Making lists is relaxing. It dictates the shape of the immediate future; it calms you down (it's OK, it's on a list somewhere) and it makes you feel good when you cross something off List-making is standard practice in therapy for depression). It might even help you to get things done too. The more you have to do, the more you need a list and few people with high-powered jobs get by without them. Women always think they're better at lists than men. Men tend to have tasks which they assemble 'into Action Plans whereas women just have lists of Things To Do. James Oliver, psychologist, has created his own "time management matrix ". He writes a list of things to do and then organizes them into _ : things that have to be done straight away, other things that it would be good to do today, things that are important but haven't got to be done immediately and things that are less urgent but that he doesn't want to forget. "Using categories to order the world is the way the human mind works," he says. "After that, you should divide things into levels of importance." But he also warns, "If people get too absorbed in making lists, it doesn't work. They have too many categories and lose their ability to decide which is the most important." It's all a question of what works best for you, whether it's a tidy notebook, a packet of Post-it notes or the back of your hand. Having tried all these, student Kate Rollins relies on a computerized list, which is printed out each morning. "My electronic organizer has changed my life," she says. "Up to now, I've always relied on my good memory, but now that I'm working and studying, I find I've got too much to keep in my head." So what are you waiting for? No, you're not too busy to make today the first day of your upgraded time-managed life. In fact, there's no better time than the present to begin to take increased control of your work and life. So, get out your pencil and pen and make a list. In this passage the author intends to _ . A) suggest a way of raising one's living standard B) introduce some ways of business management C) urge people to develop the habit of listing D) warn people not to rely on their memory
C
(Question)
Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and Della had only one dollar and eighty-seven cents to buy her husband Jim a gift. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Now, Mister and Missus James Dillingham Young had two possessions which they valued. One was Jim's gold time piece, the watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair. She put on her coat and her old brown hat. With a quick motion and brightness still in her eyes, she danced out the door and down the street. Where she stopped the sign read: "Madame Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds." Della ran up the steps to the shop, out of breath. "Will you buy my hair?" asked Della. "Twenty dollars," said Madame, lifting the hair with an experienced hand. "Give it to me quick," said Della. The next two hours went by as if they had wings. Della found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. It was a chain--- simple round rings of silver. She gave the shopkeeper twenty-one dollars and she hurried home with the remaining eighty-seven cents. ...... Jim was never late coming home from work. Della held the silver chain in her hand and sat near the door. Then she heard his step and she turned white for just a minute. She had a way of saying a little silent prayer about the simplest everyday things, and now she whispered: "Please God, make him think I am still pretty." The door opened and Jim stepped in. He stopped inside the door, as immovable as a dog smelling a bird. His eyes were fixed upon Della. There was an expression in them that she could not read, and it frightened her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor fear, nor any of the feelings that she had been prepared for. He simply looked at her with a strange expression on his face. Della went to him. "Jim, my love," she cried, "do not look at me that way. I had my hair cut and sold because I could not have lived through Christmas without giving you a gift. My hair will grow out again. I just had to do it. My hair grows very fast.... Why had Jim been unable to speak when he entered the room? A) Because he was puzzled by what happened to Della's hair. B) Because he was too disappointed when seeing what had happened to Della. C) Because he was too surprised to see that. D) Because he knew that Della would now have no use for the combs.
(Answer)
D
The Human Genome Project, a great $3 billion, 15-year task aimed at drawing the genetic map of humans, is now more than 90 percent completed. The scientific and medical communities are very excited about the chances genetic research provides for getting rid of diseases and prolonging human life. But those communities and policy makers are also careful about the scientific door they are opening as the project uncovers the mysteries of life. For the last few years, the genetic advances in the fast developing field of biotechnology have provided material for all kinds of work, but the developments of modern science in unlocking the secrets of human genetic code have opened a world of possibilities for human health, as well as for the population imagination. While European and Japanese researchers are making rapid progress in decoding human DNA, the leading organization for genetic research in the Untied States, which began in 1990, is "unlocking the code" of the human body to learn how to defeat fatal diseases. Already, the Human Genome Project has become widely known and praised for finding the genes connected with as yet terrible diseases, and making progress toward separating the genes that show a sign of breast cancer or AIDS. Once these genes are found and studied, researchers can develop new ways to attack infections, and genetic diseases. Medical companies are very interested in mapping the human genome, as they expect to develop a lot of new drugs for these illnesses. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true? A) If the genes can be found, scientists can study many new ways to cure illnesses. B) The United States began genetic research early in the 19th century. C) Many medical companies show great interest in drawing the human genome map. D) The scientists have made great progress in connecting some genes with the cancers.
B