题型:阅读理解 题类:常考题 难易度:普通
浙江省“七彩阳光”新高考研究联盟2020届高三下学期英语阶段性评估(5月)试卷(含听力音频)
You're at dinner with your friends on Sunday and the waiter comes up to you and says," Is this going to be on one check or-"
"Separate!" you all said, barely taking a breath to pause from your conversation.
And why would you? It's pretty usual to pay for your own meal, or to go Dutch.
But it wasn't always the custom to split the check when going out with friends. In fact, in early English society, it was seen as selfish to invite someone out to eat and not pay for their meal. The origins of the phrase" going Dutch" are a little complicated, but Steven Pincus, a historian from the University of Chicago who focuses on carly modern Europe, helped us track the complex history of this idiom.
We have to take it back all the way to the 1600s. During the Anglo-Dutch Wars, there were multiple conflicts between the English and the Dutch over trade and naval power. That led to a rise in idioms from the English regarding their enemy, the Dutch: phrases like" Dutch courage, "the false courage brought on by alcohol; or" Dutch reckoning, "which is a ridiculously high bill on which you've likely been cheated. This was because the English saw the Dutch not only as a trading enemy, but also as a people with questionable morals. The English" claimed that the Dutch had been completely corrupted by their commitment to capitalism. "(Funny how tides change, isn't it?)
Of course, as time changes, so does our sense of self. After all, who wants to pay for their friends' meals all the time? Maybe sometimes it's all right to do like the Dutch do.
The most wonderful time of the year (the Christmas season) is also the most stressful for lots of people struggling to fit in increased end-of-the-year workloads, holiday parties, shopping, guest hosting, travel, and seeing friends and relatives who you'd otherwise avoid. Luckily, the same coping mechanisms that can help relieve stress and find better balance during the year also work for this holiday.
Here are four tips to finding work—life balance during this season.
1) Know and avoid your stressors(压力源).
If cooking for a large group, baking cookies, or Christmas shopping are your key stressors, don't do them. Lots of grocery stores will help cater your next holiday meal. Bakeries exist for a reason, and gift cards are much appreciated by all. Stop trying to live up to someone else's expectations of the holidays and stay merry by outsourcing the pain points.
2) Get flexible at work.
If you normally travel an hour each way at work, see if your boss will let you work from home in this special season to save time, get more done, and reduce your stress. Or ask if you can start work from home in the mornings and come to the office later in the day to avoid peak hours. Leave early and finish your day from the comfort of home, too.
3) Make your own list and check it twice.
Make a to-do list for yourself, for both work and life, then divide it up into categories like “must do,” “want to do,” and “feel obligated to do.” If you can remove any or all of your required list, the rest of your to-dos will start to look a lot easier.
Once you have your lists in order, it's time to start crossing things off. In between your must-dos tasks, include a want-to-do task to break things up and re-energize yourself. Yes, this holiday is a time to give back to others and be selfless, but there's still a bit of “self” in selflessness, isn't there?
4)If you start to feel a cold coming on, come to a full and complete stop.
The best way to stop a cold from exploding into a weeks-long sickness is to stop it at the start. Unless a task or activity is an absolute necessity, cancel your plans, put away your to-do lists, and settle in for a long winter's nap. A day of rest and enough sleep is the only thing you NEED right now. Feel bad about declining holiday invitations from your friends and family? You're doing them a favor. Once people hear that you're sick, they'll be glad you stayed away — they don't want to come down with a cold during the holiday any more than you do!
It is certain that you can feel less stressed in this hectic season when you stop expecting so much from yourself, because nobody puts so much expectation on you as you do to yourself. Trying to satisfy clients, co-workers, friends and family can be draining and can finally negatively impact you in many ways. When you simplify things up front, you relieve the stress off of yourself and everyone else in the process. Stop focusing on what you feel like you're obligated to do, and start focusing on what you want and need to do, the load will get lighter and you will feel a lot merrier under the Christmas tree.
{#blank#}1{#/blank#} | Four Ways to Find Work-life Balance during the Christmas Season |
Introduction | ◆The Christmas {#blank#}2{#/blank#} is often a time when work and social activities collide with each other. ◆Luckily, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} relief mechanisms can be found to cope with the problem. |
Four Tips | ◆Your stressors like cooking, baking and shopping can be {#blank#}4{#/blank#} because there is enough outsourcing for you to turn to and it is OK if you fail to live up to people's {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. ◆You can talk to your boss for a {#blank#}6{#/blank#} schedule. ◆You can make a list of what really {#blank#}7{#/blank#} and let go of the obligatory list. ◆Your friends and family don't want to come{#blank#}8{#/blank#} with a cold at all, so feel free to cancel all your plans when {#blank#}9{#/blank#}. |
Conclusion | ◆Start {#blank#}10{#/blank#} on what you want to do and you can enjoy the season better. |
试题篮