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I shall never forget the night, a few years ago, when Marion J. Douglas was a student in one of my
adulteducation classes.He told us how tragedy had struck at his home, not once, but twice.The first time
he had lost his fiveyearold daughter.He and his wife thought they couldn't bear that first loss; but, as he
said, "Ten months later, God gave us another little girl and she died in five days."
This double bereavement was almost too much to bear."I couldn't take it, " this father told us"I
couldn't sleep, eat, rest or relax.My nerves were entirely shaken and my confidence gone."At last he
went to doctors; one recommended sleeping pills and another recommended a trip, but neither helped.
He said, "My body felt as if it was surrounded in a vice (大钳子), and the jaws of the vice were being
drawn tighter and tighter." The tension of grief (悲伤)-if you have ever been paralyzed (使瘫痪) by
sorrow, you know what he meant.
"But thank God, I had one child left-a fouryearold son.He gave me the solution to my problem.One
afternoon as I sat around feeling sorry for myself, he asked, 'Daddy, will you build a boat for me?' I was
in no mood to build a boat; in fact, I was in no mood to do anything.But my son is a persistent little fellow!
I had to give in.Building that toy boat took me about three hours.By the time it was finished, I realized that
those three hours spent building that boat were first hours of mental relaxation and peace that I had had in months!I realized that it is difficult to worry while you are busy doing something that requires planning and
thinking.In my case, building the boat had knocked worry out of the ring.So I determined to keep busy."
"The following night, I made a list of jobs that ought to be done.Scores of items needed to be repaired. Amazingly, I had made a list of 242 items that needed attention.During the last two years I have
completed most of them.I am busy so that I have no time for worry."
No time for worry!That is exactly what Winston Churchill said when he was working eighteen hour's
a day at the height of the war.When he was asked if he worried about his huge responsibilities, he said, "I
am too busy.I have no time for worry."
1. The underlined word "bereavement" in the second paragraph refers to________.
A. having lost a loved one
B. having lost a valuable article
C. having lost a profitmaking business
D. having lost a wellpaid job
2. Marion felt his body as if it was caught in a vice because________.
A. he couldn't earn enough money to support his family
B. he was suffering from sleeplessness disease
C. he couldn't get out of mental pressure
D. he felt tired of adulteducation classes
3. Marion made a list of over 200 items that needed to be repaired because________.
A. he hadn't been able to spare time to mend them
B. he wanted to kill his free time by repairing them
C. the items had actually been broken and needed attention
D. repairing the items helped crowd worry out of his mind
4. At the end of the passage, the author wrote about Winston Churchill in order to________.
A. prove that he followed Churchill's example
B. support his student's solution to his problem
C. show that he was successful in his career
D. clarify how his conclusion was reached
