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The things we can really learn from books
It's believed that everything you need to know you can find in a book. People have always received life-guiding wisdom from certain types of non-fiction, often from "self- help” books. But actually all sorts of books can carry this kind of wisdom. A random sentence in a thriller will give you unexpected insight.
It is also believed that there is no book so bad that you can't find something of interest in it. That, actually, is a paraphrase （释义）from the Roman lawyer Pliny the Younger, a viewpoint later adopted by Miguel de Cervantes in Don Quixote. Admittedly, neither Pliny nor Cervantes were subject to some of the weakest “sex and shopping” books from the 1980s, but people still think it mostly holds true. You can learn something from the very worst books—even if it is just how crass （粗鲁的）and base9 or boring and petty （琐碎的），or cruel and intolerant the human race can be.
There is a proud tradition of extracting （摘录）lines from poetry and songs and using them in this way. But not everyone is a fan of cherry-picking odd passages from random books and using them to direct your life. Some people argue that lines from novels and plays are dependent on what surrounds them—that it's improper and self-serving to grab the odd line here and there. Others don't buy this. It ignores the way that your brain collects, refracts^ sorts and combines information. We can find meaning in everything—— and everything is fair game.
We overschedule our days and complain constantly about being too busy; we keep up with hundreds of acquaintances but rarely see our best friends; we bombard ourselves with video clips and emails and instant messages; we even interrupt our interruptions.
Books are uniquely suited to helping us change our relationship to the rhythms and habits of daily life in this world. We can't interrupt them; we can only interrupt ourselves while reading them. They speak to us, thoughtfully^ one at a time. They demand attention —they demand that we briefly put aside our work at hand and listen to someone else. You can rant (咆哮)against a book, scribble (涂鸦)in the margin, or even throw it out the window. Still, you won't change the words on the page.
We all ask each other a lot of questions: "How did you sleep?” “Where did you go on your holidays?” But there’ s one question we should ask of one another a lot more often, and that is: "What are you reading?n When we ask one another that, we sometimes discover the ways we are similar; sometimes the ways that we are different. “What are you reading?”isn’t a simple question when asked with genuine curiosity; it' s really a way of finding out, “Who are you now and who are you becoming?
The things we can really learn from books | |
Popular beliefs | ♦ Books are the1.of knowledge and wisdom. ♦ Any book2. its readers regardless of its quality. |
Mixed3.to lines extraction | ♦ Some think little of it, arguing that extracted lines without 4.are meaningless. ♦ Others counter that they are meaningful because our brain has the ability to5. information. |
Feature of modern life | People today are6.in endless connectivity and tight schedules. |
7.of books | ♦ Books can help us adapt to the pace of life today. They urge us to stay8.and listen quietly. ♦ However we9.books, the words on the book pages remain the same. |
Conclusion | By asking what a person is reading, we can easily determine his or her10.and ambition. |
For me, Christmas was always complicated. As a child, it was joyful, yet a bit bittersweet. On the one hand, there was my Scottish mother, who went all -out for tradition. On the other hand, there was my Bengali （孟加拉）father. He was a reluctant participant in our Christmas celebration.
To five-year-old me, the idea that someone might not love Christmas was unbelievable. It was years before I realised that my father’ s own childhood had been a Santa-free zone. I was vaguely aware of the Bengali equivalent （等同物）to Christmas. Every September or October, airmail parcels would arrive, and ambitious plans were hatched to acquire syrupy cottage-cheese dumplings. But for me this was an addition to 25 December^ not a substitution.
Matters were further complicated by my father's job. After going to medical school in Kolkata, he had got a posting as a junior doctor at a hospital in Glasgow, where he met my mother, a nurse.（She gave up work after having children.） He often had to work on Christmas Day, which would make Mum angry. My sister and I were largely unaware of this tension, thrilled to go to work with Dad and see actual Santa visiting sick children on the wards.
As the years went by, though, my father began to accept Christmas. He was promoted to consultant, so he didn't have to work on the day. Everyone was joyful. Somehow, the more Dad engaged with Christmas, the more I disliked it. It was as if happy atmosphere was one of the infectious diseases he specialised in—I had caught a terminal case” while he had gone on to make a full recovery.
Things probably became worse in adulthood by the fact that bad events had a habit of happening to me at Christmas: losing a job, a breakup, a health emergency. My symptoms worsened and I gave up on sending cards or putting up decorations.
But then, one day everything changed. In October 2012, my father died. He had been in good health; nothing could have prepared us for such a loss. I have no memory of Christmas that year, except that it was the worst of my life.
During that period,one of the only things that kept me sane （理智的）was weekly choir （唱诗班）practice. However, as anyone who has ever been in a choir knows, Christmas is non-negotiable.
So I dragged myself out on that freezing night. The lights were sparkling; London had never looked so beautiful. I was totally lost in the music, so I started dancing, laughing and doing jazz hands, carrying on like the naughty 15-year-old chorister I had been at school.
It was then that a woman approached me. "Hi,” she faltered （支吾），“You were wonderful up there—I wanted to thank you.” I made a joke about how we didn't sound as out of tune as normal, but she shook her head. “No, I wanted to thank you." I couldn't think what she meant. "Things aren't so good for me at the moment,” she told me.
I looked at her more closely. What I saw in the woman5 s watery blue eyes was grief. It dawned on me then that while I missed my father very much, the loss had come after 48 years of his devoted attention. What I had was a rare gift. Because of it, I would find my way back to myself. Not everyone was that lucky.
But the woman was still talking. “Seeing you up there having such a good time, it made me realise I've forgotten how to enjoy myself.” She made a show of jazz hands: "I'm going to remember to do this.”
Six years on, I am the one buying wrapping paper in July and making my own Christmas cards. It might sound strange, but that generous conversation somehow gave me permission to get back to the serious business of enjoying life——and Christmas. Not only was it what my father would have wanted, but doing so could have a positive impact on others—even perfect strangers.
1.Christmas was complicated for the author as a child because .
A.it was celebrated at a different time
B.her parents couldn't afford decorations
C.her parents had their own social customs
D.it was reduced to being abandoned in his family
2.What was to blame for the author s tense parental relationship at Christmas?
A.Mum's loss of job.
B.A junior doctor's workload.
C.Dad's absence from Christmas.
D.Children' s curiosity about Santa.
3.Why did the author have a negative feeling towards Christmas in her youth?
A.Her father' s change touched her.
B.She matured and lost interest in it.
C.She was infected with an incurable disease.
D.Her misfortunes always came with Christmas.
4.What does the author mean by saying "Christmas is non-negotiable” in Paragraph 7?
A.She changed her attitude towards Christmas.
B.She was fascinated with the merry atmosphere.
C.Her father’ s sudden death was a heavy blow to her.
D.She had to join in the celebration as a choir member.
5.Why was the woman grateful to the author?
A.She was inspired by the author.
B.The author made her feel lucky.
C.The author taught her how to dance.
D.They were both in the same situation.
6.What can be learned from the last paragraph?
A.The woman' s remarks helped the author regain passion for life.
B.The author makes Christmas gifts with paper to make a living.
C.The author fails to live up to her father' s high expectations.
D.Positive mind made little difference to people's well-being.
We like to think that the human mind is special. One sign of our superiority is self-awareness, which is generally seen as the peak of consciousness. Only a select group of species has passed the test of being able to recognise themselves in a mirror. Most, including elephants, apes and dolphins, are smart. But now a little fish, the cleaner wrasse has become the first fish ever to pass the mirror test——a classic experiment used to judge self-awareness in animals. What are we to make of this?
Admittedly^ the mirror test is a questionable way of probing （探究）the minds of other animals. But the finding does fit with a new idea that the ability to recognise oneself is more related to an animal’s lifestyle than to its brain size. Self-awareness is likely to occur in creatures whose survival is dependent on reading the minds of others. In fact, by this way of thinking, it is nothing more than an accidental by-product of evolution^ a simulation （模拟）created by the brain, or even just a hall of mirrors giving the illusion of complexity.
The cleaner wrasse lives on coral reefs and provides a service by biting parasites （寄 生虫）off the scales of bigger fish gently, a delicate relationship that may require insight into the minds of its clients. Such “theory of mind” has long been seen as another cornerstone of human mental superiority. The possibility that fish possess it is not, however, the only threat to our human exceptionalism （例外）.It may not be long before computers give us a run for our money , too.
Researchers have created a set of tests to look for theory of mind in artificial intelligence— and some systems are on the point of passing. No AIs have passed the tests yet, but one got extremely close. We probably don't need to worry about robots that can recognise themselves in mirrors. But we might want to be more open to the idea that human intelligence isn't quite as special as we like to think.
1.What can we learn from the mirror test?
A.Mammals have a more adaptive body system.
B.A species of fish is capable of self-recognition.
C.The human mind is just as special as expected.
D.Humans have reached the peak of consciousness.
2.According to the passage, self-awareness .
A.is formed during evolution by chance B.corresponds with the size of the brain
C.isn't a hall of mirrors but a simulation D.reflects the typical mental complexity
3.The underlined part in Paragraph 3 probably means "
A.bring us huge profits
B.cost us a lot of money
C.have great control over us
D.challenge our exceptionalism
4.What' s the main idea of the passage?
A.Fish possess no level of intelligence.
B.Humans are not unique in intelligence.
C.AIs will be able to understand our thoughts.
D.Self-awareness is a big mystery of the mind.
According to new health guidelines, even a minute or two of physical exercise is better than nothing: just walking upstairs and down again, before continuing your otherwise entirely sofa-based afternoon of crisps and television, makes for a healthier life than if you hadn' t bothered. The previous recommendation was for a 10-minute minimum, but for years’ the general direction of research has been toward the conclusion that there is no minimum at all. This doesn51 just go for exercise^ either. Five minutes in nature can boost your mental health; and while one daily serving of vegetables may be too few, it's definitely preferable to zero. If you are wondering whether or not some tiny but healthful activity is worth it, the answer^ almost always, is yes.
It' s a little strange actually, that this is even a topic of debate. Of course anything is better than nothing. For one thing, it's a good start for building habits. For another, tiny actions are valuable in themselves. Human bodies aren't digital devices, and health generally isn't a matter of reaching fixed thresholds （门槛）；what is good for the organism in large quantities is usually good in smaller ones, too.
The real reason for the debate is not that the facts are in dispute （争议）.It's that information is dangerous. When public bodies recommend^ say, a 10-minute minimum, it's because they worry that if they don't, people who might otherwise have exercised for 10 minutes will stop after two.
Even this column risks making things worse. If you had truly been planning to spend all day on the sofa, perhaps I have inspired you to take a five-minute walk; but if there is a chance that you would have gone to the gym for an hour, reading these words might persuade you to settle for the stroll （散步）instead.
Ideally, we would stop thinking about healthy behaviours in terms of minimums: within reason, you should be doing as much exercise as you can, not as little as you can get away with—while remembering that nothing is too minor to be not worth the bother. This is a sensible approach to much of life, I would say, from being a good friend or paying attention to your kids, to saving money or reducing your environmental impact. However much you do9 it will never be enough. But that is not a reason to do nothing—on the contrary^ it' s a reason to do something.
1.Tiny healthy actions are worthwhile because •
A.they contribute to good habits and health
B.they provide abundant choices for fitness
C.they add a new dimension to people, s lives
D.they are easily conducted in people5 s daily lives
2.Why don public bodies recommend a minimum time for exercise?
A.People have their own concept of time.
B.It contradicts with new health guidelines.
C.There is a lack of scientific research on it.
D.People may misinterpret its real intentions.
3.What does the writer want to stress in the passage?
A.Life lies in movement.
B.All roads lead to Rome.
C.Actions speak louder than words.
D.Anything is better than nothing.
About The Postal Museum
There’ s nothing ordinary about the story of the post. From five -wheeled cycles and rockets to a lioness and flintlock pistols （手枪），the award-winning Postal Museum offers a surprising and entertaining half day out for all ages.
See a restored Mail Coach that thundered across 1800s Britain, get up close to the only existing sheets of the world5 s first postage stamp, the Penny Black, and explore Mail Rail—one of London's hidden gems—with a 15-minute ride through the underground tunnels of the Post Office5 s own 100-year-old railway.
Forget what you think you know about the post and visit one of London's newest museums to discover just what it took to keep us all in touch.
Know Before You Go
• Mail Rail is a miniature railway designed to carry post, not people. As such, it's not suitable for everyone and we^re unfortunately unable to accommodate wheelchair users on the ride itself.
• The Postal Museum is open 10am-5pm every day (closed at Christmas).
• Please ensure you arrive at least 15 minutes before the end of the one-hour Mail Rail timeslot shown on your ticket. Failure to arrive on time may result in being unable to ride Mail Rail.
• Re-entry is permitted any time between 10am and 4:30pm on the date stated on the ticket.
1.A visitor to the Postal Museum will have the chance to .
A.take the restored Mail Coach
B.ride Mail Rail for 15 minutes
C.get a copy of the Penny Black
D.hear an unusual story of the post
2.From the advertisement, we can know that .
A.re-entry is not permitted during the opening hours
B.the museum reduces the opening hours at Christmas
C.unpunctual visitors may not get the most out of the tour
D.wheelchair users cannot ride Mail Rail without attendance
I had a rocky start to life. My mum brought me up as a single parent. School was a ____ experience. I was troublesome and ____ teachers in lessons.
At 14, I was ____ out of school. My mum took me to the Caribbean, where my grandparents lived. It turned out to be a good experience for me: I returned to school and became ____ It was a kick up the backside （警醒）to see a different culture. I returned to the UK after two years and ____ applied to study in a college.
It was then that I knew I really had to ____ and avoid getting into trouble. One day, a college tutor told me he felt I had ____ and told me not to waste it. He was the first teacher to ____ me. He gave me a self-development book that explored ____ From there I started reading all sorts of self -development books and watching ____ speakers.
I ____ studying business and marketing at Manchester Metropolitan University. I realised I could stay out of ____ and make money, and it made me ____ to start my own business.
I received a ____ of £2,000 and business support from the Prince's Trust to help me set up a sportswear business. I also ____ We Shine Together, a social enterprise that provides training programmes to help people from ____ communities gain qualifications. Tm also a motivational speaker and regularly ____ my story at schools and colleges around Birmingham.
I like to ____ in myself and regularly buy self -development books and go on courses. I feel like I've ____ my life massively. ____ I was kicked out of school, I knew what I wanted in life. I always had that kind of courage and determination in me.
1.A.pleasant B.shared C.negative D.rewarding
2.A.assisted B.challenged C.defended D.monitored
3.A.kicked B.helped C.freed D.scared
4.A.arbitrary B.intelligent C.aggressive D.disciplined
5.A.successfully B.temporarily C.previously D.unrealistically
6.A.relax B.focus C.hide D.suffer
7.A.money B.time C.sympathy D.potential
8.A.doubt B.trust C.bless D.warn
9.A.nature B.culture C.business D.education
10.A.fragile B.desperate C.tricky D.inspiring
11.A.ended up B.gave up C.objected to D.stuck to
12.A.order B.sight C.trouble D.hand
13.A.hesitant B.disappointed C.determined D.reluctant
14.A.deposit B.pension C.revenue D.grant
15.A.praise B.avoid C.run D.shut
16.A.wealthy B.civilized C.disadvantaged D.harmonious
17.A.publish B.share C.read D.invent
18.A.invest B.take C.trade D.interfere
19.A.shrank from B.turned around C.broke down D.messed up
20.A.Before B.Unless C.As if D.Even though
