. Both the women were killed immediately. One of them was the driver’s wife and the other was the mother of the little boy. They never got to the shops.
A:was very busy though there was a new motorway B:was never very busy C:was always very busy and dangerous D:was very busy and dangerous before the construction of the new motorway
Passage One
There was a nasty (肮脏的,卑鄙的) accident in our town not long ago, and I saw it happen. I was standing near a road which was under repair, not doing anything special--just watching the men at work. It was not far from the new motorway (高速公路) that runs past the town. It was an old road that used to be very busy--and dangerous--before the motorway was built. Today, most cars use the new "superhighway" and the old road is pretty quiet, although cars do often come off the motorway into the town faster than they should.
Anyway, the men were repairing part of the road and there were signs up for at least 200 meters, telling everybody that the road was narrower than .usual. Most of the drivers in both directions saw the signs and slowed down.
Then three cars came along close’ together, the third one moving at a very high speed. ’The first one passed the workmen and wanted to turn left. Meanwhile the third car came flying past the second one. The second car stopped. I think the driver knew something was going to happen. It did. The third car had no chance of stopping. Its driver braked (刹车) and pulled over to miss the first car--and went right off the road.
There were four people in that car: a man, two women and a child. The child was a boy of nine. I read later that they were going shopping--just shopping, nothing more important than that. The driver was badly hurt. The little boy was hart too. Both the women were killed immediately. One of them was the driver’s wife and the other was the mother of the little boy. They never got to the shops.
A:was very busy though there was a new motorway B:was never very busy C:was always very busy and dangerous D:was very busy and dangerous before the construction of the new motorway
Passage One
There was a nasty (肮脏的,卑鄙的) accident in our town not long ago, and I saw it happen. I was standing near a road which was under repair, not doing anything special—just watching the men at work. It was not far from the new motorway (高速公路) that runs past the town. It was an old road that used to be very busy—and dangerous before the motorway was built. Today, most cars use the new "superhighway" and the old road is pretty quiet, although cars do often come off the motorway into the town faster than they should.
Anyway, the men were repairing part of the road and there were signs up for at least 200 meters, telling everybody that the road was narrower than usual. Most of the drivers in both directions saw the signs and slowed down.
Then three cars came along close together, the third one moving at a very high speed. The first one pas sed the workmen and wanted to turn left. Meanwhile the third car came flying past the second one. The sec and car stopped. I think the driver knew something was going to happen. It did. The third car had no chance of stopping. Its driver braked (刹车) and pulled over to miss the first car and went right off the road.
There were four people in that car: a man, two women and a child. The child was a boy of nine. I read later that they were going shopping—just shopping, nothing more important than that. The driver was badly hurt. The little bay was hurt too. Both the women were killed immediately. One of them was the driver’s wife and the other was the mother of the little boy. They never got to the shops.
A:was very busy though there was a new motorway B:was never very busy C:was always very busy and dangerous D:was very busy and dangerous before the construction of the new motorway
A:the computer worked harder B:the computer was not busy C:people tended to be biased D:people were not good at statistics