Part 1 · Exercise 1 — The cult of busyness

THE CULT OF BUSYNESS Not so long ago, a life of leisure was the ultimate mark of status. Today, by contrast, we tend to ¹— select —A — compareB — associateC — blameD — approve busyness with success. Ask people how they are, and many will ²— select —A — giveB — takeC — letD — put out a weary sigh before telling you how rushed off their feet they have been. Being permanently overstretched has somehow come to be ³— select —A — regardedB — namedC — thoughtD — meant as proof of one's importance. Researchers who have studied the trend, however, ⁴— select —A — makeB — raiseC — ringD — sound a note of caution. Frantic activity, they point out, is all too often ⁵— select —A — confusedB — mistakenC — replacedD — exchanged for genuine productivity, when the two in fact have very little in common. The relentless pace also leaves precious little ⁶— select —A — wayB — partC — roomD — turn for the kind of unhurried thinking that allows fresh ideas to ⁷— select —A — takeB — makeC — formD — give shape. It may, therefore, be time to ⁸— select —A — leaveB — quitC — resignD — abandon the comfortable assumption that a crowded diary is something worth boasting about.