1 . Feeling exhausted by your to-do list can make you unhappy, but a new study suggests that more free time might not be the magic elixir (灵丹妙药) most of us dream it could be.

The researchers analyzed data from 35,000 subjects about how Americans spend their free time. They found people with more free time generally had higher levels of subjective happiness—but only up to a point. Compared to those with less time, people with up to two hours of free time a day generally felt better. However, people with five or more hours of free time a day generally felt worse. So the free-time “sweet spot” might be two to three hours per day.

Part of finding this “sweet spot” is connected with how people spend their free time. In an online experiment, the subjects were asked to imagine having four to seven free hours per day and spending that time doing “productive” or “unproductive” activities. Most of them believed their happiness would suffer if they had a lot of free time during the day — but only if they used it unproductively. Though that experiment was based on the previous assumptions, which is one limitation, it agrees with other experiments showing that being in a state of flow can benefit people’s mental health.

Of course, for you, any activities that increase your happiness are “productive”. If watching soap opera in your free time makes you feel better, you should do that due to self-care. And some traditionally productive activities can be easy and fun. For example, walking and cooking can help burn stress and put people in a state of flow.

“In cases where people find themselves with large amounts of free time, such as retirement or unemployment,” Sharif said, “our results suggest they can benefit from spending their newfound time with purpose.”

1. How did the researchers carry out the study of the free-time “sweet spot”?

A．By studying the collected data.	B．By doing the experiment again and again.
C．By observing the respondents.	D．By doing an interview with the subjects.

2. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The activity.

B．The whole day.

C．Free time.

D．The experiment.

3. Why does the author mention “soap opera” in paragraph 4?

A．To present a fact.	B．To make a prediction.
C．To explain an opinion.	D．To introduce a topic.

4. What does the new study suggest about people’s happiness?

A．Only complicated activities can increase your happiness.

B．People will always feel much happier with more free time.

C．The “sweet spot” has little connection with the amount of free time.

D．Much free time with purposeful activities can affect people’s happiness.

2 . For many high school students, it seems that there is never enough time. There are several steps you can take to organize your time better.

Make a to-do list every day. It makes it easy to plan any activities or meetings you may have in addition to homework. Be sure to set priorities (优先事项).    1    

Use spare time wisely. Instead of wasting your spare time, read a book or do homework.    2    If a friend asks you to do something and you have homework to do, think about which is more important and see your friend later.

Decide on the time that is good for you to do certain things. If you are more of a morning person, try getting up an hour earlier and do schoolwork before school.

Review your notes every day.    3    . If you spend a few minutes at the end of every day going over what you learned, it will mean less time spent on studying when it is time for the exam.

    4    Studies have shown that getting enough rest helps your memory. When     you are tired, everything seems more difficult. It is best to stay on a regular sleeping cycle as much as possible.

Tell your friends and family about your work timetable. Explain that you will be working at certain times and ask them not to disturb you.    5    you can call your friends later.

A．Set goals for yourself.

B．Get a good night’s sleep.

C．Do the most important tasks first.

D．And also, do not be afraid to say “no”.

E．You should finish your task on time.

F．Don’t take phone calls during the time you set aside for work.

G．Don’t wait until just before a test to try and remember everything.

5 . I read somewhere that we spend a full third of our lives waiting. But where are we doing all of this waiting, and what does it mean to an impatient society like ours? To understand the issue, let’s take a look at three types of “waits”.

The very purest form of waiting is the Watched-Pot Wait, It is without doubt the most annoying of all Take filling up the kitchen sink(洗碗池)as an example. There is absolutely nothing you can do while this is going on but keep both eyes fixed on the sink until it’s full. During these waits, the brain slips away from the body and wanders about until the water runs over the edge of the counter and onto your socks. This kind of wait makes the waiter helpless and mindless.

A cousin to the Watched-Pot Wait is the Forced Wait. This one requires a bit of discipline. Properly preparing packaged noodle soup requires a Forced Wait. Directions are very specific. “Bring three cups of water to boil, add mix, simmer three minutes, remove from heat, let stand five minutes.” I have my doubts that anyone has actually followed the procedures strictly. After all, Forced Waiting requires patience

Perhaps the most powerful type of waiting is the Lucky-Break Wait. This type of wait is unusual in that it is for the most part voluntary. Unlike the Forced Wait, which is also voluntary, waiting for your lucky break does not necessarily mean that it will happen.

Turning one’s life into a waiting game requires faith and hope, and is strictly for the optimists among us. On the surface it seems as ridiculous as following the directions on soup mixes, but the Lucky-Break Wait well serves those who are willing to do it. As long as one doesn’t come to rely on it, wishing for a few good things to happen never hurts anybody.

We certainly do spend a good deal of our time waiting. The next time you’re standing at the sink waiting for it to fill while cooking noodle soup that you’ll have to eat until a large bag of cash falls out of the sky, don’t be desperate. You’re probably just as busy as the next guy.

1. While doing a Watched-Pot Wait we tend to __________.

A．keep ourselves bus

B．get absent-minded

C．grow anxious

D．stay focused

2. What is the difference between the Forced Wait and the Watched-Pot Wait?

A．The Forced Wait requires some self-control.	B．The Forced Wait makes people passive.
C．The Watched-Pot Wait needs directions.	D．The Watched-Pot Wait engages body and brain.

3. What can we learn about the Lucky-Break Wait?

A．It is less voluntary than the Forced Wait.	B．It doesn’t always bring the desired result.
C．It is more fruitful than the Forced Wait.	D．It doesn’t give people faith and hope.

4. What does the author advise us to do the next time we are waiting!

A．Take it seriously

B．Don’t rely on others

C．Do something else

D．Don’t lose heart

7 . Some people think working overtime means you’re a hard worker. You have to sacrifice your personal time to stay at work, produce something, help the company, and be a more devoted employee. But is that right?     1     This means it takes you longer to produce something than someone else.

A good manager knows how to encourage his employees to work to their full potential instead of expecting them to work late even if they don’t have something to do. People who stay in their office until late hate their jobs.     2    

Overworking may negatively influence the level of productivity and efficiency. Any company that makes their employees work those hours is not being managed well.     3     And the boss would prefer you work efficiently 7 hours and then go back home than 10 hours with poor efficiency.

    4     The fact is the competition is so fierce that if you don’t work hard someone will easily and willingly replace you, especially in the IT industry. Employees are told they need to work longer hours or they don’t belong or are denied promotions. It is time to abandon the culture of overworking, to work smarter, more efficiently and have a balance with personal life.

Nowadays, it’s hard for a young person to build a good future, for pressures are on his (or her) shoulders: housing, children, parents, themselves, etc. But everyone must keep working hard to have ourselves on the way to the good future, which is not certain.     5    

A．No one wants to work overtime.

B．The boss thinks highly of overworking.

C．Working too many hours only means you are inefficient.

D．For it affects their performance, as well as other aspects of their life.

E．What’s sure is that if you’re lazy and don’t work hard, no good future will come.

F．Managers believe that overworking is an evidence of devotion from their employees’ side.

G．In many countries, overworking would be criticized because it reflects poor work efficiency.

8 . The most important skill I picked up at school was keeping a routine.

Routines allow us to develop a rhythm to our lives, but they also have their downsides.

It can be easy to get so accustomed to your routine that you don’t realize you’re no longer conscious of your time. This can stop progress, which means you start living your life on autopilot.   It’s important that you include time in your routine for self-reflection.

Doing the same thing week after week can be dull. If you make time to try new things and explore new interests, you can adjust your routine to better fit your lifestyle as things change.

When I first came to college, I was told countless times that it’s important you develop a routine so you can focus on things important to you. But it’s easy to forget the bigger picture. I got so used to the same old things that I would often forget about all of the other fun and exciting opportunities college had to offer.

It wasn’t until my junior year that I really started setting time aside to explore things that were interesting to me. This was partly because COVID-19 and lockdown made my college life a lot more boring. It was this experience that made me realize I was stuck in a rut, a feeling I’m sure many came to terms with.

I decided I was going to make a change. I needed to find a balance between keeping a structured schedule and finding time to be creative and try new things.

I started writing and doing research to apply the things I learned in class. I started learning new instruments, visiting new places around town and exploring new ways to get involved in the local community. All of these different experiences allowed me to look at the things I was doing from a new perspective. It made me reassess what I’m doing with my life and pursue new goals, which have added huge value to my life.

Routines are important, yes, but don’t forget: it’s not the routine that determines your life. So don’t forget to throw something new in there from time to time. Above all else, don’t live your life on autopilot.

1. What can happen if we “live our lives on autopilot” according to the author?

A．We make rapid progress.

B．We get bored by our dull lives.

C．We forget to practice self-reflection.

D．We become more sensitive to changes.

2. What happened to the author after he first went to college?

A．He developed and stuck to some routines.

B．He always tried to break routines.

C．He forgot how to draw the picture.

D．He couldn’t adapt to college life.

3. What did the author realize in his junior year of college?

A．It was vital to develop a routine.

B．A structured schedule helped beat boredom.

C．He should focus on important things.

D．He should lead a more balance d life.

4. In what way did the author make a change?

A．He changed his career path.

B．He changed his major in college.

C．He paid more attention to his looks.

D．He enriched his social life.

5. What is the message the author tries to convey in the text?

A．We should balance our school work and interests.

B．It’s important to explore possibilities outside our routines.

C．Our routines define our goals and who we are.

D．Colleges offer us numerous opportunities to try new things.

9 . A punctual (准时的) person is in the habit of doing a thing at the proper time and is never late in keeping an appointment.

    1    He is always in a hurry and in the end loses both time and his good name. A lost thing may be found again, but lost time can never be regained. Time is more valuable than material things.    2    . The unpunctual man is forever wasting and mismanaging his most valuable assets as well as the assets of others’. The unpunctual person is always complaining that he finds no time to answer letters or return calls or keep appointments promptly.     3    He knows that he cannot get through his huge amount of work unless he faithfully keeps every piece of work when it has to be attended to.

Failure to be punctual in keeping one’s appointments is a sign of disrespect towards others. If a person is invited to dinner and arrives later than the appointed time, he keeps all the other guests waiting for him.     4    .

Unpunctuality, moreover, is very harmful when it comes to doing one’s duty, whether public or private. Imagine how it would be if those who are put in charge of important tasks failed to be at their proper place at the appointed time.    5    

A．However, the man who really has a great deal to do is very careful with his time and seldom complains because he lacks it.

B．The unpunctual man, on the other hand, never does what he should do ahead of time.

C．The unpunctual man, on the other hand, never does what he has to do at the proper time.

D．A man who is known to be habitually unpunctual is never trusted by his friends or fellow men.

E．In fact, time is life itself.

F．All guests present ought to be respected by the host.

G．Usually this will be regarded as a great disrespect to the host and all other guests present.