Minimalism is a term that describes movements in various forms of art and design

Minimalism (简约主义) is aterm that describes movements in various forms of art and design, especiallyvisual art and music, where the work is reduced to its most basic features.

As for me, minimalism functions well not in art ordesign, but in my daily life.

When I was packing for university, I found itextremely difficult to let go of some of the things I owned. I knew I couldn’ttake everything with me, but I kept asking myself “how could I possibly throwthis away?”, “what if I need it one day?”, and “what about all of thememories?” Now that I’ve moved, and left that stuff behind, I don’t even missit. Whether or not I got rid of it, it barely makes a bit of difference to menow.

I’ve learned that over time people forget, or theirneed for a particular object eventually disappears. Either they store it awayor they get rid of it.

You might think nostalgically（怀旧的） about the toys you cared about when you were a child,but what is making you smile now is not the thing itself but the memory of it.1’ve heard it a hundred times, “you don’t need things to make you happy.” Ittakes something life-changing like moving across the country to realize howtrue this is.

Speaking of which, for a lot of people, minimalism isabout able to move. It’s about being able to go almost anywhere at any timebecause you don’t have many possessions to carry. When you keep things youdon’t need they become a burden that ties you to a place. Moving to universitywas a good time to let go of a lot of stuff. And when I visit for the holidays,I’ll probably get rid of even more, to lighten the burden.

Of course there are exceptions. There are some things that areirreplaceable, very rare or expensive or we simply love and cherish for somereason or another, since we are humans. But after we keep those, how much isleft that we don’t really need?

Hence, minimalism. And why does minimalism bringhappiness? That was a bit of a roundabout way of saying that, it’s because whatreally makes me happy is freedom. And the key to freedom is minimalism becauseminimalism reduces our attachment to things.

Attachment to too many objects creates a great messand can severely hold back our freedom to do whatever we want, while minimalismhelps us start new projects, move, travel, learn new things, work, expand, bedebt-free, be healthy – really living life to our full potential.

I left the nest to fly onwards and upwards, I can’t doit with old things weighing me down. And that is why I have adopted minimalismwith open arms.

1.In paragraph l, the writer gives the definition ofminimalism to      .

A．introduce atopic                       B．present hisown idea

C．describe ascene                        D．offer anargument

2.Many people don’t want to let go of some of theirbelongings because       .

A．they haven’t had any life-changing experiences

B．they feartheir memories will be gone with the thrown-away stuff

C．they hope tolive life to their full potential by storing things away

D．they may haveto change their lifestyle because of the loss of them

3.Which of the following is NOT the reason why thewriter favors “minimalism” inlife?                          

A．It takes theburden off her while she is moving.

B．It reducesher attachment to her personal things.

C．It enablesher to gain the freedom that she desires.

D．It helps herto realize how true life is.

4.By saying “there are exceptions”, the writer means       

A．little isleft if we keep what we cherish most in our life

B．minimalismshould be practised accordingly in different situations

C．minimalism isa method difficult to employ in reality

D．life is fullof exceptions so it’s difficult to preserve what we value

5.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Minimalismbrings happiness.

B．Minimalism isapplied in many fields.

C．Minimalismmakes people think nostalgically.

D．Minimalism isabout able to move.

试题答案

【答案】

1.A

2.B

3.D

4.B

5.A

【解析】

试题