Question

    Have you ever frequently put off things you should do for various reasons? If so, it is procrastination (拖延). Procrastinators often put off  doing things and leave them to the very last moment. 1.Lazy people simply don’t do anything and are just fine with it. Procrastinators, on the other hand, have the desire to do something but can’t force themselves to start.

You might think procrastination is a bit annoying but fairly harmless. However, long term procrastination has bad effects on your health. 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. 2.

Don’t place too much pressure on yourself. “This project has to impress everyone; I really can’t blow this opportunity,”  3. Overcome this mental block by simply allowing yourself to be imperfect with the next small task. You can always improve your work later.

4. Concentrating on the size and difficulty of a task will overcome you and promote procrastination. Any work can be broken into smaller steps. The trick is - with each step along the way — to focus on the next achievable tasks. Make sure you can easily imagine the outcome of your small task. Don’t write a book; write a page.

Focus on starting, rather than finishing. For someone who’s having a hard time starting a task, imagining a hard-to-grasp future can be depressing. The solution in this case, then, is to focus on starting. 5. We all know that if we start, we’ll eventually finish the task.

A.Break a long project down into short tasks.

B.So procrastination is about managing the time.

C.So we should apply ourselves to overcoming it.

D.However, procrastination is different from laziness.

E.Focus on the negative effects of the procrastination.

F.Bring your focus from the future to what can be done right now.

G.Placing such high hopes on a project only adds anxiety and fear of failure.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.G

4.A

5.F

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要区别了拖延和懒惰，指出长期的拖延症会对你的健康产生不良影响。以及就如何克服拖延症提出了一些建议。

1.

根据后文Lazy people simply don’t do anything and are just fine with it. Procrastinators, on the other hand, have the desire to do something but can’t force themselves to start.可知懒惰的人只是什么都不做，而且很好。另一方面，拖延者有做某事的欲望，但不能强迫自己开始。由此可知，拖延和懒惰是不同的。故D选项“然而，拖延和懒惰是不同的”符合上下文语境，故选D。

2.

根据上文However, long term procrastination has bad effects on your health. 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.可知然而，长期的拖延症会对你的健康产生不良影响。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。由此可知，上文提到了长期的拖延症会影响健康，那么就应该尽力克服拖延症。故C选项“所以我们应该致力于克服它”符合上下文语境，故选C。

3.

结合上文This project has to impress everyone; I really can’t blow this opportunity,可知“这个项目必须给每个人留下深刻印象;我真的不能错过这个机会。”以及后文Overcome this mental block by simply allowing yourself to be imperfect with the next small task. You can always improve your work later.可知只要允许自己在下一个小任务上不完美，就可以克服这个心理障碍。你可以在以后改进你的工作。由此可知，过高的期望会增加焦虑和对失败的恐惧，因此作者后文建议要允许自己有不完美的时候。故G选项“对一个项目寄予如此高的期望只会增加焦虑和对失败的恐惧”符合上下文语境，故选G。

4.

根据后文Concentrating on the size and difficulty of a task will overcome you and promote procrastination. Any work can be broken into smaller steps. The trick is - with each step along the way - to focus on the next achievable tasks.可知专注于任务的大小和难度会打败你，助长延症症。任何工作都可以分解成更小的步骤。诀窍在于——在每一步中——专注于下一个可实现的任务。由此可知，本段是在说明将任务划分成几个小的任务，再在每一步中专注于下一个可实现的任务，这样才有助于克服拖延症。故A选项“把一个长项目分成几个短任务”符合上下文语境，故选A。

5.

根据上文For someone who’s having a hard time starting a task, imagining a hard-to-grasp future can be depressing. The solution in this case, then, is to focus on starting.可知对于一个很难开始一项任务的人来说，想象一个难以把握的未来可能会令人沮丧。那么，在这种情况下，解决方案就是专注于开始。由此可知，本句是在强调不要去想象未来还未发生的事情，而是要专注于当下可以做的事情上。故F选项“把你的注意力从未来转移到现在可以做的事情上来”符合上下文语境，故选F。