The Paper Chase

　　1. "Running a house is lot like running a business." says Stephanie Denton, a professional organizer based in Cincinnati, Ohio, who specializes in both residential and commercial paperwork and record keeping. To get a successful grip on organizing documents, bills, and other materials, Denton suggests the following tips:

　　2. Create a space in which you can always do your paperwork. This is perhaps the most important element of a successful system. If you can't devote an entire desk to the task, at least invest in a rolling file cart to store active paperwork and a two-drawer file cabinet for family records. Store the rolling file cart wherever it is most convenient and comfortable to do your work. whether that is the kitchen, office, or family room.

　　3. When in doubt, throw it out, the first step to implementing a workable filling system is to eliminate paper you don't use, don't need, or that you could easily access again elsewhere. Throw out duplicate statements, old catalogs, and all of the coupons, mailings, or offerings you'll never have an opportunity to use or even read.

　　4. Set aside two days a month to pay bills, if a monthly due date doesn't fit into your cycle, call up the creditor and suggest a more convenient date, keep two manila folders at the front of your system for current bills — one to correspond with each bill-paying day — and file all incoming bills. Keep a list in the front of each folder of what needs to be paid in case the invoice never arrives or gets misplaces.

　　5. Think of your filling system not as a rigid tool, but as a living, breathing system that can accommodate your changing needs. A good filling system is both mentally and physically flexible, everyone's needs are different, says Denton, but when devising a filling system, ask yourself: "Where would I look for this?" Create main headings for your filling system, such as investments, Taxes, Children, and so forth, and file individual folders under the main headings. Never overstuff your files.

　　练习：

　　1. Paragraph 2 __________

　　2. Paragraph 3 __________

　　3. Paragraph 4 __________

　　4. Paragraph 5 __________

　　A. Find a Place to Work on

　　B. Implementing a Workable Filing System

　　C. What Is a Good Filing System

　　D. How to Invest in a Rolling File Cart

　　E. Get Rid of Unimportant Things

　　F. Dealing With Bills

　　5. Stephanie Denton is expert _________.

　　6. You can put your file cart anywhere you like, on condition _____________.

　　7. Coupons should be thrown away because ____________.

　　8. "Mentally flexible" indicates the fact ______________.

　　A. they are useless

　　B. in paper chase

　　C. that it is easily reached

　　D. that different people have different requirements

　　E. they are not comfortable

　　F. in investing in coupons

　　答案与题解：

　　1.A　 这段的第一句是主题句，讲的是要为整理文件找到工作空间。

　　2.E 　这段谈及的是，没有用的文件如各种复件、旧索引、优待券等，要及时扔掉。

　　3.F 　这一段讲的是如何处理账单。

　　4.C 　这段讲的是一个好的档案系统应具备的两个条件：既要灵活又要调理清晰。

　　5. B　 Stephanie Denton非常擅长整理档案，所以B是答案。虽然F在语法上讲得过去，但优待券不是可进行投资的东西，所以也就不存在是否擅长做此事的问题。

　　6. C 　文中提到，档案车放在什么地方都可以，前提是使用方便。

　　7. A 　文章说，优待券没什么用，所以应该扔掉。

　　8. D 　文章的最后一段谈到，好的档案系统要有心理和身体两个方面的灵活性，接下去又说，每个人的需要都是不同的。所以答案是D。