The latest research suggests that the key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success. Instead, it’s purposeful practice. Top performers spend more hours practising their craft. It you wanted to picture how a typical genius might develop, you’d take a girl who possessed a slightly above average language ability. It wouldn’t have to be a big talent, just enough so that she might gain some sense of distinction. Then you would want her to meet, say, a novelist, who coincidentally shared some similar qualities. Maybe the writer was from the same town, had the same family background, or shared the same birthday.
This contact would give the girl a vision of her future self. It would hive her some idea of a fascinating circle who might someday join. It would also help if one of her parents died when she was 12, giving her a strong sense of insecurity and fueling a desperate need for success. Armed with this ambition, she would read novels and life stories of writers without end. This would give her a primary knowledge of her field. She’s be able to see new writing in deeper ways and quickly understand its inner workings.
Then she would practise writing. Her practice would be slow, painstaking and error-focused. By practising in this way, she delays the automatizing process. Her mind wants to turn conscious, newly learned skills into unconscious. Automatically performed skills. By practising slowly, by breaking skills down into tiny parts and repeating, she forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance. Then she would find an adviser who would provide a constant stream of feedback, viewing her performance form the outside, correcting the smallest errors, pushing her to take on tougher challenges. By now she is redoing problems — how do I get characters into a room—dozens and dozens of times. She is establishing habits of thought she can call upon in order to understand or solve future problems.
The primary quality our young writer possesses is not some mysterious genius. It’s the ability to develop a purposeful, laborious and boring practice routine; the latest research takes some of the magic out of great achievement. But it underlines a fact that is often neglected. Public discussion is affected by genetics and what we’re “hard-wired” to do. And it’s true that genes play a role in our capabilities. But the brain is also very plastic. We construct ourselves through behaviour. The passage mainly deals with .
A.the function of I.Q. in cultivating a writer |
B.the relationship between genius and success |
C.the decisive factor in making a genius |
D.the way of gaining some sense of distinction |
By reading novels and writers’ stories, the girl could .
A.come to understand the inner structure of writing |
B.join a fascinating circle of writers someday |
C.share with a novelist her likes and dislikes |
D.learn from the living examples to establish a sense of security |
In the girl’s long painstaking training process, ________.
A.her adviser forms a primary challenging force to her success |
B.her writing turns into an automatic pattern of performance |
C.she acquires the magic of some great achievement |
D.she comes to realize she is “hard-wired” to write |
What can be concluded from the passage?
A.A fueling ambition plays a leading role in one’s success |
B.A responsible adviser is more important than the knowledge of writing. |
C.As to the growth of a genius, I.Q. doesn’t matter, but just his/her effort. |
D.What really matters is what you do rather than who you are. |
The evidence for harmony(和谐)may not be clear in some families. But it seems that four in five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly- held image(印象)of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.
An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past. ”We were surprised by just how positive today’s young people seem to be about their families, ”said one member of the research team. ”They’re expected to be rebellious(叛逆的) and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There’s more negotiation(商议) and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don’t want to rock the boat. ”
So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat the children as friends. ”My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me, ”says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall. ”I always tell them when I’m going out clubbing. As long as they know what I’m doing, they’re fine with it. ”Susan Crome, who is now 21, agrees. ”Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I’d done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that. ”
Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenagers’ rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments, ”Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in out social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over. ”What is the popular images of teenagers today?
A.They worry about school | B.They dislike living with their parents |
C.They are locked in to avoid trouble | D.They quarrel a lot with other family members |
The study shows that teenagers don’t want to ___
A. share family responsibility | B. cause trouble in their families |
C. go boating with their family | D. make family decisions |
Compared with parents of 30 years age, today’s parents___.
A. go to clubs more often with their children |
B. are much stricter with their children |
C. care less about their children’s life |
D. give their children more freedom |
What is the passage mainly about?
A. Negotiation in family | B. Education in family |
C. Harmony in family | D. Teenage trouble in family |
Which of the following NOT TRUE?
A.Parents are stricter than their own parents.B Parents get along well with their kids C.Parents will discuss something with their kids D. Harmony in family is important.
Odland remembers like it was yesterday working in an expensive French restaurant in Denver. The ice cream he was serving fell onto the white dress of a rich and important woman.
Thirty years have passed, but Odland can not get the memory out of his mind, nor the woman’s kind reaction(反应). She was shocked, regained calmness and, in a kind voice, told the young Odland. “It is OK. It wasn’t your fault.” When she left the restaurant, she also left the future Fortune 500 CEO(总裁) with a life lesson: You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she treats the waiter.
Odland isn’t the only CEO to have made this discovery. Instead, it seems to be one of those few laws of the land that every CEO learns on the way up. It’s hard to get a dozen CEO’s to agree about anything, but most agree with the Waiter Rule. They say how others treat the CEO says nothing. But how others treat the waiter is like a window into the soul.
Watch out for anyone who pulls out the power card to say something like, “I could buy this place and fire you,” or “I know the owner and I could have you fired.” Those who say such things have shown more about their character(人品) than about their wealth and power.
The CEO who came up with it, or at least first wrote it down, is Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson. He wrote a best-selling book called Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management. “A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person,” Swanson says. “I will never offer a job to the person who is sweet to the boss but turns rude to someone cleaning the tables.” What happened after Odland dropped the ice cream onto the woman’s dress?
A.He was fired. |
B.He was blamed. |
C.The woman comforted him. |
D.The woman left the restaurant at once. |
Odland learned one of his life lessons from ________.
A.his experience as a waiter. |
B.the advice given by the CEOs |
C.an article in Fortune |
D.an interesting best-selling book |
According to the text, most CEOs have the same opinion about ________.
A.Fortune 500 companies | B.the Management Rules |
C.Swanson’s book | D.the Waiter Rule |
From the text we can learn that ________.
A.one should be nicer to important people |
B.CEOs often show their power before others |
C.one should respect others no matter who they are |
D.CEOs often have meals in expensive restaurants |
The underlined word “rude”here means________
A.bad | B.unfriendly | C.terrible | D.friendly |
Is there anything more important than health? I don’t think so.“Health is the greatest wealth(财富),” wise people say. You can’t be good at your studies or well when you are ill.
If you have a headache, toothache, backache, earache or bad pain in the stomach, if you complain of a bad cough, if you run a high temperature and have a bad cold, or if you suffer from high or low blood pressure, I think you should go to the doctor.
The doctor will examine your throat, feel your pulse, test your blood pressure, take your temperature, sound your heart and lungs, test your eyes, check your teeth or have your chest X-rayed. After that he will advise some treatment, or some medicine. The only thing you have to do is to follow his advice.
Speaking about doctor’s advice, I can’t help telling you a funny story.
An old gentleman came to see the doctor. The man was very ill. He told the doctor about his weakness, memory loss and serious problems with his heart and lungs. The doctor examined him and said there was no medicine for his disease.
He told his patient to go to a quiet place for a month and have a good rest. He also advised him to eat a lot of meat, drink two glasses of red wine every day and take long walks. In other words, the doctor advised him to follow the rule: “Eat at pleasure, drink with measure and enjoy life as it is.” The doctor also said that if the man wanted to be well again, he shouldn’t smoke more than one cigarette a day.
A month later the gentleman came into the doctor’s office. He looked cheerful and happy. He thanked the doctor and said that he had never felt a healthier man.
“But you know, doctor,” he said, “it’s not easy to begin smoking at my age.”The writer thinks that .
A.health is more important than wealth |
B.work is as important as studies |
C.medicine is more important than pleasure |
D.nothing is more important than money |
The doctor usually tells his patient what to do .
A.without examining the patient |
B.after he has examined the patient |
C.if the patient doesn’t take medicine |
D.unless the patient feels pain |
The underlined part means “ ”.
A.he was feeling better than ever |
B.he wasn’t a healthy man |
C.he was feeling worse than before |
D.he will be well again |
This passage is developed by _____________.
A.giving time order | B.giving examples |
C.giving tips | D.giving cause and effect |
Which of the following is TRUE?
A.Wealth is more important . |
B.The doctor does not examine his patients carefully |
C.If you have a fever, just stay at home. |
D.The doctor’s advice usually works. |
Many people influenced various aspects of my life, based on their personal characteristics, accomplishments and values. I have been fortunate to have had numerous teachers and professors who I respect for their patience and intelligence. There are artists that have inspired me by their natural talents and original creativity. I value many political leaders, who have inspired me by their contributions to society, and their ability to change our futures. But of all the people I have known in my life, the person I admire most is my father.
As the youngest girl in my family, I always considered myself to be “Daddy's little girl”. While I grew up, it always made me sad to see so many of my friends and neighbors without a father or father-like figure around. This helped me appreciate how my father always takes an interest in his children's lives. In every aspect of my life my father continuously pushes me to excel, so I could accomplish my work outstandingly among my people. Whenever I feel like giving up, or have a question or a concern, I know I can always call on him for advice. From him I have also learned that sometimes you have to put others' needs ahead of your own, but you should make sure you are not taken advantage of by others. His strength seems to be unbreakable during hard times, and he is extremely determined to accomplish anything he sets his mind on, no matter how tiny it is. I highly respect him for how he stands up for what he believes in, and will never back down. I have always admired his open mind, compassion(同情) for people, and sense of understanding. He is a very reserved(保守的) man, but to everybody's surprise, he has a great sense of humor, and always knows how to put a smile on the faces of his wife, his children and his friends.
Living in his affection and instruction, I am very proud of my father. He also professes how proud he is of his children, and is still there to support us in whatever we are involved in.Which of the following could not be used to describe the author's father?
A.Considerate and humorous. | B.Affectionate and open-minded. |
C.Energetic and helpful. | D.Learned and fashionable. |
Which of the following can best explain the underlined word“excel”?
A.Show off. | B.Do better than others. |
C.Be cleverer than others. | D.Keep healthy. |
According to the underlined part, the father was telling the author to _________
A.try to be good to those who were worth making friends with. |
B.try to take advantage of those who were friendly to her. |
C.think about others and help them, but not to be made use of in a negative way. |
D.think about others and help them, so that she could make them serve her. |
What can we infer about the author?
A.She appreciated her father because he solved all the problems for her. |
B.She considered her father humorous and was often made to laugh by him. |
C.She was outstanding in work because her father pushed her hard. |
D.She had compassion for the fatherless. |
For five days, Edmonton's Downtown Park is transformed into one huge stage where artists are able to share their talents, and where people are able to celebrate and enjoy themselves .Since its beginning in 1980, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival has been commemorating(纪念)the true feeling of what folk music is all about and that's the traditional togetherness(友爱)that is felt when people gather to share stories and feelings through song.
This year will be the sixth year when volunteer Riedel will be offering up her time to the festival. "People coming off a busy spring and summer have a moment of relaxation ," Riedel said. "It's really easy to relax, and it's great seeing family and friends have fun together." These families and friends come from all different kinds of musical tastes. People who take pleasure in Blues are there, so are people who love Bluegrass. This festival does its best to develop everyone's musical interests.
With so many years of experience, the festival has become a well-oiled machine, and does whatever it can to make attendees feel as comfortable as possible. There are free water stations throughout the venue(举办地)for people to fill up their travel cups. When people buy food, reusable dishes are given a $2 plate fee, but that is returned when the plate is brought back.
The festival has completely sold out of tickets, and in record time. But with big names such as Van Morrison and Jakob Dylan, it’s easy to see how that was going to happen. There is no parking area during the festival, so using the Park & Ride system or Edmonton Transit is highly recommended. A bike lock-up area is provided and will be available Thursday until Sunday one hour before the gates open until 45 minutes after the gates close.
The Edmonton Folk Music Festival begins on Wednesday, Aug.4 with Van Morrison playing the special donation fund (基金)concert, and will finish up on Sunday, Aug.8.The Edmonton Folk Music Festival is held mainly to ___________.
A.remind people of the real sense of folk music |
B.gather people with different musical tastes |
C.exhibitive good voices of great talents in folk music |
D.collect old stories of folk music |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.It's hard for people to appreciate Blues. |
B.Riedel has volunteered for the festival for at least 5years. |
C.It costs people a little to fill up their cups from water stations. |
D.People have to pay $2 for a plate of food. |
We can learn from the passenger that____.
A.people can get tickets easily for the festival |
B.driving one's own car to the festival is highly recommended |
C.the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is highly recommended. |
D.bikes are available at the festival from Wednesday to Sunday |
What would the best title for the passenger?
A.Folk Music of Blues | B.One Festival Family Gathering |
C.Festival for family Gathering | D.Edmonton’s Downtown Park |