I ll Do it Tomorrow. READTHEORY Name Date

Transcription

1 READTHEORY Name Date I ll Do it Tomorrow It is Saturday afternoon. You have a big science project that is due on Monday. Your teacher told you about it weeks ago, but you saw no reason to get started right away. Now you are getting a little nervous. You only have two days to do the project. You should probably get to work. But where should you begin? There is so much work to do. Maybe a walk in the fresh air would clear your mind. You had some great ideas on your walk. When you come back inside, you are ready to work. You sit down at your desk. My, your desk certainly looks messy. You would probably work better if it were neat. As you organize your desk, you find a deck of cards. You remember a fun card game that a friend taught you. Maybe you could teach the game to your little brother. He sure would like the game. Spending time with your family is important. Your project can wait a few more hours. Now it is Sunday night. You have not even begun your project. You are seriously worried. How did this happen? If you had only begun working on the project when it was assigned! Then you would be relaxing instead of rushing to do three weeks worth of work in a few short hours. Why did you put off doing it for so long? Does any of this sound familiar to you? If so, then you are guilty of procrastinating that is, putting off doing something even though you know that it is important. We have all done this at some point in our lives. In fact, Dr. Piers Steel, a professor at the University of Calgary, found in his research that 95% of people have procrastinated at least once. Most of us know that it is a bad habit, but we do it anyway. Why is that? Some psychologists people who study the human mind blame procrastination on something called the pleasure principle. The pleasure principle is a simple idea: human beings are more likely to choose to do something fun or enjoyable instead of something difficult, painful, or boring, even if this choice is bad for us. This is why most people would rather play video games than clean the bathroom. The problem, of course, is the bathroom needs to get cleaned. Putting off cleaning will only make your bathroom dirtier in the long run. Procrastinating is giving in to the pleasure principle. Instead of doing something dull or difficult, we choose to do something fun. It is choosing instant gratification over delayed gratification. Instant gratification occurs when you get to enjoy something right away. Delayed gratification requires a person to wait until the enjoyment can happen. Instant gratification may be immediately rewarding, but it is not always the best choice. For example, imagine that you are hungry. In your kitchen, you have both a bag of chips and all of the ingredients to make a delicious, healthy sandwich. The sandwich is better for you. The sandwich will keep you full longer. The sandwich even tastes better. But it will take time to make the sandwich. You will have to get out the bread, slice the ingredients, put the sandwich together, and then clean up after yourself when you are done. On the other hand, you can just open up the bag of chips, stuff them into your face, and then throw out the empty bag. Which should you choose? Choosing the bag of chips would be an example of instant gratification. Your hunger gets satisfied immediately with minimal effort on your part. Choosing the sandwich would be an example of delayed gratification. You have to do work and wait a few minutes before you get to eat.

2 Of course, procrastination is not the worst crime in the world. However, procrastinating too much can have some seriously negative consequences. Even if you tell yourself that you work best under pressure, this is almost certainly not the case. A project that you have spent weeks working on will be much better than one you do in two hours the night before it is due. Procrastinating not only makes your work suffer, it can also be bad for you. Procrastinating can cause stress, anxiety, and feelings of guilt. Furthermore, if you procrastinate so much that you do not actually get your work done, then you are likely to suffer consequences. If procrastination is a problem for you, there are some things that you can do to help. When author Herman Melville struggled to finish his great novel Moby Dick, he reportedly had his wife chain him to his desk. If this sounds a bit extreme to you, there are a few easier ways that you can help yourself stay on task. Are you putting off your project because it seems overwhelming or too difficult? Try breaking it down into smaller tasks. For example, if you have to clean your room, you could start by just organizing your closet. Once your closet is organized, then you can move on to the clutter on your desk. You could also start by doing the hardest part first once that is out of the way, the rest will seem easy. If you procrastinate because you are easily distracted, try working in an environment that helps you stay focused. Find a place where there are no televisions. Turn your phone off. If you need your computer to do your work, download software that will temporarily block websites that distract you. Perhaps the best way to beat procrastination is the simplest way: just get started. You may find that once you have spent a few minutes working, you will find yourself focused on your task. It may not work for you, but it cannot hurt to try. After all, you have nothing to lose but a bad habit! 1) In paragraph 4, the author includes information from the research of Professor Piers Steel. This evidence is included in order to A. convince readers that procrastination can cause a lot of problems B. provide a definition of procrastination for readers C. explain to readers why people procrastinate D. show readers that procrastination is a very common problem 2) In the passage, the author cites the example of the bag of chips and the sandwich in order to A. reference a time when he or she chose delayed gratification over instant gratification B. explain the difference between instant gratification and delayed gratification C. prove to readers that choosing instant gratification is always harmful D. show readers why the pleasure principle is likely to make people choose delayed gratification 3) Based on the way it is used in paragraph 6, it can be understood that the word minimal belongs to which of the following word groups? A. not much, little, hardly any B. entertaining, fun, enjoyable C. annoying, troublesome, difficult D. delicious, tasting, flavorful

3 4) In this passage, the author makes each of the following claims about procrastination EXCEPT which one? A. Procrastination can cause stress and anxiety. B. People procrastinate when they give in to the pleasure principle. C. Procrastinators choose instant gratification over delayed gratification. D. People work better under pressure. 5) Jed has to read a very long book for his English class. He has been putting off reading the book for a while, but he knows that he has to get it done. He looks at the book. This book is too long! he says. I ll never finish it! Maybe I ll be able to concentrate better if I make myself a snack Based on the information in the passage, what advice would the author give Jed to help him stop procrastinating? A. First, Jed should organize his closet. A clean room will help him think. B. Jed should chain himself to his desk. C. Jed should start by just reading the first fifteen pages. D. After Jed is done with the snack, he should turn off the television and unplug the phone. 6) Have you ever put off doing something that you knew you had to do? Write about a time that you procrastinated. Why did you procrastinate? Did you suffer any consequences because you procrastinated? Looking back at your situation, what could you have done differently?

4 Answers and Explanations 1) D Core Standard: Integration of Knowledge In paragraph 4, the author argues that we have all [procrastinated] at some point in our lives. In order to support this claim, the author cites evidence from Dr. Piers Steel. According to the author, Dr. Steel s research shows that 95% of people have procrastinated at least once. This quotation shows that nearly everyone has procrastinated at some point in their lives. The author includes this evidence from Dr. Steel to show that procrastination is a very common problem. Therefore (D) is correct. According to the author, Dr. Steel s research shows that 95% of people have procrastinated at least once. This quotation shows that procrastination is a very common problem. It does not support the idea that procrastination can cause a lot of problems. Therefore (A) Is incorrect. According to the author, Dr. Steel s research shows that 95% of people have procrastinated at least once. This quotation shows that procrastination is a very common problem. It does not define procrastination. Therefore (B) Is incorrect. According to the author, Dr. Steel s research shows that 95% of people have procrastinated at least once. This quotation shows that procrastination is a very common problem. It does not explain why people procrastinate. Therefore (C) Is incorrect. 2) B Core Standard: Integration of Knowledge In paragraph 6, the author explain the pleasure principle by writing: instead of doing something dull or difficult, we choose to do something fun. It is choosing instant gratification over delayed gratification. The author then explains that instant gratification occurs when you get to enjoy something right away, whereas delayed gratification requires a person to wait until the enjoyment can happen. Throughout the rest of the paragraph, the author explains the concepts of instant gratification and delayed gratification. In order to help readers understand these ideas, the author tells readers to imagine that they are hungry. In the kitchen, there is both a bag of chips and all of the ingredients to make a delicious, healthy sandwich. The author tells readers that the sandwich is healthier, tastier, and will keep you full longer. On the downside, making the sandwich will take longer than simply opening the bag of chips. The chips are less healthy and not as satisfying, but easier to eat. As the author tells us, choosing the bag of chips would be an example of instant gratification. Your hunger gets satisfied immediately with minimal effort on your part. Choosing the sandwich would be an example of delayed gratification. You have to do work and wait a few minutes before you get to eat. The chips and the sandwich serve as examples of instant gratification and delayed gratification, respectively. The author uses these examples to show readers the difference between the two concepts. Therefore (B) is correct. In paragraph 6, the author explains instant gratification and delayed gratification. He or she uses the example of the chips and the sandwich to help readers understand the difference between these two concepts. The author never mentions him or herself in this passage. This is not an example of the author personally choosing delayed gratification over instant gratification. Therefore (A) is incorrect.

5 In paragraph 6, the author explains the difference between instant gratification and delayed gratification. According to the author, Instant gratification may be immediately rewarding, but it is not always the best choice. Choosing instant gratification might not be the best idea in some situations, but the author never describes it as always harmful. Therefore (C) is incorrect. In paragraph 6, the author discusses the pleasure principle. As the author informs us, when we follow the pleasure principle, instead of doing something dull or difficult, we choose to do something fun instead. The author then explains that the pleasure principle is choosing instant gratification over delayed gratification. According to the author, the pleasure principle is likely to make people choose instant gratification, not delayed gratification. Therefore (D) is incorrect. 3) A Core Standard: Craft and Structure minimal (adjective): barely adequate or the least possible. In paragraph 6, the author writes: Your hunger gets satisfied immediately with minimal effort on your part. We can use context clues hints from known words or phrases around the unknown word or phrase to help us figure out what the word minimal most nearly means. In paragraph 6, the author explains the difference between instant gratification and delayed gratification. The author then explains that instant gratification occurs when you get to enjoy something right away, whereas delayed gratification requires a person to wait until the enjoyment can happen. Throughout the rest of the paragraph, the author explains the concepts of instant gratification and delayed gratification. In order to help readers understand these ideas, the author tells readers to imagine that they are hungry and can choose between opening up a bag of chips and making a sandwich. The author tells readers that the sandwich is healthier, tastier, and more satisfying, but making it will take longer than simply opening the bag of chips. As the author explains you will have to get out the bread, slice the ingredients, put the sandwich together, and then clean up after yourself when you are done. The chips, on the other hand, require only that you open up the bag, stuff them into your face, and then throw out the empty bag. According to the author, if you choose the bag of chips, your hunger gets satisfied immediately with minimal effort on your part. As the author explained, eating the chips does not take very much work. All you have to do is open the bag, eat the chips, and then throw out the empty bag when you are done. Making the sandwich will take much longer. The chips are far less work than the sandwich. They require minimal effort--that is, not much work at all. Based on this information, we can tell that minimal means not very much or hardly any. Therefore (A) is correct. Based on the above information, we can tell that we are looking for words that mean not very much or hardly any. Entertaining, fun, and enjoyable do not mean hardly any. Therefore (B) is incorrect. Based on the above information, we can tell that we are looking for words that mean not very much or hardly any. Annoying, troublesome, and difficult do not mean hardly any. Therefore (C) is incorrect. Based on the above information, we can tell that we are looking for words that mean not very much or hardly any. Delicious, tasty, and flavorful do not mean hardly any. Therefore (D) is incorrect.

6 4) D Core Standard: Key Ideas and Details In paragraph 7, the author says that some people procrastinate and tell themselves that they work best under pressure. The author then writes: this is almost certainly not the case. A project that you have spent weeks working on will be much better than one you do in two hours the night before it is due. According to the author, most people do not work better under pressure. Since we are looking for the exception, (D) is correct. In paragraph 7, the author tells readers that procrastinating too much can have some seriously negative consequences, such as causing stress, anxiety, and feelings of guilt. Since we are looking for the exception, (A) is incorrect. In paragraph 6, the author explains that procrastinating is giving in to the pleasure principle. When people give in to the pleasure principle, they procrastinate. Since we are looking for the exception, (B) is incorrect. In paragraph 6, the author says that procrastination is choosing instant gratification over delayed gratification. Instant gratification occurs when you get to enjoy something right away. Delayed gratification requires a person to wait until the enjoyment can happen. People who procrastinate choose to enjoy something right away instead of waiting to enjoy something later. Since we are looking for the exception, (C) is incorrect. 5) C Core Standard: Integration of Knowledge Based on the information in the question, Jed seems to be procrastinating because he thinks his task is too overwhelming. The book he needs to read is very long. He does not think that he will be able to finish it. In paragraph 8, the author gives readers advice that might help them stop procrastinating. The author writes: Are you are putting off your project because it seems overwhelming or too difficult? Try breaking it down into smaller tasks. Reading just the first fifteen pages of a book is an example of breaking a large task down into smaller tasks. Furthermore, in the final paragraph, the author suggests that the best way to beat procrastination is the simplest way: just get started. You may find that once you have spent a few minutes working, you will find yourself focused on your task. If Jed read the first fifteen pages of the book, he might find himself focused and engaged because he just got started. Therefore (C) is correct. In paragraph 8, the author does mention organizing a closet. He or she suggests that people who procrastinate because a task is too difficult should try breaking it down into smaller tasks. For example, if you have to clean your room, you could start by just organizing your closet. Once your closet is organized, then you can move on to the clutter on your desk. In this example, the author suggests organizing a closet because the task at hand is cleaning a room. Organizing the closet is part of cleaning a room. It will not help Jed complete the task of reading a long book. Therefore (A) is incorrect.

7 In paragraph 8, the author tells us that famous author Herman Melville was also a procrastinator. According to the author, when Melville struggled to finish his great novel Moby Dick, he reportedly had his wife chain him to his desk. The author then adds: If this sounds a bit extreme to you, there are a few easier ways that you can help yourself stay on task. The author is not suggesting that readers chain themselves to their desks in order to stop procrastinating. The author says that this idea sounds a bit extreme, which shows readers that the author does not actually think that readers should do this. Therefore (B) is correct. In paragraph 8, the author gives readers some ideas to help stop procrastinating. The author writes: If you procrastinate because you are easily distracted, try working in an environment that helps you stay focused. Find a place where there are no televisions. Turn your phone off. If you need your computer to do your work, download software that will temporarily block websites that distract you. Jed s problem does not seem to be that he is too distracted. Based on the information in the question, Jed seems to be procrastinating because he thinks his task is too overwhelming. The book he needs to read is very long and he does not think that he will be able to finish it. Therefore (D) is incorrect.