C
Poet William Stafford once said that we are defined more by the detours(绕行路)in life that by the narrow road toward goals.I like this image.But I as quite by accident that I discovered the deep meaning of his words.
For years we made the long drive from our home in Seattle to my parents’ home in Boise in nine hours.We traveled the way most people do:the fastest,shortest easiest road,especially when ai was alone with four noisy,restless kids who hates confinement(限制)and have strong opinions about everything.
Road trips felt risky,so I would drive fast,stopping only when I had to.We would stick to the freeways and arrive tired.
But then Banner,our lamb was born.He was rejected by his mama days before our planned trip to Boise.I had two choices:leave Banner with my husband,or take him with me.My husband made the decision for me.
That is how I found my self on the road with four kids,a baby lamb and nothing but my everlasting optimism to see me through.We took the country roads out of necessity.We had to stop every hour,let Banner shke out his legs and feed him.The kids chased him and one another.They’d get back in the car breathless and energized,smelling fresh from the cold air.
We explored side roads,catching grasshoppers in waist-high grass.Even if we simply looked out of the car windows at baby pigs following their mother,or fish leaping outof the water,it was better than the best ride down the freeway. Here was life.And new horizons(见识).
We eventually arrived at my parents’doorstep astonishingly fresh and full of stories
I grew brave with the trip back home and creative with my disciplining technique.On an empty section of road,everyone started quarreling.I stopped the car,ordered all kids out and told them to meet me up ahead.I parked my car half a mile away and read my book in sweet silence.
Some road trips are by necessity fast and straight.But that trip with Banner opened our eyes to a world available to anyon adventurous enough to wander around and made me realize that a detour may uncover the best part of a journey----and the best part of yourself.
【題組】50.What could be the best title for the passage?
(A)Charm of the Detour
(B)The Road to Bravery
(C)Creativity out of Necessity
(D)Road trip and Country Life
D
When asked about happiness,we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight,which seems to get rarer the older we get.
For kids,happiness has a magical quality.Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved(毫不掩饰的).
In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes.Suddenly it’s conditional on such things as excitement,love and popularity.I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.
In adulthood the things that bring deep joy----love,marriage,birth----also bring responsibility and the risk of loss.For adults,happiness is complicated(复杂的)
My definition fo happiness is “the capacity for enjoyment”.The more we can enjoy what we have,the happier we are.It’s easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends,the freedom to live where we please,and even goo health.
I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday.First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself.Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing,which I love.When the kids and my husband came home,I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.
Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work.I don’t think that my grandmother,who raised 14 children,had much of either.She did have a network of close friends and family,and maybe this is what satisfied her.
We,however,with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area,have turned happiness into one more thing we’ve got to have.We’ve so self-conscious about our “right” to it that it’s making us miserable.So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success,without noticing that the people who have those things aren’t necessarily happier
Happiness isn’t about what happens to us----it’s about how we see what happens to us.It’s the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative.It’s not wishing for what we don’t have,but enjoying what we do possess.
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