黃　剛

教哲學的教授借助調(diào)酒杯、高爾夫球、卵石、沙子和啤酒講述了一個富含哲理的道理。

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise(調(diào)味汁) jar and the beer.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar were full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles(卵石) and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar were full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar were full. The students responded with an unanimous yes. The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed. “Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions—things that if everything else was lost, and only they remained, your life would still be full.

“The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else—the small stuff.” he continued, “If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.

The professor smiled. “Im glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, theres always room for a couple of beers.”

1. What can we learn from the passage?

A. What the professor did was too tiring.

B. What the professor did tells us how to get on well with our life.

C. What the professor did requires us to drink a beer every day.

D. What the professor did suggests us to enjoy life and less work.

2. What is the right order according to the passage?

a. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.

b. The professor picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.

c. The professor picked up a mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

d. The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar.

A. abcd B. acbd C. dcba D. cbad

3. What does the underlined word “unanimous” mean?

A. agreed B. disagreed

C. boring D. disordered

4. What did the professor mean by saying the underlined sentence in the sixth paragraph?

A. If you spend all your time and energy on the work, you will never enjoy life.

B. If you spend all your time and energy in enjoying life, you will waste your work.

C. If you spend all your time and energy in drinking beers, you will never play with your family.

D. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never do the important things.

5. What is the best title of the passage?

A. Life and a Can of Beer B. Golf, Pebbles and Sand

C. How to Work with Your Staff D. How to Deal with Your Spare Time

答案及解析：

1. B。分析全文，教授的目的是讓學生知道如何駕馭生活，享受生活。

2. D。分析教授先后動作可知。

3. A。分析該句，可知該詞意為“全體同意的”，A項最符合。

4. D。分析該段“If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.”可知。

5. A。分析全文可知，處理好生活各個方面，也不忘享受自己。