Traveling through time
As children, we dream of growing older; when we are older, we dream of being children. We let our lives pass us by because we have yet to learn that the harder you yearn for time, the faster it passes. This is how my story begins.
In October of my freshman year, I took an accidental trip down memory lane. One day after school, I decided to take the long way home. I needed time to think. So off I went, walking through the grass. That was how I came to find a gap in the fence lining the school property. I passed through this gap and followed the treeline until I found myself in the far fields behind the neighborhood.
Suddenly, I remembered it was here through the fence between the school and the fields that I watched older kids having their high school graduation ceremony. In cap and gown (长袍), they stood in the middle of the field. They looked like they were having the most fun I had ever seen anyone have; they looked free.
Years later, I walked through that field on my way home from that same high school. The soccer nets were long gone, and the paint lines had washed away with the rain, but there it was, just as I remembered it. The old field felt like a moment trapped in time, a long-forgotten memory. Here I was, standing in between my past and my present and trying so hard to figure out just how all of those years had passed me by so quickly. The gap in the fence seemed like a distinct line between my years. A doorway between 5 and 15.
I’ve since given this place a name, Tempus Illud, a place between places. I try to take the long way home at least once a month now. Sometimes, when I cross that bridge, I see that younger version of myself. She is so young and so desperate to speed up time. I see her peering through the fence at those graduates in the cap and gown, and she’s wishing she could be just like them. She, too, could feel so free that she might just grow wings and fly away. Now I’m preparing to wear the cap and gown in a few short months. But this time, I wish to leave time to its own devices.
The harder you yearn for time, the faster it passes you by. So I no longer yearn. The passage of time is inevitable, and you can’t avoid it, but you can appreciate it. James Taylor sings, “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time … Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill, but since we’re on our way down, we might as well enjoy the ride.”
8. How did the author feel when she saw the older kids’ graduation ceremony?
A.Jealous. | B.Curious. |
C.Admiring. | D.Unconcerned. |
9. What is the significance of Tempus Illud to the author?
A.It honors her best childhood memory. |
B.It bridges her past, present and future. |
C.It shows the miracle of frozen time. |
D.It symbolizes high school graduation. |
10. What is the author’s perspective on time at the end?
A.She is addicted to the past. | B.She yearns for time to pass quicker. |
C.She wants to run after time. | D.She decides to enjoy the moment. |
11. What is the author’s main purpose in writing the article?
A.To suggest that time brings the truth to light. |
B.To show that tough times never last. |
C.To explain how time changes everything. |
D.To share her changing attitude toward time. |