Minimalism (简约主义) is a term that describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is reduced to its most basic features.
As for me, minimalism functions well not in art or design, but in my daily life.
When I was packing for university, I found it extremely difficult to let go of some of the things I owned. I knew I couldn’t take everything with me, but I kept asking myself “how could I possibly throw this away?”, “what if I need it one day?”, and “what about all of the memories?” Now that I’ve moved, and left that stuff behind, I don’t even miss it. Whether or not I got rid of it, it barely makes a bit of difference to me now.
I’ve learned that over time people forget, or their need for a particular object eventually disappears. Either they store it away or 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.” It takes something life-changing like moving across the country to realize how true this is.
Speaking of which, for a lot of people, minimalism is about able to move. It’s about being able to go almost anywhere at any time because you don’t have many possessions to carry. When you keep things you don’t need they bee a burden that ties you to a place. Moving to university was 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 are irreplaceable, very rare or expensive or we simply love and cherish for some reason or another, since we are humans. But after we keep those, how much is left that we don’t really need?
Hence, minimalism. And why does minimalism bring happiness? That was a bit of a roundabout way of saying that, it’s because what really makes me happy is freedom. And the key to freedom is minimalism because minimalism reduces our attachment to things.
Attachment to too many objects creates a great mess and can severely hold back our freedom to do whatever we want, while minimalism helps us start new projects, move, travel, learn new things, work, expand, be debt-free, be healthy – really living life to our full potential.
I left the nest to fly onwards and upwards, I can’t do it with old things weighing me down. And that is why I have adopted minimalism with open arms.
【小题1】In paragraph l, the writer gives the definition of minimalism to .A．introduce a topicB．present his own ideaC．describe a sceneD．offer an argument【小题2】Many people don’t want to let go of some of their belongings because .A．they haven’t had any life-changing experiencesB．they fear their memories will be gone with the thrown-away stuffC．they hope to live life to their full potential by storing things awayD．they may have to change their lifestyle because of the loss of them【小题3】Which of the following is NOT the reason why the writer favors “minimalism” in life? A．It takes the burden off her while she is moving.B．It reduces her attachment to her personal things.C．It enables her to gain the freedom that she desires.D．It helps her to realize how true life is.【小题4】By saying “there are exceptions”, the writer means A．little is left if we keep what we cherish most in our lifeB．minimalism should be practised accordingly in different situationsC．minimalism is a method difficult to employ in realityD．life is full of exceptions so it’s difficult to preserve what we value【小题5】What’s the main idea of the passage?A．Minimalism brings happiness.B．Minimalism is applied in many fields.C．Minimalism makes people think nostalgically.D．Minimalism is about able to move.A
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(答案→)A
解析：本文主要叙述的是简约主义给我们的生活所带来的好处，可以让我们更加自由，可以去除我们很多的负担等。
【小题1】A 推理题。根据第一段Minimalism (简约主义) is a term that describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is reduced to its most basic features.这是给出了简约主义的定义，也是引出了我们下面要讨论的话题，故A正确。
【小题2】B 推理题。根据第二段3,4,5行I kept asking myself “how could I possibly throw this away?”, “what if I need it one day?”, and “what about all of the memories?”说明阻止人们这样做的是人们寄存在这些物品上的记忆，让我们难以割舍。故B正确。
【小题3】D 细节题。根据文章倒数2,3,4段内容And the key to freedom is minimalism because minimalism reduces our attachment to things和When you keep things you don’t need they bee a burden that ties you to a place.以及Attachment to too many objects creates a great mess and can severely hold back our freedom to do whatever we want说明ABC三项都是作者支持“minimalism”的原因，D项文章中没有提及。故D符合要求。
【小题4】B 推理题。根据本句Of course there are exceptions. There are some things that are irreplaceable, very rare or expensive or we simply love and cherish for some reason or another, since we are humans.说明因为我们是有感情的人类，所以对于那些我们以前使用的东西我们有很多难以割舍的感情，虽然简约主义有很多的优点，但是仍然有一些例外的情况。所以根据不同的情况有不同的说明。故B正确。
【小题5】A 主旨大意题。本文主要叙述的是简约主义给我们的生活所带来的好处，可以让我们更加自由，可以去除我们很多的负担等。故A正确。