Famous people often say that the key to becoming both happy and successful is to "do what you love." But mastering a skill, even one that you deeply love, (1) a huge amount of dull work. Anyone who want to master a skill must run through the cycle of practice, (2) feedback, modification, and increasing improvement again, again and again. Some people seem able to concentrate on practicing an activity like this for years and take pleasure in their gradual improvement. Yet others find this kind of focused, time﹣intensive work to be (3) or boring. Why?
The difference may turn on the ability to enter into a state of "flow," the feeling of being completely (4) in what you are doing. Whether you call it being "in the zone," or something else, a flow state is a special experience. Since Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi developed the (5) of flow in the 1970's, it has been a mainstay of positive﹣psychology research. Flow states can happen in the course of any activity, and they are most common when a task has well﹣defined goals and is at a(n) (6) skill level, and where the individual is able to (7) their performance to clear and immediate feedback.
Csikszentmihalyi suggested that those who most (8) entered into flow states had an "autotelic personality (自带目的性人格)" a disposition to seek out challenges and get into a state of flow. While those without such a personality see difficulties, autotelic individuals see opportunities to build skills. Autotelic individuals are receptive and open to new challenges. They are also (9) and have low levels of self﹣centeredness. Such people, with their capacity for "disinterested interest" have a great (10) over others in developing their innate abilities.
Fortunately for those of us who aren't (11) blessed with an autotelic personalily, there is evidence that flow states can be (12) by environmental factors. (13) , the learning framework prescribed by Montessori schools seems to encourage flow states.
While there isn't (yet) a pill that can turn mundane practice into a thrilling activity for anyone, it is heartening that we seem, at least to some (14) , to be able to nudge ourselves toward flow states. By giving ourselves unstructured, open﹣ended time, minimal (15) , and a task set at a moderate level of difficulty, we may be able to love what we're doing while we put in the hard work practicing the things we loving doing.
(1)A. inquires |
B. requires |
C. acquires |
D. gains |
(2)A. preventable |
B. maintainable |
C. sustainable |
D. critical |
(3)A. frustrating |
B. encouraging |
C. concerning |
D. instructing |
(4)A. improved |
B. indicated |
C. involved |
D. inspired |
(5)A. concept |
B. receipt |
C. reception |
D. condition |
(6)A. alternative |
B. appropriate |
C. approximate |
D. sufficient |
(7)A. make |
B. adopt |
C. adapt |
D. adjust |
(8)A. fully |
B. really |
C. readily |
D. accidentally |
(9)A. generous |
B. persistent |
C. courageous |
D. resistant |
(10)A. addict |
B. advance |
C. advantage |
D. admire |
(11)A. necessarily |
B. obviously |
C. gradually |
D. occasionally |
(12)A. forbidden |
B. functioned |
C. fastened |
D. facilitated |
(13)A. In particular |
B. For example |
C. In conclusion |
D.In comparison |
(14)A. intention |
B. degree |
C. purpose |
D. extension |
(15)A. temptation |
B. charming |
C. attractions |
D. distractions |
Like most people, I was brought up to look upon life as a process of getting. It was not until in my late thirties that I made this important : giving-away makes life so much more exciting. You needn’t worry if you money.
This is how I with giving-away. If an idea for improving the window display of a neighborhood store in my mind, I step in and make the to the storekeeper. If an accident takes place, the of which I think the local police could use, I him up and tell him about it, though I am not in here. I found a rule about this world is to give getting something back, though the often comes in an unexpected form.
One Sunday morning the local post office delivered an important special letter to my home, though it was to me at my office. I wrote the postmaster a note of . More than a year later I needed a post-office box for a new business I was . I was told at the window that there were boxes left, and that my name would have to go on a long list. As I was about to be , the postmaster appeared in the . “Wasn’t it you that wrote us that letter a year ago about delivering an delivery to your home?” I said it was. “Well, you certainly are going to have a box in this post office we make one specifically for you. You don’t know what a letter like that means to us. We usually get but complaints.”
A.difference B.research C.speech D.discovery
A.earn B.lack C.spend D.steal
A.experienced B.connected C.cooperated D.experimented
A.strikes B.flashes C.happens D.attempts
A.appeal B.request C.suggestion D.demand
A.story B.damage C.challenge D.material
A.call B.hold C.cheer D.pick
A.possession B.trouble C.place D.charge
A.plus B.without C.for D.before
A.process B.goal C.return D.concern
A.replied B.addressed C.driven D.brought
A.invitation B.apology C.complaint D.appreciation
A.discussing B.providing C.applying D.starting
A.enough B.extra C.no D.other
A.admitting B.relating C.buying D.waiting
A.positive B.shocked C.discouraged D.optimistic
A.doorway B.window C.home D.yard
A.unfamiliar B.unexpected C.unknown D.uncertain
A.in case B.now that C.even if D.rather
A.nothing B.something C.anything D.everything
Back in the 15th century, in a tiny village in Germany, lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen! In order to keep food on file table, the father, a goldsmith(金匠)by , worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade. Despite their seemingly condition, two of the eldest children had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, they knew well that their father would never be able to either of them to study at the Academy.
After many long discussions at night in their bed, the two boys finally worked out an agreement. They would toss(掷)a coin. The would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, his winning brother for the academy. Then, in four years, he would support the other one. Then Albrecht Durer won the toss and to Nuremberg. Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation(轰动)- By the time he graduated, he was beginning to considerable fees for himself.
When the young artist home and said to his brother, “And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your . Now you can go to the Academy to pursue your dream, and I will you. ”Albert rose and wiped tile from his cheeks. “No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg. It is too for me. Look…look what four years in the mines have done to my ! I cannot even hold a glass, much less make delicate lines on canvas (画布) __ a pen or a brush.”
More than 450 years have . By now, among Albrecht Durer’s hundreds of masterful portraits, “The Praying Hands” is one creation that can catch the world’s hearts.
A.fully B.merely C.completely D.entirely
A.heart B.profession C.method D.words
A.hopeless B.promising C.demanding D.careless
A.so B.but C.however D.and
A.study B.give C.send D.offer
A.crowded B.separated C.new D.unusual
A.winner B.old C.loser D.younger
A.expect B.advertise C.support D.require
A.flew away B.left behind C.set aside D.went off
A.deserted B.financed C.desired D.envied
A.earn B.save C.draw D.spend
A.arrived B.returned C.regained D.got
A.fate B.time C.top D.turn
A.take care of B.make up for C.make use of D.take charge of
A.smiles B.tears C.sweats D.laughs
A.tense B.nervous C.tiring D.late
A.eyes B.pictures C.hands D.mines
A.with B.of C.upon D.in
A.changed B.kept C.remembered D.passed
A.strange B.surprising C.touching D.terrible
My nephew's 10-year-old son came for a visit one hot,July weekend. I persuaded him to inside and joined him in a game. After for an hour, I suggested that we relax for a while. I fell into my favorite recliner(躺椅)to let my neck muscles relax. He'd slipped out of the room and I was catching a few enjoyable moments of peace and quiet.
"Look,Alice,”he said as he ran over to the chair where I was sitting"I found a kite. Could we go outside and it?"
Glancing out a nearby window, I noticed it was outside.“I'm sorry, Tripper,.” I said, sad to see his eyes. "The wind is not blowing today. The kite won't fly.”
The 10-year-old replied,“I think it's windy enough. I can get it to fly,”he answered as he ran out to the back door Up and down in the yard he ran, pulling the kite to a small length of string. He ran back and forth,as hard as his ten year-old legs would carry him, looking back at the kite behind. After about ten minutes of unsuccessful determination, he came back in.
I asked, "How did it go?"
"Fine,”he said, not wanting to admit .“I got it to fly some”
As he walked past me to return the kite to the closet shelf, I heard him say under his breath, "I guess I'll have to wait for the .”
At that moment I heard another Voice speak to my . "Alice, sometimes you are just like that. You want to do it your way instead of waiting for the Wind.,,
And the voice was right. We usually want to use our own efforts to what we want to do. We wait for the Wind only after we have done all we can and have exhausted(耗尽) our own .We must learn how to rely on Him in the first place!
A.live B.study C.stay D.lie
A.playing B.resting C.challenging D.arguing
A.casually B.enthusiastically C.stubbornly D.deliberately
A.decorate B.drop C.hang D.fly
A.hot B.still C.noisy D.fine
A.bright B.disappointed C.dull D.satisfied
A.clever B.talented C.determined D.fearless
A.hurriedly B.curiously C.suddenly D.unwillingly
A.adapted B.added C.attached D.devoted
A.angrily B.nervously C.doubtfully D.hopefully
A.win B.defeat C.mistake D.luck
A.wind B.order C.news D.sunshine
A.heart B.memory C.dream D.world
A.imagine B.decide C.apply D.accomplish
A.courage B.patience C.strength D.knowledge
I would like to suggest that for sixty to ninety minutes each evening all television broadcasting in the United States be forbidden by law. Let us take a , reasonable look at what the results might be if such a(an) were accepted.
Families might use the time for a real family hour. Without the distraction(分散注意力) of TV, they might together after dinner and actually talk to one another. It is well known that many of our ----everything in fact, from the generation gap to the high divorce rate to some forms of illness ----are caused at least in part by to communicate. By using the quiet family hour to our problems, we might get to know each other better, and to like each other better. On evenings when such talk is , families could discover more active pastimes(娱乐). Freed from TV and forced to find their own activities, they might take a together to watch the sunset they might take a walk together.
free time and no TV, children and adults might discover reading. There is more entertainment in than in a TV program. report that the generation growing up with television can hardly write an English sentence, at the college level. is often learned from reading. A more literate new generation could be a product of the quiet hour. A different form of reading might also be done it was in the past: reading aloud. The quiet hour could become the story hour. When the ends, the TV networks might be forced to with better shows in order to get us back from our newly- discovered activities.
At first glance, this idea seems radical(激进的). will we spend the time then? The fact is: it has been only twenty-five years since television came to control American free time. Those of us thirty-five and older can childhoods without television. It wasn't that difficult.
A.valuable B.pleasant C.serious D.quick
A.suggestion B.advice C.opinion D.offer
A.get around B.sit around C.meet with D.stand stiff
A.misfortunes B.troubles C.affairs D.problems
A.physical B.mental C.common D.familiar
A.failure B.attempt C.ability D.permission
A.comment B.talk C.discuss D.remark
A.impossible B.unpleasant C.funny D.unnecessary
A.ride B.look C.walk D.rest
A.And B.But C.Or D.While
A.At B.With C.For D.In
A.a good book B.a fine poem C.a quiet hour D.a composition
A.Professors B.Scientists C.Educators D.Parents
A.yet B.still C.just D.even
A.Skill B.Writing C.Speaking D.Listening
A.before B.as C.after D.when
A.talk B.programme C.performance D.quiet-hour
A.come across B.come about C.come out D.come up
A.How B.Whether C.What D.If
A.remind B.recognize C.remember D.know
I would like to suggest that for sixty to ninety minutes each evening all television broadcasting in the United States be forbidden by law. Let us take a , reasonable look at what the results might be if such a(an) were accepted.
Families might use the time for a real family hour. Without the distraction(分散注意力) of TV, they might together after dinner and actually talk to one another. It is well known that many of our ----everything in fact, from the generation gap to the high divorce rate to some forms of illness ----are caused at least in part by to communicate. By using the quiet family hour to our problems, we might get to know each other better, and to like each other better. On evenings when such talk is , families could discover more active pastimes(娱乐). Freed from TV and forced to find their own activities, they might take a together to watch the sunset they might take a walk together.
free time and no TV, children and adults might discover reading. There is more entertainment in than in a TV program. report that the generation growing up with television can hardly write an English sentence, at the college level. is often learned from reading. A more literate new generation could be a product of the quiet hour. A different form of reading might also be done it was in the past: reading aloud. The quiet hour could become the story hour. When the ends, the TV networks might be forced to with better shows in order to get us back from our newly- discovered activities.
At first glance, this idea seems radical(激进的). will we spend the time then? The fact is: it has been only twenty-five years since television came to control American free time. Those of us thirty-five and older can childhoods without television. It wasn't that difficult.
A.valuable B.pleasant C.serious D.quick
A.suggestion B.advice C.opinion D.offer
A.get around B.sit around C.meet with D.stand stiff
A.misfortunes B.troubles C.affairs D.problems
A.physical B.mental C.common D.familiar
A.failure B.attempt C.ability D.permission
A.comment B.talk C.discuss D.remark
A.impossible B.unpleasant C.funny D.unnecessary
A.ride B.look C.walk D.rest
A.And B.But C.Or D.While
A.At B.With C.For D.In
A.a good book B.a fine poem C.a quiet hour D.a composition
A.Professors B.Scientists C.Educators D.Parents
A.yet B.still C.just D.even
A.Skill B.Writing C.Speaking D.Listening
A.before B.as C.after D.when
A.talk B.programme C.performance D.quiet-hour
A.come across B.come about C.come out D.come up
A.How B.Whether C.What D.If
A.remind B.recognize C.remember D.know