Question

【題目】Comfort is comforting, but it might narrow our experience at work — and beyond.

In our modern world, discomfort is considered a terrible thing. If not terrible, at least a thing of the past. Dishwashers, washing machines, computers, remote controls—yes, they add convenience, but also a level of comfort our forefathers did not enjoy.

As pain of any kind discourages happiness, we tend to reason, anything that compromises our ability to feel good must be bad. And that’s also particularly true for our careers. Success makes us feel great, not terrible. Such a view, however, is a matter of personal opinion. And it may blind us to hidden opportunities.

Artists throughout history have tried to experience suffering, instinctively if not consciously, to produce works that explore the darker hidden sides of the human condition. This was done, in part, because pain is a reality of life for everybody in some form at some time. Pain is something everybody can relate to. And pain makes a person very present. For such artists, to relieve or to deny pain would be to block the creative thinking, which drives them to explore and express. In fact, Germans have a term for this melancholia, “Weltschmerz”, which means “suffering from the world.” Writers, from Lord Byron to Kurt Vonnegut, have used the term to describe the psychological pain encountered along life’s roller-coaster journey. It was not to be avoided; it was to be understood, investigated and employed.

So I propose that discomfort is good for us. Or, put another way, it tells us that something needs to be addressed. It stretches us by forcing us to view our circumstances through a wholly different lens. Because we’re drawn to safety and security, we do our best to create pleasant comfort zones for ourselves and our loved ones through the cars we drive, the homes we live in, and the places we work. But by resisting discomfort, we deny ourselves an important opportunity: the chance to shake ourselves out of our predictable perspectives and allow ourselves to make knowledgeable observations we could not possibly have made before. Discomfort gives us fresh eyes.

【1】Which of the following is NOT a reason why artists throughout history have been exploring sufferings?

A. Pain is a mirror that can reflect the life of everybody.

B. Pain is something that no one can escape from.

C. Pain can help them to avoid the creative thinking.

D. Pain can strengthen the feeling of existence of a person.

【2】The term “Weltschmerz” couldn’t be used to describe something like __________.

A. social inequality B. mass killings

C. racial discrimination D. great achievements

【3】The author believes that by challenging discomfort, one may _________.

A. lose an important chance to make a big fortune

B. feel upset and fail to think calmly

C. judge and think about the world in a new particular way

D. control the situation properly when things go unsteady

【4】By writing this passage, the author tries to __________.

A. criticize a world full of comfort

B. explain why discomfort is good for us

C. persuade people to lead a life full of discomfort

D. blame those who enjoy an easy life

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】D

【3】C

【4】B

【解析】

試題分析：這是一篇議論文，討論了“痛苦（discomfort）”的一些積極作用，呼吁人們?nèi)グ选巴纯唷笨闯梢粋�潛在的機會。

【1】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第四段所述“歷史上的藝術(shù)家們?yōu)榱藙?chuàng)作那些探索人類社會陰暗面的作品，一直在尋求苦難。即便他們是無意而為之，那也是直覺使然。他們之所以這么做，一部分原因是因為痛苦是每個人生活中都要面對的現(xiàn)實，它會在某些時刻以某些形式呈現(xiàn)，無人能夠規(guī)避。痛苦還能大大增強一個人的存在感。對于這些個藝術(shù)家們來說，緩解或是躲避痛苦只會阻滯他們?nèi)ヌ剿骱捅磉_的創(chuàng)作靈感�！笨芍�。故選C。

【2】詞義理解題。文章第四段對“Weltschmerz”進行了解釋：在德國，有個詞專門用來形容這種憂郁癥，叫“悲世”，意思是遭受人間疾苦的悲痛之情。作家們，從拜倫到馮古內(nèi)特，常常用這個詞來描述人們在跌宕起伏的人生歷程中所遭受的精神痛苦。人們無法規(guī)避這種痛苦，只能去理解、研究、合理利用它。在四個選項中A表示“社會不平等”，B表示“大屠殺”，C表示“種族歧視”，這些都是人間疾苦的表現(xiàn)形式，只有D項“偉大成就”不符合這個范疇。故選D。

【3】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章最后一段尾句“在抗拒痛苦的同時，我們也正將一次摒棄陳見、擦亮雙眼看世界的重要機會推離自己。“痛苦”開拓了我們的視野�！笨芍�。注意原文中的deny表示“拒絕給予”的意思。故選C。

【4】推理判斷題。結(jié)合全文，尤其是文章首段文意“雖然閑逸的生活總是能夠撫慰人心，但時間長了，它就可能成為我們工作、生活中的絆腳石�！焙臀恼伦詈笠欢蔚摹拔也⒉皇钦f人要“自討苦吃”才能激發(fā)創(chuàng)造性思維和解決問題的能力。但我確實覺得如果我們不急著給“痛苦”安上一個我們認為“糟糕”的定義，生活將會更幸福。我們要把痛苦看成一個潛在的機會，是它教會了我們一些東西�！惫蔬xB。