If you live in America in the 21st century you'll probably have to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It's become the default response when you ask anyone how they are doing: “Busy!” “Crazy busy!”. It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the common response is a kind of congratulation:“ That's a good problem to have, ”or“ Better than the opposite.”
Notice it isn't generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the ICU or commuting by bus to three minimum-wage jobs who tell you how busy they are. What those people are is not busy but tired. Exhausted! Dead on their feet. It's almost always people whose busyness is purely self-imposed work and obligations they've taken on voluntarily, classes and activities they've “encouraged” their kids to participate in. They're busy because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety, because they're addicted to busyness and dread that they might have to face in its absence.
Almost everyone I know is busy. They feel anxious and guilty when they aren't either working or doing something to promote their work. It's something they have chosen. Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance(令人安心的保证），a measure against emptiness, obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or tiny or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day.
Idleness is not just a vacation. It is as necessary to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as ugly as rickets. The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration.” Idle dreaming is often the essence of what we do”, wrote Thomas Pynchon. Archimedes' “Eureka” in the bath, Newton's apple :history is full of stories of inspirations that come in idle moments.
小题1:When many Americans say “Crazy busy”, they mean______.
A．they are really tired of their present situation
B．they are really proud of their present life
C．they are complaining about their current work
D．their life are full of all kinds of problems小题2:The writer mentions Archimedes'“Eureka” and Newton's apple to show that________.
A．history is full of interesting stories
B．Archimedes and Newton were very busy, so they made great discoveries
C．people may get inspiration when they are idle
D．inspirations come from hard work小题3:The word “its” in the second paragraph refers to_________________.
ambition B. anxiety C. busyness D. dread
小题4:From the article, we can infer that ___________________.
A．generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the ICU tell you they are busy
B．“Dead on their feet” means “being tired out”
C．all the kids are self-imposed due to the drive and motivation
D．The author seems to agree that idleness is better than busyness
