In Greek mythology（神话）, the gods punished Sisyphus by forcing him to roll a rock up a ste

In Greek mythology（神话）, the gods punished Sisyphus by forcing him to roll a rock up a steep hill for eternity（来世）. But he was probably better off than if they’d forced him to sit and stare into space until the end of time, conclude the authors of a new study on keeping busy. They found that people who have something to do, even something pointless, are happier than people who sit around.
“The general phenomenon I’m interested in is why people are too busy doing what they are doing in modern society,” says Christopher K. Hsee, of the University of Chicago. “People are running around, working hard, the way beyond the basic level.” Sure, there are reasons, like making a living, earning money, and so on. But, Hsee says, “I think there’s something deeper: We have extra energy and we want to avoid idleness.”
In a study 98 students were asked to complete two surveys. After they had completed the first they were made to wait 15 minutes to receive the next one. They were given a choice of either handing in the first survey nearby or at a more distant location they had to walk to. Whichever option they chose, they received a chocolate bar. Not everyone chose to go to the faraway location. Two-thirds chose the lazy option. Yet those who chose to stay busy by going to the faraway location were found to be happier than those who had stayed put.
But if the chocolate bars offered at the two locations were different, they were more likely to choose the far location—because they could make up a good and acceptable reason for the trip, Hsee and his colleagues say.
Hsee thinks it may be possible to use this principle—people like being busy, and they like being able to show being busy right or reasonable—to benefit society. “If we can find a way for idle people to engage in activity that is at least not harmful, I think it is better than destructive business,” he says. Hsee himself has been known to give a research assistant a useless task when he doesn’t have anything to do, so he isn’t sitting around the office getting bored and depressed.
【小题1】The author starts the passage with the Greek mythology story to .A．make it easier to understand the passageB．draw readers’ attention to Greek cultureC．show Greek people enjoyed being busyD．bring about the subject of the passage【小题2】According to Hsee, people are busy in modern society because they want to .A．make others think they are not lazyB．keep their energy at the basic levelC．earn more money to support their familyD．avoid the state of having nothing to do【小题3】The underlined phrase “stayed put” in Paragraph 3 probably means .A．remained thereB．kept occupiedC．got aroundD．stayed awake【小题4】How does Hsee’s assistant probably feel while performing a task?A．Blue.B．Empty.C．Contented.D．Trapped.D

(答案→)D 解析：文章讲述的是作者发现一直保持忙碌的人们比无事可做的人开心。【小题1】该故事是作者要表达的观点的一个引子。【小题2】推理判断题。根据I think there’s something deeper: We have extra energy and we want to avoid idleness可知，人们保持繁忙是为了避免无事可做。【小题3】推理判断题。根据those who chose to stay busy by going to the faraway location were found to be happier than those who had stayed put，可知该次与go to the faraway location 是相反的人，故选择呆在原地。【小题4】推理判断题。根据give a research assistant a useless task when he doesn’t have anything to do, so he isn’t sitting around the office getting bored and depressed可知，他不会感到无聊和沮丧，即感到高兴。

这下我知道了

落叶他乡树，寒灯独夜人出自唐朝诗人 马戴《灞上秋居》 意思是：在一个风停雨歇的灞水高原的黄昏，只见空中的雁群不断往南飞去。这纷纷飘落的树叶，是他乡之树，而不是故乡的树。寒灯独照着孤寂的异乡之人，空园中一片荒凉，连白露滴下的声音都可听见，孤独的房舍，只有与野僧为邻。寄居在这郊外的住宅已经很久了，何年何月能够出仕为官，为国效力呢？

唐朝诗人 马戴 灞上秋居 灞原风雨定，晚见雁行频。落叶他乡树，寒灯独夜人。空园白露滴，孤壁野僧邻。寄卧郊扉久，何年致此身？ 此诗反映作者客居异乡的孤寂，抒发自已怀才不遇的感慨，并在一定程度上，反映唐末社会动乱的现实。 在一个风停雨歇的灞水高原的黄昏，只见空中的雁群不断往南飞去。这纷纷飘落的树叶，是他乡之树，而不是故乡的树。寒灯独照着孤寂的异乡之人，空园中一片荒凉，连白露滴下的声音都可听见，孤独的房舍，只有与野僧为邻。寄居在这郊外的住宅已经很久了，何年何月能够出仕为官，为国效力呢？