Laziness is a sin, everyone knows that. We have probably all had lectures pointing out that laziness is immoral, that it is wasteful, and that lazy people will never amount to anything in life. But laziness can be more harmful than that, and it is often caused by more complex reasons than simple wish to avoid work. Some people who appear to be lazy are suffering from much more serious problems. They may be so distrustful of their fellow workers that they are unable to join in any group task for fear of ridicule or fear of having their ideas stolen. These people who seem lazy may be paralyzed by a fear of failure that prevents fruitful work. Or other sorts of fantasies may prevent work; some people are so busy planning, sometimes planning great deals or fantastic achievements, that they are unable to deal with whatever “lesser” work is on hand. Still other people are not avoiding work; strictly speaking, they are merely procrastinating—rescheduling their day.
Laziness can actually be helpful. Like procrastinators (拖延者), some people may look lazy when they are really thinking, planning, contemplating, researching. We should all remember that some great scientific discoveries occurred by chance or while someone was “goofing off (游手好闲)”, Newton wasn’t working in the orchard when the apple hit him and he devised the theory of gravity. All of us would like to have someone “lazy” build the car or stove we buy, particularly if that “laziness” were caused by the worker’s taking time to check each step of his work and to do his job right. And sometimes, being “lady”—that is, taking time off for a rest-is good for an overworked student or, executive. Taking a rest can be particularly helpful to the athlete who is trying too hard or the doctor who’s simply working himself overtime too many evenings, at the clinic. So be careful when you’re tempted to call someone lazy. That person may be thinking, resting, or planning his or her next book.
1. The main idea of this passage is that ______.
2. The passage states that ______.
3. Which of the following conclusion does the passage support?
4. The final paragraph is ______.
5. The word “devised” in Para. 2 means ______.
问题1选项
A.laziness is a moral sin
B.there are advantages and disadvantages in being lazy
C.laziness indicates deep-seated emotional problems
D.lazy people do more careful work
问题2选项
A.laziness is a disease
B.some lazy people are insecure
C.laziness is more beneficial than harmful
D.a good definition of laziness is emotional illness
问题3选项
A.The word laziness is sometimes applied incorrectly.
B.Most of the time laziness is a virtue.
C.Most assembly line workers are lazy.
D.Most insecure people are lazy.
问题4选项
A.somber
B.humorous
C.serious
D.trite (陈腐的)
问题5选项
A.formulate
B.understood
C.wrote
D.proved
第1题:B
第2题:D
第3题:A
第4题:B
第5题:A
第1题:
【选项释义】
The main idea of this passage is that ______. 这篇文章的主要观点是______。
A. laziness is a moral sin A. 懒惰是道德上的罪恶
B. there are advantages and disadvantages in being lazy B. 懒惰有好处也有坏处
C. laziness indicates deep-seated emotional problems C. 懒惰表明有根深蒂固的情感问题
D. lazy people do more careful work D. 懒惰的人做事更细心
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】文章共两段，第一段讲了懒惰是一种罪恶，第二段又指出懒惰也会起到很大的作用，说明本文主要讲的是懒惰的坏处和好处。因此B选项“懒惰有好处也有坏处”最能概括文章主旨，符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“懒惰是道德上的罪恶”、C选项“懒惰表明有根深蒂固的情感问题”和D选项“懒惰的人做事更细心”，文中有提及，但不足以概括全文，属于以偏概全。
第2题:
【选项释义】
The passage states that ______. 文章说明______。
A. laziness is a disease A. 懒惰是一种病
B. some lazy people are insecure B. 有些懒惰的人缺乏安全感
C. laziness is more beneficial than harmful C. 懒惰利大于弊
D. A good definition of laziness is emotional illness D. 对懒惰的一个很好的定义是情绪疾病
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据文章第一段第五、六、七句“They may be so distrustful of their fellow workers that they are unable to join in any group task for fear of ridicule or fear of having their ideas stolen. These people who seem lazy may be paralyzed by a fear of failure that prevents fruitful work. Or other sorts of fantasies may prevent work…（他们可能非常不信任同事，以至于他们不敢参加任何小组任务，因为害怕被嘲笑或害怕自己的想法被窃取。这些看起来懒惰的人可能因为害怕失败而失去勇气，从而阻碍了卓有成效的工作。或者其他类型的幻想会妨碍工作……）”可知，懒惰很多时候是由情绪因素引起的，是一种情绪疾病。因此D选项“对懒惰的一个很好的定义是情绪疾病”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“懒惰是一种病”、B选项“有些懒惰的人缺乏安全感”和C选项“懒惰利大于弊”，文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following conclusion does the passage support? 文章支持下列哪个结论?
A. The word laziness is sometimes applied incorrectly. A. 懒惰这个词有时被错误地使用。
B. Most of the time laziness is a virtue. B. 大多数时候，懒惰是一种美德。
C. Most assembly line workers are lazy. C. 大多数流水线工人都很懒。
D. Most insecure people are lazy. D. 大多数没有安全感的人都很懒惰。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据文章第二段第二句“some people may look lazy when they are really thinking, planning, contemplating, researching.（有些人在真正思考、计划、考虑、研究的时候可能看起来很懒。）”和第二段最后两句“So be careful when you’re tempted to call someone lazy. That person may be thinking, resting, or planning his or her next book.（所以当你想说某人懒惰的时候要小心。那个人可能正在思考、休息或计划他或她的下一本书。）”可知，有时形容别人懒惰并不准确。因此A选项“懒惰这个词有时被错误地使用。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“大多数时候，懒惰是一种美德。”、C选项“大多数流水线工人都很懒。”和D选项“大多数没有安全感的人都很懒惰。”，文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
The final paragraph is ______. 最后一段是______。
A. somber A. 忧郁的
B. humorous B. 幽默的
C. serious C. 严肃的
D. trite D. 陈腐的
【考查点】观点态度题。
【解题思路】通读文章最后一段可知，作者用一种轻松诙谐的笔调把懒惰和成功联系起来说明懒惰有哪些好处，引用了牛顿发明万有引力理论的例子，说明一些伟大的科学发现是在有人“偷懒”的时候发生的，观点十分新颖。因此B选项“幽默的”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“忧郁的”、C选项“严肃的”和D选项“陈腐的”，均不是文章最后一段的基调，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
The word “devised” in Para. 2 means ______. 第2段中的“devised”一词是指______。
A. formulated A. 创立
B. understood B. 理解
C. wrote C. 写
D. proved D. 证明
【考查点】词义推测题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词devised（发明）可以定位到文章第二段第三句“Newton wasn’t working in the orchard when the apple hit him and he devised the theory of gravity.（当苹果砸到牛顿时，他并没有在果园里工作，他发明了万有引力理论。）”，由此可知，devised在文中是指发明或创立某种理论。因此A选项“创立”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“理解”、C选项“写”和D选项“证明”，均不是该词所代表的含义，属于无中生有。
