Architecture is amazing. It has changed the way I look and interact with the world and my environment. It has trained me to be hyper-sensitive (过度敏感) to the built environment, to recognize problems and find solutions that an untrained eye would never notice.
As much as I love this profession, it is very easy to get lost in architecture. I get so focused that I have forgotten about everything else. Luckily my passion for cycling kept me sane (清醒的) while I was becoming an architect. I faced a lot of obstacles and challenges taking a bicycle ride across the United States. Looking back, cycling across the America was actually one of the smartest things I ever did.
I have actually bicycled across the continental USA twice; East to west. Atlantic Ocean to Pacific Ocean, both times. Bicycling across America isn’t as hard as you think.
I rode alone on my first trip in 2005 from Virginia Beach to the coast of Florence, Oregon. In the end it was 4,547 miles over the course of 77 days.
I left for the second trip in 2007 with my two best friends from Bar Harbor, Maine to Portland, Oregon, which was a 4,886 mile ride over 90 days. At that time, I fell in love with the idea of leaving the east coast behind, starting a whole new life and career in a new city. I ended up in Portland. After arriving in town on a bike, I eventually found a job, a place to live and an amazing dog.
I share all this not to convince anyone to go biking across America, but only to share how doing this has changed my life. Architecture has given me a wonderful life and career but it isn’t everything. Thankfully I have also been very passionate about: my friends, traveling, bicycles, punk rock, technology, the internet, my dog, and even yoga. My architecture background has definitely sweetened my relationship with all those things.
Becoming an architect is a noble pursuit, but you should keep pursuing everything else that you are passionate about. It will enhance your architecture career and ultimately make you a more interesting person, which in my opinion is really more important than being another silly architect.
8. What’s the advantage of cycling according to the author?
A.Changing his negative attitude to architecture. |
B.Keeping himself focused on his career all the time. |
C.Enabling him to find solutions without training. |
D.Making him a much better architect and person. |
9. What does the author think of his two cross-country bike trips?
A.They are harder than what he expected before. |
B.They show the benefits of riding with friends. |
C.They give him some extraordinary experiences. |
D.They guarantee him a new life and career in Portland. |
10. What can be inferred from Paragraph 6?
A.Don’t get completely lost in your hobbies. |
B.Don’t abandon hobbies for your profession. |
C.Don’t feel ashamed of stopping your hobbies. |
D.Don’t weigh your family against your profession. |
11. In the last paragraph, the author reminds us to ________.
A.take up the pursuit of becoming an architect |
B.find what we are really passionate about |
C.appreciate other people’s good intentions |
D.avoid our career taking over other pursuits |