Nearly five years ago, I booked a retreat (僻静处) to work on my book, Tracking Wonder. I knew I worked best with limited distraction, but when I finally was able to carve time away from the world to do this creative work, I found it very difficult to focus.
Ⅰ. Reboot(重启) your mental health.
Just as our muscles need rest days between workouts to grow stronger, our minds need periods of idleness to process the world around us.
Innovators in times of crisis and adversity actually grant themselves space to be bored and daydream deliberately. This kind of daydreaming can lead to positive mental feelings of hope, renewal, and forward motion, but it requires boredom and space.
Ⅱ.
The capacity to be bored and the capacity to be creative go hand in hand. Want to increase your creativity?
Ⅲ. Reconnect with what matters to you.
These days, current events—and the resulting analysis, opinions, and Twitter hot takes—come at us so quickly that it’s difficult to process one issue before the next takes its place.
| A．Become more creative. |
| B．I completely lacked creativity. |
| C．Here are three ways to release your creativity. |
| D．The answer may not be more stimulation, but less. |
| E．Reach for our phones to check a fact during a conversation. |
| F．Learning to let yourself be bored can have three surprising benefits. |
| G．But to truly be an informed citizen, you need to allow time for idleness. |
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【推荐1】Have you ever happened to have a stranger looking at you with eyes full of anger unexpectedly? It was painful and confusing, but sure a great lesson. The first thing that passed through my mind was that it must be a misunderstanding. Such a look was not meant for me, but later I saw the old lady’s face changing every time she saw me, at least seven times, no more doubt that she was very angry with me.
I was confused, shocked, and near anger. My brains were spinning (快速旋转), trying to figure out how’s and why’s but somehow managed not to show it on my face. I went home, slept a night over it and decided that I had to find a way to make peace with this lady.
The very next day I bought some nice chocolates going to see her again and when I caught sight of her, I went straight to her and apologized telling her “I am so very sorry, but if I angered you, I had no such intention; please accept my apologizes”, and handled her the chocolates. Surprised, she told me not to mind her, and apologized too. It was an awkward moment, but we made peace and the grimaces (苦相) are replaced by smiles now.
I am very grateful for this experience. It shows me I still have plenty of work to do with my mind. I learned how it is not easy to take knowledge of, accept and forgive acts that we may feel as unfair, and it taught me of possibilities about fixing a conflict. Best advice to keep for myself.
Do not react, do not be quick to judge, sleep it over, and throw in a little of empathy for self as well as others.
1. What was the matter with the old woman?| A．She was misunderstood by the author. | B．She was wronged by the author. |
| C．She taught the author a lesson. | D．She was mad with the author. |
| A．She tried to ignore it. | B．She managed to keep calm. |
| C．She pretended to be kind to her. | D．She turned away and went home. |
| A．By explaining. | B．By begging. |
| C．By persuading. | D．By apologizing. |
| A．Sad. | B．Disappointing. |
| C．Valuable. | D．Exciting. |
I recently gave my adult class homework. The assignment was to “go to someone you love and tell them you love them. It has to be someone you have never said those words to before or haven’t shared those words with for a long time”.
That doesn’t sound like a tough assignment, but most of the men in that group were over 35 and were taught that expressing emotions is not “macho（男子汉的）”.
At the beginning of our next class, I asked if someone wanted to share what happened when they told someone they loved them. One of the men raised his hand. He appeared quite moved and a bit shaken.
He began by saying, “I didn’t feel that I had anyone to say those words to. But as I began driving home, I knew exactly who I needed to say ‘I love you’to. Five years ago, my father and I had a disagreement and never resolved it. We hardly spoke to each other.” “The next morning, I called my dad. When he answered the phone, I said, ‘Dad, can I come over tonight? I have something to tell you.’ I assured him it wouldn’t take long, so he finally agreed.”
“At 5：30, I was at my parents’ house ringing the doorbell. As luck would have it, Dad answered the door.”
“I took one step in the door and said, ‘Dad, I just came over to tell you that I love you’”
“His face softened, his wrinkles（皱纹）disappeared and he began to cry. He reached out and hugged me and said, ‘I love you too, son, but I’ve never been able to say it.’”
“Dad and I hugged for a moment longer. I hadn’t felt that great in a long time.”
“Two days after that visit, my dad had a heart attack and ended up unconscious in the hospital. I don’t know if he’ll make it.”
“My message to all of you is this：Don’t wait to do the things that need to be done. Take the time to do what you need to do and do it now！”
1. Why might the assignment challenge the students?（no more than 10 words）2. What happened to the author’s student and his father five years ago?（no more than 15 words）
3. What is the meaning of the underlined part in Paragraph 5?（no more than 5 words）
4. Why did the student’s father cry? （no more than 10 words）
5. What do you often do when you have disagreements with your parents? Please explain.（no more than 20 words）
【推荐3】I ask every student I interview for admission to my institution,Pitzer College,the same question,“What do you look forward to the most in college?”I was astonished and delighted recently when a student replied,“I look forward to the possibility of failure.”Of course,this is not how most students respond to the question when sitting before the person who can make decisions about their academic futures,but this young man took a risk.
“You see,my parents have never let me fail,”he said.“When I want to take a chance at something, they remind me it's not a safe route to take.Taking a more demanding course or trying an activity I may not succeed in,they tell me,will ruin my chances at college admission.”
I wish I could tell you this is an uncommon story,but kids all over the world admit they are under great pressure to be per feet.When I was traveling in China last fall and asked a Chinese student what she did for fun,she replied:“I thought I wasn't supposed to tell you that? I wouldn't want you to think I am not serious about my work!"
Students are usually in shock when I laugh and tell them I never expect perfection.Of course,this goes against everything they've been told.How could a dean of admission at one of America's most selective institutions not want the best and the brightest?The reality is,perfection doesn't exist,and we don't expect to see it in a college application.In fact, admission officers tend to question students who present themselves as individuals without shortcomings.
We get the most excited when we read an application that seems real.It's so rare to hear stories of defeat.If their perspectives are of lessons learned,these applicants tend to jump to the top at highly selective colleges.We believe an error in high school should not define the rest of your life,but how you respond could shape you forever.
1. What can we learn about the student in the first two paragraphs?| A．He is seldom allowed to take part in activities. |
| B．He tries to avoid any chance of failure |
| C．He cares little about his academic futures. |
| D．He is taught not to take risks. |
| A．To illustrate the widespread stress on students. |
| B．To compare students from different countries. |
| C．To give an example of the students he favors. |
| D．To emphasize the importance of hard work. |
| A．Favorable. |
| B．Confused. |
| C．Doubtful. |
| D．Casual. |
| A．A desire for perfection. |
| B．The ability to learn from defeats. |
| C．The opportunity of making mistakes. |
| D．An experience of defeat in high school. |
【推荐1】Two weeks ago, I took a trip to my friend’s house in Serawai in Indonesia. My trip was full of unforgettable moments — great people, delicious food, new cultures. However, what left a deep impression on me was meeting up with my friend’s dad, Fx. Ngawan. He is now working as an education supervisor (教育主管) in Sintang Regency.
At our first meeting, he looked like an ordinary man with dark skin. As he mentioned that he used to be an English teacher, we discovered we were a match! I am an English teacher myself. More importantly, he is a language lover. During the talk, he often changed from one language to another such as Indonesian, English and Javanese. He is now fluent in at least 15 languages and most of them are local languages.
He has to go all the way from Serawai sub-district (分区) to Sintang Regency by motorcycle, riding about 170 km to work. The trip can take six hours if the day is bright and sunny. However, it is not uncommon for him to spend three to seven days for the journey if the rainy season comes.
Therefore, he has to stop at some villages if he can’t continue the trip and meet up with people speaking so many different languages along the way. So, whenever he stops in a particular (特别的，独有的) village, he learns a different language. For him, learning languages helps him to connect with people.
In our talk, he said learning languages is important. He hopes that the younger generation in Indonesia starts realizing that language can open the door to so many opportunities. Local languages are on the edge of disappearance (消失，不见) because more people are leaving them behind. When people stop speaking the language, the knowledge and culture from that language will also disappear.
1. What was the author’s trip to his friend’s house like?| A．Hopeful. | B．Moving. | C．Creative. | D．Wonderful. |
| A．Being interested in different cultures. | B．Being fluent in several languages. |
| C．Being a language lover. | D．Being an English teacher. |
| A．He learns different cultures. | B．He learns some languages. |
| C．He makes many friends. | D．He does much exercise. |
| A．Learning languages isn’t an easy job. |
| B．Young people don’t grasp opportunity. |
| C．Local languages are becoming important. |
| D．Languages and culture are closely related. |
【推荐2】When I started teaching in school, I was sure I would change the world and touch children who needed love.
Although most of my students seemed to respond pretty well to my teaching, there was a small group of teenage girls who became more and more hostile (敌对的) toward me.
One day a fight happened in my classroom. Attempting to end it, I stepped in to face one of these hostile young women, who started hitting me in the face. Two boys jumped up to control the girl, but the damage was done.
While the girl was suspended for a few days, I was determined that she would not return to my classroom. But I also prayed. I wanted to see all the students right there in my daily work at school.
On the top of my daily lesson-plan book, I wrote this statement, “To see all the children in my classroom is always beautiful.” It was the first thing I saw each day when I started teaching. With this view I could expect healing in my heart of any anger toward the girl.
After her suspension, she returned to my classroom. The student’s young mother was trying to raise six children while her husband was away in the war overseas. The mother and I agreed to work together to help her eldest daughter.
There were no more incidents of anger the rest of the year. In fact, in the seven years I remained at that school, I taught all six of this family’s children. When the youngest was in my class, the mother told me, “Our family loves you. Every year one of my kids says, ‘I hope I’m in her classroom!’”
The standard of seeing each of my students as perfect was the best teaching tool I had, which led to success in the classroom.
1. At the beginning of teaching, the author ________.| A．was full of confidence in herself |
| B．doubted if she could be a good teacher |
| C．was sure to win love from her students |
| D．decided to change her students’ life |
| A．A girl fought with two boys. | B．She was hit by a girl. |
| C．She hit a girl in the face. | D．She fought with several girls. |
| A．She was sent to another class. |
| B．She was driven out of school at once. |
| C．She had to stay at home for a few days. |
| D．She was beaten heavily by her mother. |
| A．the author got along better with boys |
| B．the author tried to let the girl come to her class |
| C．the girl’s mother was very thankful to the author |
| D．all the six kids of the woman are hard to teach |
【推荐3】At 27, after serving in World War Ⅱ, I dreamed of owning a piece of land. So I moved from central Illinois to Shelbina, Missouri, and bought 236 acres for $6,000. The land was near a dirt road and was half farmland and half trees, with an old house that had no running water or electricity. Obviously, it was not what you'd call a perfect farm. But it was mine.
I was alone for the first time in my life, and I found it liberating. My days were filled from dawn until dusk with plowing and planting corn. Dinnertime came and went, and I barely remembered to eat.
I wouldn't say I was a great success at farming in Missouri. However, when I went to the store to buy some tools, I met a nice woman named Claudette working behind the counter. I also ran into her at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Shelbina each week. I found out later that her manager kept asking her about "that tall boy from Illinois living out in the country in an old house with no water, no electricity and no housekeeper."
Claudette and her sister soon visited my farm and put up some curtains. To show my appreciation, I took Claudette out for a ride in my truck. We married in 1954 and have now been together for more than 62 years!
I later sold the Missouri farm for a $3,500 profit and bought 40 acres in Illinois. For many reasons, buying the Missouri farm was a good idea. I will always value memories of owning the farm and meeting my beloved.
1. Why did the author buy the Missouri farm?| A．To marry a nice girl. | B．To live a free life. |
| C．To have his own land. | D．To earn a good profit. |
| A．A manager. | B．A storekeeper. |
| C．A housekeeper. | D．A shop assistant. |
| A．was well furnished | B．led to a happy marriage |
| C．covered 40 acres | D．made a successful farmer |
