1 . Wasted-time worry
The idea that time is our most precious resource can bring with it a sense of time-pressure. We are always told “Time is money and time is running out”, so we must manage it well. We take time-management courses, download the latest productivity app and divide our day into blocks, so our time is never wasted.
We need to shift away from trying to maximize our time and reduce our worry about wasting it. We don’t have to view every moment we don’t spend the way we expected to as a waste. There may be value in those moments too.
Then how much should we be working? Researchers say on most days, three to four hours of high-quality, focused mental work is about our maximum.
We often encounter empty time, throwing us into boredom, panic or anxiety, or add to our wasted-time worry.
| A．Working beyond that can be a waste |
| B．Working to maximum is the secret to success |
| C．but the scraps of time that get lost in between |
| D．We can simply appreciate the part they played in our life |
| E．However, we need some hours in the day to waste as we wish |
| F．We can simply set aside more moments for the work of the day |
| G．Yet in our crazy attempts to account for every hour, we fall into wasted-time worry |
It’s Best To Just Be Yourself
There is nothing like being young and eager to meet a pretty girl. I was sixteen when it first happened. Her name was Mary; she was one grade ahead and the most beautiful girl in the entire school. I was smaller than the rest of the guys my age but had many friends. I would walk by her locker (储物柜), act cool and do just about anything to gain her attention.
Nothing worked.
I often pondered to myself, How would such a beautiful and amazing girl ever fall for a guy like me? I constantly thought that if I were a “cool guy,” she would eventually have to notice. Once, I “accidentally” dropped my letter jacket by her feet, just so she would note my varsity (校队) pins一and me.
She only laughed.
Then, at a weekend gathering one evening, she was there with all of her frightening friends. I decided that this had to be it; I couldn’t live with myself one second more without at least trying to talk to her. I checked my ego at the door and decided to be myself. She was alone outside for one moment, and all I can remember is that she was so incredibly beautiful it made me dizzy. I walked up to her and said, “Hi, I’m Mark. You seem really nice; can we talk? “My belly rolled with butterflies while my head rushed with anxiety.
Time stood still for a moment.
She replied, “I know who you are; you’re different when your friends aren’t around. “And then she smiled and said, “I’m walking up the street to meet a friend. Would you like to go? “I could hardly breathe: How could this beautiful girl ever talk to a guy like me? Needless to say, we walked and talked, and she was everything I thought she would ever be. We giggled about the world and how stupid our friends and we were.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150字左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Then, to my amazement, she gave me her phone number.
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We two close friends later went on to separate world-class colleges and feelings between us faded.
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When I decided to major in English, I thought it would be fun. However, it turned out to be much
One of these was by William Wordsworth. It went, “The best portion(部分) of a good man’s life: his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.” The first time I read it, I was deeply impressed by the wisdom
What would happen if everyone followed Wordsworth’s wisdom and lived the best part of
A couple of years ago, I volunteered to be a finish-line “hugger” at the Kentucky Special Olympics held in Richmond.
The day of the event dawned dull, wet and gray. Even though it started to rain and a cold wind blew, most of the participants were so excited that they didn’t seem to notice the weather at all.
My job was to stand at the end of a lane on the track and hug the person in that lane when he or she crossed the finish line. It seemed to me that many of the participants completed their races just so they could get that finish “hug”. As the arms of the hugger closed around them, their faces lit up with pure joy, whether they came in first or dead last.
While we huggers stood around, we talked. I was told that most of the participants had been training for the races all year. I also noticed that, the Special Olympic participants weren’t here just to win. They didn’t talk negatively about the people they were racing against. In fact, they hugged and wished each other luck before they started, and hugged again when it was over, whether they had won or not.
What I remember most vividly from that day was the long-distance race. It was a long race by any standards: twelve laps around the track. There were only four participants, three boys and one girl. They were only a couple of laps into the race when the rain started up again. Standing in the rain, I began to feel miserable. My feet hurt. I was soaking wet. I was hungry. I was cold when the rain and wind came and hot when the sun came out. I thought irritably: This race is lasting entirely too long. Even though the three boys were nearly finished, the girl was at least four laps behind. I wondered why she kept going when there was obviously no way she could win.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Finally, the three boys finished but they didn’t leave right away.
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As she approached the finishing line, the girl was barely running.
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5 . Hank, a two-year-old cat, is a homebody. But recently, he got
Hank’s big
When Hank’s owner, Delores Bushong,
The neighbor, whose tree Hank had climbed, let Bushong sit in his backyard and
By day five, they tried a new
The cat, following the familiar scents, climbed into the basket and was
Bushong said the help of her community was
| A．injured | B．stuck | C．involved | D．lost |
| A．practice | B．challenge | C．adventure | D．appearance |
| A．by chance | B．in turn | C．on time | D．as usual |
| A．rescued | B．observed | C．trained | D．spotted |
| A．Typically | B．Surprisingly | C．Unfortunately | D．Strangely |
| A．smooth | B．stable | C．flexible | D．fixed |
| A．shocked | B．embarrassed | C．ashamed | D．helpless |
| A．talk | B．catch | C．bring | D．frighten |
| A．received | B．donated | C．preserved | D．sold |
| A．energetic | B．hungry | C．curious | D．cautious |
| A．instruction | B．opinion | C．approach | D．choice |
| A．created | B．repaired | C．bought | D．texted |
| A．made | B．carried | C．raised | D．decorated |
| A．comforted | B．protected | C．returned | D．lowered |
| A．responsible | B．serious | C．available | D．remarkable |
It was the last day of the month-long summer camp. All the camp leaders and volunteers were preparing for the grand wrap-up event that evening. Some were setting up chairs and tables outside; some were preparing water balloons for games we would play later; and some were cutting fruits and veggies for snacks.
One of the leaders, George, came to me, handed me a small broom and a dustpan, and asked me to sweep the gym. Alone. While the others were chatting and laughing outside. While the gym was dusty and stuffy (不通风的) after weeks of camp and crafts.
I didn’t have a choice. I was sixteen, and George was my elder. I was a staff member at camp, and George was my employer. I put on as cheerful a face as I could and began to sweep the floor of the gymnasium.
Every time I made a decent (合宜的) pile of dust and scraps (残羹剩饭) to push into the dustpan, I had a nice little part of the gym cleared. But I would look up and see the rest of the gym and realize how big the job was. The whole situation felt so unfair.
I wasn’t really happy then. I’m not proud of it, but I was angry as well. I could hear the sounds of people talking, laughing, and generally having a great time outside. There was silence in the gym, except for my sweep, sweep, sweep.
During a break between sweeps, I looked up. George was quietly and matter-of-factly moving the speakers and cleaning the stage at the front of the gym. I noticed he worked alone as well. He didn’t seem particularly excited about what he was doing, but I noted the calmness and joy in his eyes as he went about his work, doing what had to be done because he was there and he was able to do it.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I watched him silently for the next ten minutes.
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“Thanks, Laura.” he said and nodded as if acknowledging the small sacrifice I had made.
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When my little brother Tom was four, Mom said something like “I’d give anything to have a few more hours in the day.” And Tom said, “Why don’t we buy a bigger clock?” If time worked that way, I could have used an extra-big clock last week!
Our teacher had asked us to make an art project showing how plants eat, “I can’t believe we only have two nights to finish it,” Noah said with a sigh. “I have no idea how I’ll get mine done.”
I didn’t say anything. Not because I was nervous—I wasn’t nervous at all. 1 love art projects! In fact, I was so relaxed that I didn’t work on the project at all on Monday night. I planned to start the minute I got home from baseball practice on Tuesday. But there was just one thing.
I forgot baseball would run later than usual because it was the day of Baseball Buddies, which happens every month, and it’s a chance for us older students to practise baseball with the adorable younger kids. The second I got home, I threw the entire craft box (手工盒) onto the kitchen table, took out my “How Plants Eat” paper, and started to work. But just then, the telephone rang.
It was my friend Ollie, who said his grandmother Abuela had just made cookies and wanted to know if I’d come help decorate them. I love decorating cookies, and I love, love, love Abucla’s world-famous Thanksgiving cookies that only happen once a year!
I had no choice. I had to go. Ollie and I put all the star cookies with red jam filling in one group, and all the snowflakes with white cream-cheese filling in another. It was 7 o'clock when I finally got home.1 planned to work on my project right after we ate. But then another interruption hit me.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Just as I was about to start, Dad said, “Joanna, it’s your turn to do the dishes.”
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Looking at the big “F” on my paper, I started to reflect on what I had done these days.
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