A patient came to see me about the stress in her life. She described all the things she had to do －one was to make her bed－f
rom the moment she woke up until she flew out of the door for work. I suggested she experiment by not making her bed for two weeks. She was shocked, probably thinking I’d been raised by wolves in a forest. However, she went a
long with my idea.
Two weeks later she went into my office beaming. She had left her bed unmade for the first time in 42 years－and nothing bad had happened. “An
d you know what?” she said. “I don’t dry my dishes anymore, either.”
This woman had made two major breakthroughs (突破). One was discovering that she had choices in her life that she had never seen before. The other was giving herself permission to be less that perfect. This story shows an important principle (原理) about managing time: No one can do it all. Each of us has to make choices and accept trade – offs. The problem is, many people choose in ways that put themselves and their health last. They take better care of their houses and cars than they do of themselves. They put everyone else’s needs ahead of their own.
So what is the solution? There’s an easy way. Decide what you want in your life, and put that first. On a daily basis, that should include regular meals, enough sleep and time with your family. Exercise, leisure, friendships and hobbies should also be regular aspects of life. The point is to do something for yourself every day. The choice is yours: whatever makes you feel good about yourself and your life. Take a nap. Take a walk. Take time to play the piano. Stop b
ringing your briefcase home from the office. Stop keeping your house as clean as your mother kept hers. Fill more of your time with want – to – dos instead of have – to – dos.
小题1:What is the solution to the problem of managing time?
| A．Doing more exercises every day. | B．Taking time to visit friends regularly. |
| C．Stopping making bed occasionally. | D．Doing what you want to do first. |
小题2:What does the word “beaming” in Line 1, Paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．Worrying | B．Smiling | C．Depressed | D．Luckily |
小题3:What is the major problem of most people managing time?
| A．Most people do not take care of their health. |
| B．Most people put others’ needs ahead of their own. |
| C．Most people cannot keep balance on managing time. |
| D．Most people do not take time to relax themselves. |
小题4:What is the author’s attitude toward people’s problems in the passage?
| A．Matter – of – fact. | B．Negative. | C．Indifferent. | D．Worried. |