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全国2007年4月自考英语阅读（一）试题 (清晰word版)
2013-03-21 19:38:54
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全国2007年4月高等教育自学考试
英语阅读（一）试题
课程代码：00595
请将答案填在答题纸相应位置上
1. CAREFUL READING
Read the following passages carefully. Decide on the best answer and write your answer in the corresponding space on the ANSWER SHEET.
(40 points, 2 points each)
Passage 1
Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage.
One of the qualities that most people admire in others is the willingness to admit one’s mistakes .It is extremely hard sometimes to say a simple thing like “I was wrong about that,” and it is even harder to say,“ I was wrong, and you were right about that.”
I had an experience recently with someone admitting to me that he had made a mistake fifteen years ago. He told me he had been the manager of a certain grocery store in the neighborhood where I grew up, and he asked me if I remembered the egg cartons. Then he related an incident and I began to remember vaguely the incident he was describing.
I was about eight years old at the time, and I had gone into the store with my mother to do the weekly grocery shopping. On that particular day, I must have found my way to the dairy food department where the incident took place. There must have been a special sale on eggs that day because there was an impressive display of eggs in dozen and half-dozen cartons. The cartons were stacked three or four feet high. I must have stopped in front of a display to admire the stacks. Just then a woman came by pushing her grocery cart and knocked off the stacks of cartons. For some reason, I decided it was up to me to put the display back together, so I went to work.
The manager heard the noise and came rushing over to see what had happened. When he appeared, I was on my knees inspecting some of the cartons to see if any of the eggs were broken, but to him it looked as though I were the culprit. He severely reprimanded me and wanted me to pay for the broken eggs. I protested my innocence and tried to explain, but it did no good. Even though I quickly forgot all about the incident, apparently the manager did not.
1．How old was the author when he wrote this article?
A. About 8. B. About 15. C. About 18. D. About 23.
2．The stacks of cartons were actually knocked off by______________.
A. the author B. the manager
C. a woman customer D. the author’s mother
3．When the manager came, the author was__________________.
A. inspecting the eggs B. putting the cartons back
C. paying for the broken eggs D. pushing the cart for the woman
4．The word “culprit”(Para.4)may be replaced by_______________.
A. fool B. clown C. thief D. wrongdoer
5．The author’s attitude towards admitting one’s mistakes is basically_____________.
A. ironic B. critical
C. indifferent D. appreciative
Passage 2
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage.
Interest in pursuing international careers has soared in recent years, enhanced by chronic(长久的) personnel shortages that are causing companies to search beyond their home borders for talent.
Professionals seek career experience outside their home countries for a variety of reasons. They may feel the need to recharge their batteries with a new challenge. They may want a position with more responsibility that encourages creativity and initiative. Or they may wish to expose their children to another culture, and the opportunity to learn a second language.
When applying for a job, one usually has to submit a résumé or curriculum vitae (CV) .The two terms generally mean the same thing: a one-or two-page document describing one’s educational qualifications and professional experience. However, guidelines for preparing a résumé are constantly changing. The best advice is to find out what is appropriate regarding the corporate culture, the country culture, and the culture of the person making the hiring decision. The challenge will be to embrace(包含)two or more cultures in one document. The following list is a good place to start:
● Educational requirements differ from country to country. In almost every case of “cross-border” job hunting, just stating the title of your degree will not be an adequate description. Provide the reader with details about your studies and any related experience.
●Pay attention to the résumé format you use—chronological or reverse-chronological order. Chronological order means listing your “oldest” work experience first. Reverse-chronological order means listing your current or most recent experience first. Most countries have preferences about which format is most acceptable. If you find no specific guidelines, the general preference is for the reverse-chronological format.
●If you are submitting your résumé in English ,find out if the recipient（收件人）uses British English or American English because there are variations between the two versions. For example, university education is often referred to as “tertiary education ” in the United Kingdom, but this term is rarely used in the United States. A reader who is unfamiliar with these variations may assume that your contains errors.
6．Companies are searching for talent outside their home countries because________.
A. they need to expand their business globally
B. they have difficulty hiring employees at home
C. they can benefit from international professionals
D. foreign employees are more capable than those at home
7．According to the passage, professionals looking for international careers________.
A．are usually creative and have the initiative
B．are no longer satisfied with their own life at home
C．aim to improve their foreign language skills
D．aim at opportunities for themselves and their children
8．When it comes to résumé writing, it is advisable to________.
A．take cultural factors into consideration
B．learn about the company’s hiring process
C．follow appropriate guidelines for job hunting
D．find out the employer’s personal likes and dislikes
9．When writing about qualifications in the résumé, job applicants are advised to________.
A．emphasize their academic potential to impress the decision maker
B．start with the title of the degree they have obtained at home
C．provide a detailed description of their studies and work experiences
D．show intense interest in pursuing international careers
10．According to the author’s last piece of advice, job applicants should be aware of __________.
A．the different educational systems in the US and the UK
B．the differences between American English and British English
C．the recipient’s preference with regard to résumé format
D．the distinctive features of American and British cultures
Passage 3
Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage.
On a January day in 1975, Ken and Catalina Brugger wandered through an ancient forest in Mexico on a high mountain slope eighty miles west of Mexico City .The air was damp and cool. The sky was cloudy, so little light reached through the trees. As the Bruggers walked along, they realized they were hearing a quiet, constant noise. It was like rain falling on the fir tress. But there was no rain. They looked around for the source of the sound. Suddenly, sunlight broke through the clouds and lit up the forest. The Bruggers gasped in delight. All around them, the trees shimmered with the beating of brilliant orange and black wings. The Bruggers were surrounded by millions of monarch butterflies, resting in their winter home.
The Brugger’s discovery was important in the world of butterfly study. Butterfly lovers knew that, late every summer, monarchs migrate from Canada into Mexico. More than 300 million of the fragile creatures make the 2,500-mile flight. But no one knew what became of the butterflies once they reached Mexico. Within the next few years, twelve more monarch roosts were discovered. They were all along the same mountain range where the Bruggers had made their find. Now the mystery was solved.
The monarch’s stay in Mexico is just one part of an amazing life cycle. Every spring, in Mexico, female monarchs lay enormous numbers of eggs. One female may lay more than four hundred a month. She attaches her eggs to milkweed plants. The milkweed provides a perfect first home for the young monarchs .Because milkweed is poisonous to most creatures, birds and other butterfly enemies avoid it. But monarchs love milkweed. The eggs hatch in three to twelve days, and out come worm-like larve（幼虫）which feed on the milkplant. The poison does not hurt them. But it does have an important effect. It makes the monarch as poisonous the plant was. A bird that eats a monarch will become very sick—and never eat another one.
After living for two weeks as larvae, the monarchs attach themselves to leaves. Then they spin cocoons(茧).After a week, the cocoons open and the butterflies emerge, soon to begin their 2,500-mile flight northwards. Many of them die as they pass through such southern states as Texas and Louisiana. But first they lay more eggs. After a few weeks, a new generation of monarchs is ready to continue the journey. They—or their children or grandchildren—will reach Canada, where they spend the summer.
11．The Bruggers did not know where the quiet, constant noise came from because it was _______.
A．raining B．cloudy C．too bright D．windy
12．By the time the article was written, people had discovered______________.
A．1 monarch roost B．12 monarch roosts
C．13 monarch roosts D．400 monarch roosts
13．Before the Brugger’s discovery, people did not know_____________________.
A．how monarch butterflies lived in Canada
B．when monarch butterflies left Canada
C．what happened to monarch butterflies in Mexico
D．where monarch butterflies in Mexico came from
14．The monarch butterflies make their winter home in ___________________.
A．Canada B．Mexico
C．the U.S. D．Texas or Louisiana
15．The article provides information about monarchs’__________________.
A．migration, food and size B．food, size and number
C．migration, food and number D．migration, number and size
Passage 4
Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage.
The Yanomami are a people living in villages between 40 and 250 people in the Venezuelan rain forest. Since the 1960s, Napoleon Chagnon has studied several Yanomami villages, written a widely-read book called The Fierce People about the Yanomami and helped to produce several films about them.
Chagnon’s writings and films have promoted a long-standing view of the Yanomami as exceptionally violent and war-loving. According to Chagnon, about one third of adult Yanomami males die violently, about two thirds of all adults had lost at least one close relative through violence, and over 50 percent had lost two or more close relatives. He has reported that one village was raided 25 times during his first 15 months there.
Chagnon provides a sociobiological explanation for the fierceness of the Yanomami. He explains that village raids and warfare are carried to obtain wives. Although the Yanomami prefer to marry within their village, there is a shortage of potential brides because the Yanomami practice the killing of female infants, which creates a scarcity of women. While the Yanomami prefer to marry within their own group, taking a wife from another group is preferable to remaining a bachelor. Men in other groups, however, are unwilling to give up their women; hence the necessity for raids. Chagnon also argues that, as successful warriors will be able to gain a wife or more than one wife, they often have more children than unsuccessful ones. Successful warriors, Chagnon suggests, carry a genetic advantage for fierceness, which they pass on to their sons, leading to a high growth rate of groups with violent males through genetic selection for fierceness. Male fierceness, in this view, is biologically determined.
Marvin Harris, who has a cultural materialist perspective, says that food scarcity and population in the area are the underlying causes of warfare. The Yanomami lack plentiful sources of meat, which is highly valued. Harris suggests that when hunting in an area was exhausted, the Yanomami would venture into territories of neighboring groups, thus giving rise to conflicts. Such conflicts in turn resulted in high rate of adult male deaths. Combined with the effects of female infant killing, this meat-warfare complex kept population growth rate down to a level that the environment could support.
In contrast, Patrick Tierney, a journalist, points the finger of blame to a large extent at Chagnon himself. Tierney presents evidence that it was the presence of Chagnon and his team of co-researchers and many boxes of trade goods that triggered a series of deadly raids, for the Yanomami competed with other groups for his trade goods. In addition, Tierney argues that Chagnon intentionally prompted the Yanomami to act fiercely for his films and to stage raids that actually led to bad feelings where they had not existed before.
16．The first sentence in the second paragraph implies that_________________.
A．the Yanomami are fierce by nature
B．the Yanomami are historically a fierce people
C．Chagnon influenced people’s view of the Yanomami
D．Chagnon was the discoverer of the Yanomami fierceness
17．According to Chagnon’s explanation, the fierceness of the Yanomami originates from_______.
A．the lack of men B．the shortage of women
C．the desire to marry out D．the fear of marrying within
18．Chagnon’s explanation of the Yanomami suggests that individual personality is_________.
A．inborn B．learned
C．reshaped D．acquired
19．Marvin Harris explains the fierceness of the Yanomami in terms of ___________.
A．biology B．race
C．history D．environment
20．In contrast to other researchers, Patrick Tierney interprets issues concerning the Yanomami as the result of their___________.
A．native culture B．primitive society
C．modern researchers D．primitive enemies
Ⅱ. SPEED READING
Skim or scan the following passages, and then decide on the best answer and write your answer in the corresponding space on the ANSWER SHEET.
(10 points, 1 point each)
Passage 5
Questions 21-24 are based on the following passage.
English is a vacuum cleaner language; it is able and willing to adopt any words it finds useful.
Places, peoples, tongues from around the world all have become part of the English vocabulary. They give it flexibility and provide a certain sense of familiarity for people who speak it as a second or foreign language.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, English contains worlds from more than 350 living languages.
“English is a free market,” says Allan Metacalf, author of The World in So Many Words. “Guardians of other languages tend to become alarmed when they notice foreign words creeping in . They say ,‘That’s a terrible thing; keep them out.’But English is multicultural.”
Linguistic historians believe that English began to absorb other languages on a large scale in 1066. That was the year when King William, a Norman from what is now France, conquered England. That meant English speakers were ruled by French speakers. The English language had to make some changes.
During the Renaissance, words flowed into English form Latin and Greek. The Age of Exploration introduced new terms from all corners of the world.
And America changed everything. America began as an English-speaking land but its language has been and is still shaped by generations of immigrants. Each new group brings new ideas and new expressions. Irish, Italians, Germans, Eastern Europeans, Latinos, Africans, Asians—all change English in some degree.
Mass culture makes adoptions easier. Today, words like kungfu and chow are no longer odd Chinese words; they have gone mainstream.
Then there are words invented or given new meanings when English needs them. Some words like e-mail , blurb and fax enter the mainstream. Others like laser begin life as acronyms(首字母缩略)for things that otherwise would be too difficult to say in everyday conversation.
Of course, language cannot be separated from culture, and importation depends on the situation. It also depends on whether the word remains useful.
Linguists predict that foreign words will flow into English even faster as more non-native speakers reach global leadership positions. The pace will increase, but it still will be English, which always is ready to accept new words. This is because English is a practical language with a long tradition of borrowing.
21．The best title for the passage would be__________.
A．Borrowed Words in English B．History of English Words
C．Mass Culture and Adoptions D．Word Inventions and Adoptions
22．King William was___________________.
A．Italian B．French
C．Norman D．Greek
23．The word borrowed from Chinese is __________________.
A．chow B．e-mail
C．fax D．laser
24．According to linguists, the borrowing of foreign words will____________.
A．stop B．continue
C．speed up D．slow down
Passage 6
Questions 25-27 are based on the following passage.
Suggested Readings:
Anne Allison, Nightwork: Sexuality, Pleasure and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo Hostess Club. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994. Based on the author’s participant observation, this book explores what it is like to work as a hostess in a club that caters to corporate male employees and discusses how that microculture is linked to men’s corpoerate work culture.
Fraces Dahlber, ed. Woman the Gatherer. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981. These path-breaking essays examine the role of women in four different foraging societies, provide insights on human evolution from studies of female chimpanzees, and give an overview of women’s role in human cultural adaptation.
Elliot Fratkin, Ariaal Pastoralists of Kenya: Surviving Drought and Development in Africa’s Arid Lands. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1988. Based on several phases of ethnographic research among the Ariaal beginning in the 1970s, this book provides insights about pastoralism in general and the particular cultural strategies of the Ariaal, including attention to social oragaization and family life.
David Uru Iyam, The Broken Hoe: cultural Reconfiguration in Biase Southeast Nigeria. Chicago:
The University of Chicago Press, 1995. Based on fieldwork among the Biase people by a scholar who is a member of a Biase group, this book examines changes since the 1970 in the traditional forms of subsistence—agriculture, fishing, and trade—and related issues such as environmental deterioration and population growth.
Katherine S. Newman, Falling from Grace: The Experience of Downward Mobility in the American Middle Class. New York: The Free Press, 1988. This book provides ethnographic research on the downwardly mobile of New Jersey as a “special tribe,” with attention to loss of employment by corporate managers and blue-collar workers, and the effects of downward mobility on middle-class family life, particularly women.
Richard H. Robbins, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism. Boston: Longman, 1999. Robins takes a critical look at the role of capitalism and global economic growth in creating and sustaining many world problems such as poverty, disease, hunger, violence, and environmental destruction. The last section includes extended case studies to support the argument.
Deborah Sick , Farmers of the Golden Bean: Costa Rican Households and the Global Coffee Economy. Dekalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1999. This book is an ethnography of coffee-producing households in Costa Rica that describes the difficulties facing coffee farmers due to unpredictable global forces and the uncertain role of the state as a mediator between the global and the local.
25．Among the books on the list, the number of those published in the 1990s is _____________.
A．2 B．3 C．4 D．5
26．The two books published by the University Press of Chicago were written or edited by__________.
A．Anne Allison and David Uru Iyam
B．David Uru Iyam and Deborah Sick
C．Anne Allison and Katherine S. Newman
D．Richard H. Robbins and David Uru Iyam
27．The book that contains coffee farmers was published in ____________.
A．1988 B．1994 C．1995 D．1999
Passage 7
Questions 28-30 are based on the following passage.
Following World War II, the oil boom contributed to major economic changes in the Middle East especially the Gulf states. This unprecedented prosperity has been used to provide many social benefits, such as subsidized health, housing and education. In Kuwait, a major division in the distribution of the benefits of this wealth is between citizens and non-citizens. Foreign migrants are the majority of the population: In 1989, the population composition was 650,000 Kuwaitis, 1.3million migrant workers, and about 250,000 bedu (former or current pastoral nomads.) Foreign migrants do not have citizenship.
Some state benefits are distributed to everyone living in Kuwait, including health care, subsidized water, electricity and gasoline. Kuwaiti citizens receive additional benefits and pay no income taxes. Citizens receive free education and practically free housing. They are guaranteed a job in the government sector if they want one, and they are entitled to several state financial supports: living allowances, bride-wealth grants for first marriages, and subsidies for wedding celebrations. Foreigners are subject to residence and labor laws that prevent them from settling permanently in Kuwait. They cannot own real estate or other permanent assets and they cannot join trade unions.
28．In 1989, most people in Kuwait were ____________,
A．Kuwaitis B．bedu
C．migrant workers D．pastoral nomads
29．Foreigners are not entitled to social benefits such as_______________.
A．gasoline B．free education
C．health care D．electricity
30．Those who do not pay income taxes are ____________________.
A．bedu B．non-citizens
C．Kuwaiti citizens D．migrant workers
Ⅲ.DISCOURSE CLOZE
The following is taken from the textbook. Read the passage and fill in the numbered spaces(there are more suggested answers than necessary). Write your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.(10 points, 1 point each)
The English, as a race, have the reputation of being very different from all other nationalities, including their closest neighbors, the French, Belgians and Dutch. It is claimed that living on an island separated from the rest of Europe has much to do with it. Whatever the reasons,(31)______.
Broadly speaking, the Englishman is a quiet, shy, reserved person who is fully relaxed only among people he knows well. In the presence of strangers or foreigners he often seems inhibited, even embarrassed. You have only to witness a commuter train any morning or evening to see the truth of this. (32)__________; no one speaks. In fact, to do so would seem most unusual. An English wit,(33)_________, once suggested, “On entering a railway compartment shake hands with all the passengers.” Needless to say, he was not being serious. There is an unwritten but clearly understood code of behavior which, if broken, makes the person immediately the object of suspicion.
It is a well-known fact that the English have an obsession with their weather and that, given half a chance, (34)____________. Some people argue that it is because English weather defies forecast and hence is a source of interest and speculation to everyone. This may be so. Certainly Englishmen cannot have much faith in the meteorological experts—the weathermen—who, after promising fine, sunny weather for the following day, (35)____________. The man in the street seems to be as accurate—or as inaccurate—as the weathermen in his predictions. This helps to explain the seemingly odd sight of an Englishman (36)____________. So variable is the weather that by lunchtime it could be pouring.
The overseas visitors may be excused for showing surprise at the number of references to weather that the English make to each other in the course of a single day. Very often conventional greetings are replaced by comments on the weather. “Nice day, isn’t it?” “Beautiful!” may well be heard (37)_____________. Although the foreigner may consider this exaggerated and comic, it is worthwhile pointing out that it could be used to his advantage. If he wants to start a conversation with an Englishman (or woman) (38)_____________.It is a safe subject which will provoke an answer from even the most reserved of Englishmen.
In many parts of the world it is quite normal to show openly extremes of enthusiasm, emotion, passion etc., often accompanied by appropriate gestures. The Englishman is somewhat different. Of course, an Englishman feels no less deeply than any other nationality, but he tends to display his feelings far less. This is reflected in his use of language. Imagine a man commenting on the great beauty of a young girl. Whereas a man of more emotional temperament might describe her as “an exquisite jewel,” “divine,” “precious,” (39)_____________. An Englishman who has seen a highly successful and enjoyable film recommends it to a friend by commenting, “It’s not bad, you know,” or on seeing a breathtaking landscape he might convey his pleasure by saying, “Nice, yes, very nice. ” The overseas visitor must not be disappointed by this apparent lack of interest and involvement; (40)_____________. This special use of language, particularly common in English, is known as understatement.
(from The English Character)
A．leaving home on a bright, sunny, summer morning with a raincoat slung over his arm and an umbrella in his hand
B．instead of “Good morning ,how are you ?”
C．he must realize that “all right,” “not bad,” and “nice ” are very often used as superlatives with the sense of “first-class ”, “excellent, ” “beautiful”
D．it may be fairly stated that the Englishman has developed many attitudes and habits which distinguish him from other nationalities
E．The country’s intellectuals are also being taken to task for their failure to speak out against the regime
F．they will talk about it at length
G．Serious-looking businessmen and women sit reading their newspapers or dozing in a corner
H．pretending to be giving advice to overseas visitors
I．tends to be attracted in the display of his feelings
J．but is at a loss to know where to begin, he could do well to mention the state of the weather
K．are often proved wrong when an anti-cyclone over the Atlantic brings rainy weather to all districts
L．the Englishman will flatly state “Um, she’s all right”
Ⅳ.WORD FORMATIONS
Complete each of the following sentences with the proper form of the word in the brackets. Write your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.
(10 points, 1point each)
41．（rely）The major educational distinction between on-campus and distance teaching is the ________________on group-based strategies in the former and the individualized instruction in the latter.
42．(produce)The only growing population in Asia is that of the poor. Much of the___________ land is being used for city expansion and building roads.
43．(grow) World demand for paper and board is now expected to increase faster than the general economic_____________ in the next 15 years.
44．（destroy）Understanding how fire grows indoors is the first step in limiting its potential for death and______________ .
45．（reason）Is the American Dream over? That’s the question any_____________, well-informed person might ask these days.
46．(strength) He hoped to___________ the position of the sciences in the leading universities.
47．(invest) Many of the more reputable green products, however, represent very large________ in research and design, and in new materials and technology.
48．(entertain) Television, tapes, CDs, VCRs and audio-visual cameras have turned the home into an ______________center.
49．(legal) They were yesterday convicted of___________________ using a hand gun.
50．(science) Australian__________________ have advised Ecuador on how to protect the seas around the famed Galapagos Islands.
Ⅴ.GAP FILLING
The following is taken from the textbook. Fill in the numbered gaps with the correct form of the words or phrases in the box(there are more words than necessary). Write your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.(10 points, 1 point each)
discover join participate which cross communicate
where shrug more than challenge train strike means
When we think of communication, we normally think of using words—talking face to face, writing messages and so on .But in fact, we(51)_____________ far more in other ways. Our eyes and facial expressions usually tell the truth even when our words do not.
Then there are gestures, often unconscious: raising the eyebrows, rubbing the nose, (52)_____________ the shoulders, tapping the fingers, nodding and shaking the head. There is also the even more subtle “body language” of posture. Are you sitting—or standing—with arms or legs (53)_____________? Is that person standing with hands in pockets, held in front of the body or hidden behind? Even the way we dress and colours we wear communicate things to others.
So, do animals communicate? Not in words, although a parrot might be (54)_____________ to repeat words and phrases which it doesn’t understand. But, as we have learnt, there is more to communication than words.
Take dogs for example. They bare their teeth to warn, wag their tails to welcome and stand firm, with hair erect to challenge. These signal are surely canine equivalent of the human body language of facial expression, gesture and posture.
Colour can be an important (55)_____________ of communication for animals. Many birds and fish change colours, for example, to attract partners during the mating season. And mating itself is commonly preceded by a special dance in which both partners (56)_____________.
Here again, there are (57)_____________ similarities to youngsters who dress up to meet partners at discotheques, (58)_____________ the music is often too loud for verbal communication. Communication there takes place through appearance and movements.
The most elaborate dances in the animal kingdom are those which bees use to communicate. With body movements alone they can tell other bees the direction and distance of a newly (59)_____________ food source.
All these examples may suggest instinctive rather than intelligent communication. But human body language is largely instinctive, too. And, in many ways, body language says far (60)_____________ intelligent, verbal communication ever can.
(from Nonverbal Communication)
Ⅵ. SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
The following 2 questions are based on Passage Four in this test paper. Read the passage carefully again and answer the questions briefly by referring back to Passage Four.
Write your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.(10 points, 5 points each)
61．What is Chagnon’s view of the Yanomami? What is his explanation?
62．How do the other researchers look upon Chagnon’s view on the Yanomami?
Ⅶ. TRANSLATION
The following excerpt is taken from the textbook. Read the paragraph carefully and translate into Chinese each of the numbered and underlined parts.(10 points, 2 points each)
(63)All of us have read thrilling stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time to live. Sometimes it was as long as a year; sometimes as short as twenty four hours. But always we were interested in discovering just how the doomed man chose to spend his last days or his last hours. (64) I speak, of course, of free men who have a choice, not condemned criminals whose sphere of activities is strictly delimited.
(65)Such stories set us thinking, wondering what we should do under similar circumstances. What events, what experiences, what associations should we crowd into those last hours as mortal beings? What happiness should we find in reviewing the past, what regrets?
(66)Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow. Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life. We should live each day with a gentleness, a vigor, and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. (67) There are those, of course, who would adopt the epicurean motto of ‘Eat, drink, and be merry,’but most people would be chastened by certainty of impending death.
(from Three Days to See )
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