Question

    Looking at his pile of unpaid bills always makes Giuseppe Del Giudice feel uneasy. Sometimes he incurs (招致) late fees, but in many ways the emotional toll (代价) is worse. “The longer the bills go unpaid,” says Del Giudice, 58, “the more my anxiety increases.”

At the end of the day or month, most people get their tasks done on time, but around 20 percent are chronic procrastinators (慢性拖延者) at home and at work. One big factor for them is fear of failure, of not living up to expectations. Kelli Saginak, a 57-year-old functional health coach from Wisconsin, procrastinated about looking for a new job for years. That inability to take action only confirmed her belief that she would never do any better. “If I don’t take the risk, decide, or commit, I don’t have to face the judgment,” says Saginak.

Some people accept procrastination, believing that they make progress under pressure. But researchers have disproved that view. “I did an experiment several years ago, putting procrastinators under restrictions of time,” says Joseph Ferrari, a psychology professor at DePaul University. “They did worse than nonprocrastinators, but they thought they did better. They made more errors. They took longer.”

Whatever the motivation, delaying a diet or exercise program may increase your risk of heart disease. Not having seen the doctor when your illness was easier to treat may shorten your life. Just thinking about what you haven’t done may cause discomfort. “Procrastinators experience higher levels of stress, both from leaving things to the last minute and from their own negative and self-critical feelings about their procrastination,” says Fuschia Sirois, a psychology lecturer at the University of Sheffield.

One of the most commonly procrastinated activities is going to bed. “You can put your lights on a timed dimmer switch to encourage a consistent bedtime,” said Joel Anderson, a philosophy researcher-lecturer at Utrecht University, who performed an experiment on this and found it worked on most of his subjects. “They formed an intention,” Anderson says. “One of them said, ‘When the lights start to dim, I’ll start going to bed.’ Then, reward yourself for each step you take toward your goal. But don’t try to convince yourself it will work the other way around! ”

1.What prevented Kelli Saginak stepping into the job market again?

A.Her old age. B.Her lack of skills.

C.Her fear of judgment. D.Her past failure.

2.What does the underlined part “that view” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A.Procrastinators tend to misjudge their abilities.

B.It’s hard for people to succeed under pressure.

C.Procrastination is part of the human condition.

D.Pressure usually leads to better performance.

3.What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A.Different forms of procrastinating. B.Negative effects of procrastinating.

C.Common excuses for procrastinating. D.Specific suggestions for procrastinating.

4.How should people stick to a fixed bedtime according to Joel Anderson?

A.They can use lighting as little as possible.

B.They can first ask themselves about their intentions.

C.They can read some boring research papers.

D.They can try sending themselves signals to inspire action.

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.B

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。在一天或一个月快结束的时候，大多数人都会按时完成他们的任务，但是大约有20%的人在家或工作中都有慢性拖延症。有些人接受拖延，认为他们会在压力下取得进步，但研究人员反驳了这种观点。文章主要说明了拖延的负面影响，以及针对睡觉拖延所给出的一些建议。

1.

细节理解题。根据第二段中“If I don’t take the risk, decide, or commit, I don’t have to face the judgment,” says Saginak.可知“如果我不冒险、不做决定、不做承诺，我就不用面对评判，”Saginak说。由此可知，Kelli Saginak对评判的恐惧，阻止了她再次进入就业市场。故选C。

2.

词义猜测题。根据上文Some people accept procrastination, believing that they make progress under pressure. But researchers have disproved可知有些人接受拖延，认为他们会在压力下取得进步。但研究人员反驳了这种认为压力通常导致更好的表现的观点。由此可知，that view指代的是“压力通常导致更好的表现”。故选D。

3.

主旨大意题。根据第四段内容Whatever the motivation, delaying a diet or exercise program may increase your risk of heart disease. Not having seen the doctor when your illness was easier to treat may shorten your life. Just thinking about what you haven’t done may cause discomfort. “Procrastinators experience higher levels of stress, both from leaving things to the last minute and from their own negative and self-critical feelings about their procrastination,” says Fuschia Sirois, a psychology lecturer at the University of Sheffield.可知不管动机是什么，推迟节食或锻炼计划可能会增加你患心脏病的风险。在你的病比较容易治疗的时候没有去看医生可能会缩短你的寿命。仅仅想到你没有做的事情可能会让你感到不适。谢菲尔德大学的心理学讲师Fuschia Sirois说:“拖延者感受到的压力更大，既有把事情留到最后一分钟做的，也有自己对拖延症的消极和自我批评。”由此可知，第四段的主要内容是拖延的负面影响。故选B。

4.

推理判断题。根据最后一段中“You can put your lights on a timed dimmer switch to encourage a consistent bedtime,” said Joel Anderson, a philosophy researcher-lecturer at Utrecht University, who performed an experiment on this and found it worked on most of his subjects. “They formed an intention,” Anderson says. “One of them said, ‘When the lights start to dim, I’ll start going to bed.’” Then, reward yourself for each step you take toward your goal. But don’t try to convince yourself it will work the other way around!可知“你可以把灯开到定时调光开关，以鼓励人们坚持睡觉时间，”乌得勒支大学的哲学研究兼讲师Joel Anderson说。“他们形成了一个意图，” Anderson说。“其中一个说，‘当灯光暗下来的时候，我就开始睡觉。然后，为你向目标迈进的每一步奖励自己。但是不要试图说服你自己，它会起反作用！”由此可推知，Joel Anderson认为人们应该可以试着给自己发送信号来激励自己采取行动，从而坚持固定的就寝时间。故选D。