Question

My students often tell me that they don't have "enough time" to do all their schoolwork.

My reply is often a brief "You have as much time as the president." I usually carry on a bit about there being twenty-four hours in the day for everyone, and suggest that "not enough time" is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done.

Once in graduate school, I tried to prove to one of my professors by saying that I was working hard. His answer to me was, "That's irrelevant (无关的). What's important is the quality of your work." Since then I have had time to think carefully about the "hard worker" dodge (诀窍), and I have come to some conclusions- all relevant to the problem of how much time we have.

If you analyze the matter, you can identify two parts of the problem: There is, of course, the matter of "time", which we can think of as fixed. Then there is the problem of "work" during that time. But, as my professor suggested, it's not how hard one works but the quality of the product that's important.

That led me to a new idea: the quality of the work. That concept is perhaps best explained by a sign I once saw on the wall in someone's office: "Don't work harder. Work smarter." There is a lot of sense in that idea.

If you can't get more time, and few of us can, the only solution is to improve the quality of the work. That means thinking of ways to get more out of the same time than we might otherwise get. That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits. Since "work" for students usually means "homework", the expression "work habits" should be read as "study habits".

Then, as a smart student, you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing. If you learn to read better and write better, there are big benefits that pay off in all your studies.

1.From the passage, we know that the author is probably ______.

A. a poet       B. an engineer

C. a novelist    D. an educator

2.We can infer from the 2nd paragraph that we students still _____.

A. have enough time

B. can meet the president

C. get everything done well

D. should accept the explanation

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The author's students make good use of their time to do all their homework.

B. The author tried to tell the professor that he/she (author) had done a good job.

C. You can't improve the quality of the work if you can't get more time.

D. You'll try to improve your skills in reading and writing if you're a clever student.

4.What's the passage mainly about?

A. Students don't have enough time.

B. No one can get more time.

C. Don't work harder; work smarter.

D. Read better and write better.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.D

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文讲述了在学习上我们要提高单位时间内的学习的效率，要勤奋工作，更要充满智慧的工作。作为聪明的学生我们要提高我们的阅读和写作技巧。

1.D 推理判断题。文章第一段My students often tell me that they don’t have “enough time” to do all their schoolwork．的意思是;学生抱怨没有时间做作业，由此可知我是一个教育者，故选D。

2.A 推断判断题。根据本段第一句My reply is often a brief “You have as much time as the president．和最后一句“not enough time” is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done．都说明作者认为我们有足够的时间。故选A。

3.D 细节理解题。文章最后Then, as a smart student，you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing．的意思是：聪明的学生要提高我们的阅读和写作技巧，故选D。

4.C 主旨大意题。根据文章的主题段最后一段可知本文主要讲述的是我们要提高我们学习的质量。故选C。

考点：教育类短文阅读。