There has long been a notion (观念) that money buys happiness. However, although “we really, really tried that for a couple of generations, it didn’t work,” said Francine Jay, author of The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life.
Thanks to a travel-inspired revelation (启发), Jay has been happily living a simpler life for 12 years. “I always packed as lightly as possible, and found it exciting to get by with just a small carry-on bag,” she told CNN. “I thought if it feels this great to travel lightly, how amazing would it be to live this way? I wanted to have that same feeling of freedom in my everyday life.”
Jay decided to get rid of all her excess (额外的) possessions and live with just the essentials (必需品). “I wanted to spend my time and energy on experiences, rather than things.”
Jay is a follower of a movement called “minimalism (极简主义)”. Growing numbers of people have been attracted to this lifestyle all over the world. They share the same feeling of disappointment with modern life and a desire to live more simply. Minimalists are typically progressive and concerned about the environment, Leah Watkins, a lead researcher at Otago University in New Zealand, told Stuff magazine in March.
But many simply experienced unhappiness caused by owning too many possessions. Depression with the materialism of our world isn’t new. English romantic poet William Wordsworth summed up how dispiriting (令人 消沉的) this was back in 1802, at the beginning of the industrial age, when he wrote: “Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers”. His preference was to go back to nature. Closer to our own times, the hippies (嬉皮士) of the 1960s also sought to ‘‘drop out” of modern life.
And for many minimalists, their key is to unload. Without objects, they “believe people are forced more and more into the present moment and that’s where life happens,” wrote Stuff.
But does simplicity ever feel like a sacrifice (牺牲)?
“It’s eliminating the excess—unused items, unnecessary purchases—from your life. Well, I may have fewer possessions, but I have more space … Minimalism is making room for what matters most,” said Jay.
And “the real questions”, according to Duane Elgin, US social scientist, are “what do you care about?” and “What do you value?”
He told CNN: “It’s important for people to realize minimalism isn’t simply the amount of stuff we consume. It’s about our families, our work, our connection with the larger world, our spiritual dimension. It’s about how we touch the whole world. It’s a way of life.”
1.What was the author’s main purpose in writing the text?
A. To explore the trend of minimalism.
B. To give tips on how to lead a happy life.
C. To argue whether money buys happiness.
D. To recommend one of Francine Jay’s books.
2.What inspired Francine Jay to live a simple life?
A. A book she came across.
B. Her desire to keep up with modern life.
C. The pleasure she enjoyed from traveling lightly.
D. A follower of minimalism she met on a trip.
3.According to Leah Watkins, a typical minimalist tends to .
a. be fed up with materialism
b. like saving and visiting nature often
c. be angry about his or her current life
d. be environmentally friendly and live with fewer things
A. a, b B. a, d
C. a, b, c D. b, c, d
4.The underlined word “eliminating” in Paragraph 8 probably means .
A. removing B. distinguishing
C. accepting D. improving
5.Which of the following would Duane Elgin probably agree with?
A. Minimalism is a healthy lifestyle that is in conflict with modem life.
B. Minimalism limits people’s freedom to enjoy their lives to the fullest.
C. Minimalism enables people to reflect on what truly counts in their lives.
D. Minimalism means people have to sacrifice some pleasure to live simply.
Elderly women who eat foods higher in potassium（钾）are less likely to have strokes and die than women who eat less potassium-rich foods, according to new research in the American Heart Association. “Previous studies have shown that potassium consumption may lower blood pressure. But whether potassium intake could prevent stroke or death wasn’t clear,” said Smoller, professor of the department of population health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
Researchers studied 90,137 women, aged from 50 to 79 for an average 11 years. They looked at how much potassium the women consumed, as well as if they had strokes, including ischemic strokes (缺血性中风), or died during the study period. Women in the study were stroke-free at the start and their average dietary potassium intake was 2,611 mg/day. Results of this study are based on potassium from food, not supplements.
The researchers found: Women who ate the most potassium were 12 percent less likely to suffer stroke in general and 16 percent less likely to suffer an ischemic stroke than women who ate the least. Women who ate the most potassium were 10 percent less likely to die than those who ate the least. Among women who did not have high blood pressure, those who ate the most potassium had a 27 percent lower ischemic stroke risk and 21 percent reduced risk for all stroke types, compared to women who ate the least potassium in their daily diets. Among women with high blood pressure, those who ate the most potassium had a lower risk of death, but potassium intake did not lower their stroke risk.
“Our findings suggest that women need to eat more potassium-rich foods. You won’t find high potassium in junk food. Some foods rich in potassium include white and sweet potatoes, bananas and white beans.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that women eat at least 4,700 mg of potassium daily. “Only 2.8 percent of women in our study met or went beyond this level. The World Health Organization’s daily potassium recommendation for women is lower, at 3,510 mg or more. Still, only 16.6 percent of women we studied met or went beyond that,” said Smoller.
While increasing potassium intake is probably a good idea for most elderly women, there are some people who have too much potassium in their blood, which can be dangerous to the heart. “People should check with their doctor about how much potassium they should eat,” she said.
The study was observational and included only elderly women. Researchers also did not take sodium (钠) intake into consideration, so the potential importance of a balance between sodium and potassium is not among the findings. Researchers said more studies are needed to determine whether potassium has the same effects on men and younger people.
1.The benefits of potassium intake to elderly women do not include ______.
A. preventing strokes B. lowering blood pressure
C. cutting down death risks D. reducing heart attacks
2.Which of the following figure meets the daily potassium intake recommendation of the World Health Organization?
A. 2,500 mg. B. 3,000 mg.
C. 3,500 mg. D. 4,000 mg.
3.What conclusion can be drawn from the research findings?
A. Increasing potassium is definitely a good idea for all elderly women.
B. Potassium intake is more beneficial to those without high blood pressure.
C. Elderly women with high blood pressure benefit more from potassium.
D. There was not any association between potassium intake and ischemic strokes.
With the assistance of office volunteers, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, or Doctors Without Boarders) can reduce administration expenses and fully apply resources to help more populations worldwide.
Office volunteers usually assist us with our clerical work including data entry, letter mailing and information arrangement in MSF-HK office during office hours. You are also welcome to assist us by doing translation, research, designing publications, producing video clips, and other projects according to your schedule at home.
We also need volunteers for our events like the MSF Orienteering Competition and our exhibitions to take photographs, and to head reception counters or information booths (咨询台).
If you are interested in volunteering for MSF-HK office, please look through our volunteer vacancies below.
● Donor Services Volunteer
We are looking for a regular volunteer to help our Donor Services Unit with various data entry work and update the database through making outbound calls to the donors and supporters.
● General volunteers
Apart from specific volunteer vacancies, MAF-HK also need general volunteers with greater adaptability to assist clerical work or event organization. Should you be interested in joining us as general volunteers, please simply upload your personal information to our volunteer database. Depending on our workload, we will search for volunteers who fit that skill set requirement and time frame, and further contact them for work arrangement.
Join our volunteer database
The personal information you provide in the application form will be stored in our volunteer database, and will only be used for the purposes of our voluntary work arrangement and the communication with you. Should there be a suitable match, we will notify you by email or phone. For suggestions and inquiries about our voluntary services, please feel free to contact us. (Tel: 2959 4229: Email: volunteer@hongkong.msf.org)
1.According to the passage, office volunteers for MSF-HK ________.
A. usually needn’t work overtime
B. should master at least two languages
C. are required to complete their task in the office
D. may have received a handwritten letter of appointment
2.Which of the following statements is true according to the advertisement?
A. Donor Services volunteers should adapt to different working environment.
B. General volunteers need to deal with data entry work and make calls.
C. General volunteers are chosen only according to their abilities.
D. Volunteers’personal information will be preserved well.
I find it interesting sometimes that even the most ordinary occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.
My wife, daughter, and I moved into our home nine years ago and we ______ a lot of time and energy in the yard to getting it looking like it does today. We ______ on a corner, higher than street level, and the entire side of the yard is ______ by a professionally built rock wall. We did the best to put what we had into ______ and called this area our “rock garden”. Whenever we had flowers or plants, my wife Denise or I would stick them out and plant them in the “rock garden”, just to bring some ______ to the area.
I still do all of my own yard work, even the ______ weed-pulling. After ______ my knee pads, I assume the ______ to clear the yard of weeds, even in the rock garden.
Last summer I had reached the end of the rock garden and found a tiny little ______ that I could not ______ identify. I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise ______ that she didn’t either. We decided to let it continue growing until we could ______ what it was.
Weeks passed and ______ I made my way back to the mystery plant, it appeared to be a sunflower. It was ______, looking with a tall thin stalk (茎) and only one head on it. I decided to ______ it and weed around it. As I ______ rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something ______. The sunflower had not started where I saw the stalk begin. It actually had begun under a big rock and ______ under and around it to reach the sun.
That’s when I realized that if a tiny little sunflower didn’t let a big rock stand in its way of developing, we too have the ______ of doing the same thing. As long as we try, we can find ways to go under or around our big ______ in order to reach our desires.
1.A. use B. spent C. applied D. devoted
2.A. work B. live C. stay D. play
3.A. crowded B. surrounded C. prohibited D. governed
4.A. effect B. practice C. use D. operation
5.A. color B. peace C. credit D. focus
6.A. plain B. bored C. tiring D. initial
7.A. holding on B. taking on C. bringing on D. putting on
8.A. position B. style C. tissue D. thumb
9.A. flower B. plant C. crop D. bush
10.A. suddenly B. hardly C. gradually D. instantly
11.A. claimed B. instructed C. described D. guaranteed
12.A. turn out B. figure out C. hold out D. pick out
13.A. as B. before C. since D. because
14.A. pitiful B. ugly C. pretty D. weak
15.A. admire B. consider C. attend D. observe
16.A. pushed B. removed C. transported D. conducted
17.A. cheerful B. unnatural C. unusual D. appealing
18.A. pulled B. dug C. expanded D. grown
19.A. power B. capability C. energy D. strength
20.A. conflicts B. responsibilities C. barriers D. chances
— Do you know the results of the examinations? Jonny has been admitted to his ideal university.
— No wonder he looks ______.
A. hot under the collar B. down in the dumps
C. on cloud nine D. fly off the handle
— I didn’t pass the exam.
— It’s a pity. ______ you had spent more time on your study!
A. As if B. Even if
C. If only D. Only if
