Make Up Your Mind to Succeed
Kind-hearted parents have unknowingly left their children defenseless against failure. The generation born between 1980 and 2001 grew up playing sports where scores and performance were played down because “everyone’s winner.” And their report cards sounded more positive (正面的) than ever before. As a result, Stanford University professor Carol Dweck, PhD, calls them “the overpraised generation.”
Dweck has been studying how people deal with failure for 40 years. Her research has led her to find out two clearly different mind-sets that have a great effect on how we react to it. Here’s how they work:
A fixed mind-set is grounded in the belief that talent (才能) is genetic – you’re a born artist, point guard, or numbers person. The fixed mind-set believes he’s sure to succeed without much effort and regards failure as personal shame. When things get difficult, he’s quick to blame, lie, and even stay away from future difficulties.
On the other hand, a growth mind-set believes that no talent is entirely heaven-sent and that effort and learning make everything possible. Because the ego (自尊) isn’t on the line as much, the growth mind-set sees failure as a chance rather than shame. When faced with a difficulty, he’s quick to rethink, change and try again. In fact, he enjoys this experience.
We are all born with growth mind-sets. (Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to live in the world.) But parents, teachers, and instructors often push us into fixed mind-sets by encouraging certain actions and misdirecting praise. Dweck’s book, Mind-set: The New Psychology of Success, and online instructional program explain this in depth. But she says there are many little things you can start doing today to make sure that your children, grandchildren and even you are never defeated by failure. What does the author think about the present generation?
| A．They don’t do well at school. | B．They are often misunderstood. |
| C．They are eager to win in sports. | D．They are given too much praise. |
A fixed mind-set person is probably one who ___ .
| A．doesn’t want to work hard |
| B．cares a lot about personal safety |
| C．cannot share his ideas with others |
| D．can succeed with the help of teachers |
What does the growth mind-set believe?
| A．Admitting failure is shameful. |
| B．Talent comes with one’s birth. |
| C．Scores should be highly valued. |
| D．Getting over difficulties is enjoyable. |
What should parents do for their children based on Dweck’s study?
| A．Encourage them to learn from failures. |
| B．Prevent them from making mistakes. |
| C．Guide them in doing little things. |
| D．Help them grow with praise. |
It was once unheard-of to be a businessman in China. Nowadays, though, it’s quite common to become your own boss. Let’s say you have an idea. Maybe you want to open an English school or sell Japanese comics. First, you need a business plan. It sets out what you’ll sell and how much everything will cost. Most businesses that fail didn’t have this. If you need to borrow money at the start, banks will ask for a detailed plan.
The best starting place for a business plan is the 4Ps: product, place, price and promotion. All these must be strong to be successful.
Product
Your product must have something unique. What makes it special compared to other similar products? If you want to start a noodle shop that has nothing new, don’t expect people to show much interest. You can research your product. For food, let people try it for free. For toys, let a few children play with them to see if they like them.
Place
There’s no point having a product that people want to buy if your shop is in an empty mall. Think about which type of person is going to buy what you sell. Where do they usually go shopping? When looking at possible places, spend the day there. See how many people pass by. Also, are there other shops nearby selling similar products? If so, how can you be better than them?
Price
Work out how much it costs to make or provide your product. As a general rule, your price will be double the cost. After all, you’re also paying for rent, staff and you need to eat too!
Promotion
How can you attract people to your shop? Advertising in newspapers and on TV is expensive. Perhaps you can get free advertising by getting a newspaper to write about your business.What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．How to start a business. |
| B．Starting a business soon. |
| C．Starting your own business. |
| D．Preparations for starting a business. |
According to the author, the reason why most businesses fail is due to lack of ________.
| A．a business plan | B． a shop | C． money | D． successful businessmen |
If you want to start a noodle shop, you should ________.
| A．expect people to show much interest |
| B．research your noodles |
| C．let people try it at a low price |
| D．let children have a try |
What does “If so” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
| A．There are shops selling the goods like yours. |
| B．Many people pass by. |
| C．You should think about which type of person is going to buy what you sell. |
| D．You should spend the day on possible places. |
You are selling toys to children. It costs 5 yuan to make each one. How much should you charge the children for each toy?
| A．15 yuan. | B． 5 yuan. | C． 10 yuan. | D． 50 yuan. |
"The Chinese Dream" is a hot topic of this year. Many Chinese young people are inspired by the Chinese Dream. Everyone has their own dreams. They give us courage and confidence to keep us going through difficulties. Here are some advice on how to realize our beautiful dreams.
Never giving up is the key to make our dreams come true. We may fail from time to time, but we can learn from failure, correct our mistakes and try again until we achieve our goals. Our life is like a long journey which is not all roses. It sometimes has wind and rain. We believe rainbows will appear after storms.
Cooperation is also necessary. Everyone likes a person who is good at cooperating with others. Besides, in our society most problems can't be solved by one person alone. Cooperation is becoming one of the most important ways for people living in the developing society.
At the same time, we should learn to examine our abilities because it helps us know our advantages and disadvantages as well as get a full control of ourselves. Then we may be confident enough to face challenges.
Follow the suggestions above, and our dreams are sure to come true.How many suggestions of making dreams come true are mentioned in this passage?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
The underlined word "It" in the second paragraph refers to
| A．never giving up our dreams | B．our life |
| C．a long journey | D．learning from failure |
Which is the best title for this passage?
| A．The Chinese Dream |
| B．Cooperation is Necessary |
| C．Examine Our Abilities |
| D．Advice on How to Realize Our Beautiful Dreams. |
Water is the most common substance(物质) found on the earth, but less than 1% of the earth’s water is suitable for drinking. More than 1,000,000,000 people around the world survive on just over 1 galon of water a day. Probebly more than 3,000,000,000 people may suffer from not having enough water by the year 2025. You are considered lucky if you live in a country where you can drink water out of your kitchen tap or bathroom tap. People in some countries have to pay for drinking water at home. So clean water is one of our most valuabe natural resources(资源).
In fact, peole waste so much clean water today. In factories lots of water is wasted. At home many people are not taking showers but still baths, and many are brushing their teeth with the tap turned on. Children are no longer taught how to save water….
You can save clean water in many ways. For example, if you keep gold fish, the tank water excellent for graden plants. And when you wash a milk bottle, pour the water on your house plants. Putting a brick or a water into your toilet tank many help use less water, saving many gallons over a long time.
Using rainwater is another simple way to save clean water. You can use rainwater to wash your hands after gardening, flush the toilet, and wash your car, your pet, your driveway when they are dirty.
For the same reason, people in Malaysia are encourageed to use rainwater. If one has a house with a small garden, he would buy a huge plastic tank to keep rainwater for their daily life.We can learn from the passage ______.
| A．when man can’t live without water |
| B．where there is no water resource |
| C．why there is less water on the earth |
| D．how important it is to save water |
According to the passage, one of the ways to save water is _______.
| A．to stop keeping gold fish |
| B．to pay much for drinking water |
| C．to use it in a clever way |
| D．to educate those who waste water |
The underlined word “flush” in Paragraph 4 means “_______”.
| A．clean something with water |
| B．pour water over something |
| C．make somehting wet with water |
| D．get water out of someghing |
People are ecouraged to use rainwater _______.
| A．so that is can make our life easier |
| B．so that clean water can be kept for other uses |
| C．because is it free and easy to get |
| D．because there is no claen water left for them |
Over thirty thousand years ago，people from northern Asia （亚洲北部） went to America．Today， we call these people Indians（印第安人）．
The Indians went to America because the weather began to change．Northern Asia became very cold. Everything froze. They had to move or die. How did the first Indians go to America? They walked！
Later Columbus found the New World in 1492．At first，only a few Europeans followed（跟随）．They travelled to America in boats． For the next three hundred years， about 500，000 people went there． Then the number grew very quickly. From 1815 to 1915，over thirty－two million Europeans left their countries and went to the United States． The biggest groups were from Germany and Italy（意大利）．These Europeans spoke many different languages．Most of them took almost no money．They went to America so that they could find a better life． __________ went to America first．
| A．People from northern Asia | B．People from Europe |
| C．People from Germany | D．Columbus |
Why did the Indians go to America? Because __________．
| A．northern Asia became very hot |
| B．northern Asia became very cold |
| C．they were interested in America |
| D．they liked travelling |
The New World was ___________．
| A．Italy | B．northern Asia |
| C．Germany | D．America |
The first Europeans went to America _______________．
| A．by ship | B．by bike | C．by boat | D．by train |
Having a teenager at home can be a real headache. Many teenagers smoke, drink and even fight. They often do something dangerous.
Earlier studies have shown that teenagers are more likely (可能) to make irrational decisions than people from any other age group, including children and adults. Is it that teenagers are too young to tell right from wrong? Not really. So what’s the reason?
According to Laurence, a teacher from a US university, the reason is that teenagers care a lot about how their peers (同龄人) view them—that is “peer influence”.
As children enter their teenage years, they spend more time with their friends and classmates, and also they care more about what they think of them. This makes teenagers make decisions without thinking about the costs.
In a test, a group of teenagers were asked to play a video driving game. When they played with their friends watching around them, they took more chances and drove more carelessly because that would increase their possibility of winning. But when they played alone, they drove more safely.
Why do peers have such a big influence on teens’ behavior?
As Laurence sees it, a teenager’s brain is like a car with a good accelerator (油门) but a weak brake (刹车). The “accelerator” is fully developed by teenage years while the “brake” is still not fully developed. When teenagers are watched by their peers, they usually push hard on the accelerator. With their weak brake, it is likely that they are going to end up in an accident.
But the good news is that a violent (暴力的)teenager doesn’t necessarily become a violent adult. About two-thirds to three-quarters of violent youth grow out of it. “They get more self-controlled.”What does the underlined word “irrational” in the 2nd paragraph mean?
| A．Quick. | B．Crazy. | C．Careful. | D．Correct. |
Why are teenagers likely to make wrong decisions according to the text?
| A．They like difficult tasks. |
| B．They don’t care about costs. |
| C．They are too young to tell right from wrong. |
| D．They care a lot about what their peers think of them. |
How does Laurence explain the influence of peer pressure on teens’ behavior?
| A．By comparing it with how a car works. |
| B．By comparing it with an accident. |
| C．By showing research findings. |
| D．By giving examples. |
According to the text, with peers around them, teenagers are more likely to _______ .
| A．use more self-control |
| B．perform better than when they are alone |
| C．become more careful about what they do |
| D．care about winning without thinking about danger |