NEW HAVEN, Connecticut —— A surprise awaited students in Yale who showed up for Professor Laurie Santos’s class. They got slips of paper that said, “No class today.” There was only one rule for the students ‘ unexpected free time——They were not allowed to study, but to relax. Since exams and papers were coming up, everyone was tired and stressed. At this moment they were touched. With around applause, nine students hugged Santos, and two burst into tears.
Yet, cancelling class was not just a break. It was also a challenge, as she was asking them to stop worrying about their grades, even if it was just an hour. One student went to the Yale University Art Gallery for the first time in her four years at Yale. A group of students went to a recording studio and played a new song. More people were outside, and more were smiling. That’s why about 1,200 students were taking Santos’s class, called “Psychology and the Good Life,” the largest class in Yale’s 317-year history. Even non-Yale students had the chance to take Santos’s class. It was offered as an online course and she immediately became an Internet hit.
Skyler Robinson, one of her students, was at a loss for a while about what to do during his break, and then decided to take a nap. “It was a great nap,” he commented. Santos designed the class after she realized that her students kept busy through long days that seemed far more depressing and joyless than her own college years. “They feel they’re in this crazy rat race. They’re working so hard that they can’t take a single hour off. That’s awful.”
The ideas behind the class are simple. Santos said, “It is the hope that science can help students find peace among all the stresses and difficulties they face at college.” The lessons include showing more gratitude, performing acts of kindness and increasing social connections. The students really wanted to learn to lead a happy life in a science -driven way. Santos also noted the psychological happening of “mis-wanting”, which led people to work towards the wrong goals in life.
One week, Santo asked students to exercise. Another week, she wanted them to get more sleep. They worked hard to keep some new habits. Social science research led to many new understandings of how people find happiness. She thinks her class can change Yale, or rather, not just Yale.
12. How did students respond to the cancelling class?
A.They expressed their concern. |
B.They were at a loss what to do. |
C.They showed gratitude to the teacher. |
D.They were eager to study individually. |
13. How can we know Santo’s class was popular?
A.From the attendence in her class. |
B.From the subject she taught. |
C.From the long history of Yale. |
D.From the release of the online course. |
14. What can students learn from Santos’s class?
A.To develop good study habits. |
B.To let exercise become their routine. |
C.To better understand how to find happiness. |
D.To do something joyful during the stressful time. |
15. What can we infer from the text?
A.Santos had a more stressful time in her college. |
B.Students would be in rat race after Santos’s class. |
C.Santos’s influence can reach a wider range of people. |
D.Santos is going to cancel more classes for better effects. |