15.Time is more precious than money for an increasing number of people who are choosing to live more with less-and liking it.
Kay and Charles Giddens,two lawyers,sold their home to start a B&B hotel.Four years later,the couple dishes out banana pancake breakfast,cleans toilets and serves homemade chocolate chip cookies to guests in a B&B hotel surrounded by trees on a hill known for colourful sunsets.
"Do I miss the freeways?Do I miss the traffic?Do I miss the stress?No,"says Ms.Giddens,"This is a phenomenon that's fairly widespread.A lot of people are revaluating their lives and figuring out what they want to do.If their base is being damaged,what's the payoff?"
Simple living ranges from cutting down on weeknight activities to sharing housing,living closer to work,avoiding shopping malls,borrowing books from the library instead of buying them,and taking a cut in pay to work at a more pleasurable job.
Vicki Robin,a writer,lives on a budget equal to a fifth of what she used to make."You become conscious about where your money is going and how valuable it is,"Ms.Robin says,"You tend not to use things up.You cook at home rather than eat out…"
Janet Luhrs,a lawyer,quit her job after giving birth and leaving her daughter with a nanny for two weeks."It was not the way I wanted to raise my kids,"she says,"Simplicity is not just about saving money; it's about me sitting down every night with my kids to a candlelit dinner with classical music."
Mrs.Luhrs now edits a magazine,Simple Living,which publishes tips on how to buy recycled furniture and shoes,organize potluck dinners instead of expensive receptions,and generally how to consume less.
Mrs.Luhrs explains,"It's not about poverty.It's about conscious living and creating the life you want.The less stuff you buy,the less money goes out of the door,and the less money you have to earn."
8.Kay and Charles Giddens sold their home toB.
A.pay off the debt
B.start a private hotel
C.cut down expenses
D.buy living necessities
9.Simple living includesD.
A.building a home library
B.living in the countryside
C.enjoying a colourful night life
D.sharing housing with others
10.It can be learned from the passage that now Janet LuhrsA.
A.spends more time with her kids
B.has an interest in classical music
C.works as a reporter of a magazine
D.helps people buy recycled clothes.
分析 本文屬于說明文閱讀,作者通過這篇文章主要向我們描述了時間越少,生活越幸福,時間越寶貴,簡單的生活其實就是最大的幸福.
解答 8.B.細節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)第二段:Kay and Charles Giddens,two lawyers,sold their home to start a B&B hotel可知他們把他們的房子賣了開私人酒店;故選B.
9.D.細節(jié)理解題.根據(jù)第四段:Simple living ranges from cutting down on weeknight activities to sharing housing,living closer to work,avoiding shopping malls可知簡單生活包括分享住房與他人;故選D.
10.A.推理判斷題.根據(jù)倒數(shù)第三段:it's about me sitting down every night with my kids to a candlelit dinner with classical music可知現(xiàn)在Janet Luhrs花更多的時間與她的孩子們;故選A.
點評 考察學生的細節(jié)理解和推理判斷能力,做細節(jié)理解題時一定要找到文章中的原句,和題干進行比較,再做出正確的選擇.在做推理判斷題不要以個人的主觀想象代替文章的事實,要根據(jù)文章事實進行合乎邏輯的推理判斷.