TheImportanceofDoing

1. On the basis of this essay, what kinds of things should one do badly? Would writing 500-word themes come under the category of things worth doing badly? Explain.

2. In his attack on the ides of handicaps does the author ignore the importance of competition as an element of amateur sports?

3. Identify two different kinds of bad effects stemming from an adherence to the adage “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well.”

4. Why did Williams decide to use a single sentence for paragraph 5?

5. In paragraph 15 the author suggests that beyond human relationships there is generally one thing worth doing well. What is it?

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[1] Herber Spencer (1820—1903), noted British philosopher

[2] Walter de la Mare (1873—1956), an English poet and novelist

[3] William Butler Yeats (1865—1939), an Irish playwright and poet

[4] Robert Bridges (1844—1930), an English poet and essayist (接下页)

草草行事的重要性

I. A. 维廉斯

查尔斯·兰姆曾执笔千言，其随笔不乏广为流传的谬论，可惜我一时记不清具体的例子。受我狡猾的仆人空前绝后的迷惑，我倒觉得他没写过什么我认为有害却被公众交口称赞的文章。下面这句看似真理实为荒谬的格言，从儿时至今，直到步入老年，一直不断敲打我，谆谆告诫我，“一件事只要值得一做，一定要好好去做”。

他也许为一小撮人带来了娱乐，可他从没敢奢望公众会为他的表演付款，而这可是我们检验表演者选择职业的理由。当一天结束以后，他给这个世界，给他自己留下了什么呢？除了很快淡忘的名声，了无他物，至多被俱乐部的肥胖绅士偶尔提起而已。