Bags of Love

Last year，I was assigned to work at an office near my mother's house，so I stayed with her for a month．During that time，I helped out with the housework and contributed to the groceries．

After less than a week，I started noticing that the groceries were running out pretty quickly﹣we were always suddenly out of something．（25）　　（wonder） how my mum could consume them so quickly，I began observing her daily routine for two weeks．To my surprise，I found that she would pack a paper bag full of canned goods and head out every morning at about nine．Eventually，I decided to follow her and （26）　　 happened truly amazed me．She was taking the food to the refugee camp，in （27）　　 she distributed it to children．

I asked around and found out that my mum was very well known in the area．The kids were very friendly with her and even looked up to her as if she were their own mother．Then it hit me﹣shy would she mot want to tell me about what she （28）　　（do）？Was she worried about how I would react or that I would stop （29）　　（buy） the groceries if I found out？

When she got home，I told her about my discovery．（30）　　 she could react，I gave her a big hug and told her she didn't need to keep it a secret （31）　　 me．She told me that some of the children lived with an older lady in a shelter while others slept on the streets．For years，my mum has been helping out by giving them whatever food she could spare．I was so impressed by （32）　　 selfless she was．

Stress：Good or Bad？

Stress used to be an almost unknown word，but now that we are used to talking about it，I have found that people are beginning to get stressed about being stressed．

In recent years，stress（33）　 （regard） as a cause of a whole range of medical problems，from high blood pressure to mental illness．But like so many other things，it is only too much stress（34）　　 does you harm．It is time you considered that if there were no stress in your life，you would achieve a little．If you are stuck at home with no stress，then your level of performance will be low．Up to a certain point，the more stress you are under，the （35）　　（good） your performance will be．Beyond a certain point，though，further stress will only lead to exhaustion，illness and finally a breakdown．You can tell when you are over the top and on the downward slope，by asking yourself （36）　　 number of questions．Do you，for instance，feel that too much is being expected of （37）　　，and yet find it impossible to say no？Do you find yourself getting impatient or （38）　　（annoy） with people over unimportant things？…If the answer to all those questions is yes，you had better（39）　　（control ） your stress，as you probably are under more stress than is good for you．

To some extent you can control the amount of stress in your life．Doctors have worked out a chart showing how much stress is involved in various events．Getting married is 50，pregnancy 40，moving house 20，Christmas 12，etc．If the total stress in your life is over 150，you are twice as likely （40）　　 （get）ill．

Golden Rules of Good Design

What makes good design？Over the years，designers and artists have been trying to （41） 　the essentials of good design．They have found that some sayings can help people understand the ideas of good design．There are four as follows．

Less is more．This saying is associated with the German﹣born architect Mies van der Rohe．In his Modernist view，beauty lies in simplicity and elegance，and the aim of the designer is to create solutions to problems through the most efficient means．Design should avoid unnecessary （42） 　 　

More is not a bore．The American﹣born architect Robert Venturi concluded that if simplicity is done badly，the result is （43） 　 　design．Post﹣Modernist designers began to （44） 　 　with decoration and color again．Product design was heavily influenced by this view and can be seen in kitchen （45） 　 　such as ovens and kettles．

Fitness for purpose．Successful product design takes into consideration a product's function，purpose，shape，form，color，and so on．The most important result for the user is that the product does what is （46） 　 　．For example，think of a（n） （47） 　 　desk lamp．It needs to be constructed from materials that will stand the heat of the lamp and regular adjustments by the user．It also needs to be stable．Most importantly，it needs to （48） 　 　light where it is needed．

From follows emotion．This phrase is associated with the German designer Hartmut Esslinger．He believes design must take into（49） 　 　the sensory side of our nature﹣sight，smell，touch and taste．These are as important as rational（理性的） thinking．When choosing everyday products such as toothpaste，we appreciate a cool﹣looking device that allows us to easily（50） 　 the toothpaste onto our brush．

In the 1960s，Douglas McGregor，one of the key thinkers in the art of management，developed the mow famous Theory X and Theory Y．Theory X is the idea that people instinctively （51）　 work and will do anything to avoid it．Theory Y is the view that everyone has the potential to find satisfaction in work．

In any case，despite so much evidence to the （52）　　，many managers still agree to Theory X．They believe，（53）　　，that their employees need constant supervision if they are to work effectively，or that decisions must be imposed from （54）　　 without consultation．This，of course，makes for authoritarian （专制的） managers．

Different cultures have different ways of （55）　　 people．Unlike authoritarian management，some cultures，particularly in Asia，are well known for the consultative nature of decision﹣making﹣all members of the department or work group are asked to （56）　　 to this process．This is management by the collective opinion．Many western companies have tried to imitate such Asian ways of doing things，which are based on general （57）　　．Some experts say that women will become more effective managers than men because they have the power to reach common goals in a way that traditional （58）　　 managers cannot．

A recent trend has been to encourage employees to use their own initiative，to make decisions on their own without（59）　managers first．This empowerment （授权） has been part of the trend towards downsizing：（60）　　 the number of management layers in companies．After de﹣layering in this way，a company may be （61）　　 with just a top level of senior managers，front﹣line managers and employees with direct contact with the public．Empowerment takes the idea of delegation （委托） much further than has （62）　　been the case．Empowerment and delegation mean new forms of management control to （63）　　 that the overall business plan is being followed，and that operations become more profitable under the new organization，rather than less．

Another trend is off﹣site or （64）　　 management，where teams of people linked by e﹣mail and the Internet work on projects from their own houses．Project managers evaluate the （65）　　 of the team members in terms of what they produce for projects，rather than the amount of time they spend on them．

One early morning，I went into the living room to find my mother reading a thick book called Best Loved Poems to Read Again and Again．My interest was aroused only by the fact that the word"Poems"appeared in big，hot pink letters．

"Is it good？"I asked her．

"Yeah，"she answered．"There's one I really like and you'll like it，too．"I leaned forward．

"‘Patty Poem，'"she read the title．Who is Patty？I wondered．The poem began：

She never puts her toys away，

Just leaves them scattered^①where they lay，…^①散乱的

The poem was just three short sections．The final one came quickly：

When she grows and gathers poise^②，^②稳重

I'll miss her harum﹣scarum^③ noise，^③莽撞的

And look in vain^④ for scattered toys．^④徒劳地

And I'll be sad．

A terrible sorrow washed over me．Whoever Patty was，she was a mean girl．Then，the shock．

"It's you，honey，"My mother said sadly．

To my mother，the poem revealed a parent's affection when her child grows up and leaves．To me，the"she"in the poem was horror．It was my mama who would be sad．It was so terrible I burst out crying．

"What's wrong？"my mother asked．

"Oh Mama，"I cried．"I don't want to grow up ever!"

She smiled．"Honey，it's okay．You're not growing up anytime soon．And when you do，I'll still love you，okay？"

"Okay，"I was still weeping．My panic has gone．But I could not help thinking about that silly poem．After what seemed like a safe amount of time，I read the poem again and was confused．It all fit so well together，like a puzzle．The language was simple，so simple I could plainly understand its meaning，yet it was still beautiful．I was now fascinated by the idea of poetry，words that had the power to make or break a person's world．

I have since fallen in love with other poems，but"Patty Poem"remains my poem．After all，"Patty Poem"gave me my love for poetry not because it was the poem that lifted my spirits，but because it was the one that hurt me the most．

66．Why was the writer attracted by the book Best Loved Poems to Read Again and Again？ 　

A．It was a thick enough book．

B．Something on its cover caught her eye．

C．Her mother was reading it with interest．

D．It has a meaningful title．

67．After her mother read the poem to her，the writer felt　　 at first．

A．sad

B．excited

C．horrified

D．confused

68．The writer's mother liked to read"Patty Poem"probably because　　．

A．it reflected her own childhood

B．it was written in simple language

C．it was composed by a famous poet

D．it gave her a hint of what would happen

69．It can be concluded from the passage that"Patty Poem"leads the writer to　　．

A．discover the power of poetry

B．recognize her love for puzzles

C．find her eagerness to grow up

D．experience great homesickness．