Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family, and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck. I’m not going to say luck, talent, and circumstances don’t come into play because they do. Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence, and that’s just the reality of how life is.
However, to succeed in life, one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical. And, in addition to that, in order to get really good at something, one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practicing. To become great at certain things, it’ll require even more time, time that most people won’t put in.
This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don’t enjoy what you do, it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.
When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success, you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost. It’s sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent, but thinking that way does you no good, and there’s a huge chance that you’re wrong anyway.
Whatever you do, if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out, almost to the point of addiction, and over a long period of time. If you’re not willing to put in the time and work, don’t expect to receive any rewards. Consistent hard work won’t ensure you the level of success you may want, but it will ensure that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.Paragraph 1 mainly talks about ________.
| A．the meaning of success | B．the reasons for success |
| C．the standards of success | D．the importance of success |
In Paragraph 2, the underlined word “that” refers to ______.
| A．setting a practical goal | B．being good at something |
| C．putting in more time | D．succeeding in life |
Successful people suggest doing what one loves because ______.
| A．it takes a lot of time to succeed |
| B．work makes one feel pain |
| C．one gives up his work easily |
| D．one tends to enjoy his work |
What can we infer from Paragraph 4?
| A．Successful people like to show their great skills. |
| B．People sometimes succeed without luck or talent. |
| C．People need to achieve success at the cost of life. |
| D．It helps to think that luck or talent leads to success. |
Heading off to college this year? Here are some fashion tips from our experts you should keep in mind;
Dress to impress: Stylist and business consultant Daniela Smith says, "Girls should keep in mind that your college professors will often be the bridge that connects you to your future career and your classmates will become your professional．network． You don't need to dress like you're going to the office, but you should display an ability to properly present yourself with appropriate maturity and confidence, and look put-together．"
Lo go mania（品牌热症）: Wearing the logos of brands aimed at younger customers physically identifies you as part of that age group, so consider the targeted age group of the stores you shop at．It's tempting to load up on logos, especially well-known logos that signify high-end brands．But consider this: college is a time of self-discovery, a chance to develop your own personal style．Instead of wearing logos head to toe, "walking advertisement"-style, why not express who you really are?
Wear real pants: The combination of leggings and baggy shirts is all too common on college campuses．Smith points out that leggings, yoga pants, and sweatpants are entirely unacceptable in public unless you're exercising． Although leggings worn as pants are a common trend among high school and college girls, they are not an appropriate choice for daywear; As a young woman, your style choice should begin to reflect your maturity level．So, get rid of leggings and wear real pants!
Keep the cute factor to a minimum: Stay away from sweaters and T-shirts with smiling animals, cartoon characters, or Hello Kitty on them．Sure, kittens might be cute, but they're not doing you any favors in the style department．Dressing too cutesy can take years off your look, and not necessarily in a good way!The second paragraph indicates the importance of .
| A．impressing professors | B．getting on well with classmates |
| C．creating a professional image | D．dressing appropriately |
The author believes that college girls should.
| A．choose a logo that suits their age |
| B．try to load up on well-known logos |
| C．use logos to show who they are |
| D．find their identity by trying different logos |
In which magazine would you most likely find this passage?
| A．Business Week． | B．Parents |
| C．In style． | D．Travel&Leisure |
When something goes wrong, it can be very satisfying to say, "Well, it's so-and-so's fault． "or "I know I'm late, but it's not my fault; the car broke down． "It is probably not your fault, but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation, you are a loser． You have no power and can do nothing that helps change the situation． However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation．This is the winner's key to success．
Winners are great at overcoming problems． For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car examined more regularly．Or, you might start to carry along with you useful phone numbers, so you can call for help when in need．For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person．Ask to work with a different person, or don't rely on this person．You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well．
This is what being a winner is all about－creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. winners don't have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on "whose fault it is." Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stop on for success.According to the passage, winners．
| A．deal with problems rather than blame others |
| B．meet with fewer difficulties in their lives |
| C．have responsible and able colleagues |
| D．blame themselves rather than others |
The underlined word remedy in Paragraph l is closest in meaning to．
| A．avoid | B．accept | C．improve | D．consider |
When your colleague brings about a problem, you should．
| A．find a better way to handle the problem |
| B．blame Nm for his lack of responsibility |
| C．tell him to find the cause of the problem |
| D．ask your boss for help |
When problems occur, winners take them as．
| A．excuses for their failures | B．barriers to greater power |
| C．challenges to their colleagues | D．chances for self-development |
The world is filled with smart, talented, educated and gifted people．We meet them every day A few days ago, my car was not running well．I pulled it in to a garage and the young mechanic had it fixed in just a few minutes．He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine．I was amazed．The sad truth is that great talent is not enough．
I am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn. I heard the other day that less than 5 percent of Americans earn more than $100,000 a year. A business consultant who specializes in1 the medical trade was telling me how many doctors and dentists struggle financially. It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase, “They are one skill away from great wealth．”
There is an old saying that goes, "Job means 'just over broke（破产）’"．And unfortunately, I would say that the saying applies to millions of people．Because schools do not think financial intelligence is intelligence, most workers "live within their means"．They work and they pay the bills．Instead I recommend to young people to seek work for what they will learn, more than what they will earn．
When I ask the classes I teach, “How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonald's?” almost all the students raise their hands. I then ask, “So if most of you can cook a better hamburger, how come McDonald's makes more money than you?” The answer is obvious: McDonald's is excellent at business systems. The world is filled with talented poor people. They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger.The author mentions the mechanic in the first paragraph to show that．
| A．he is just one of the talented people |
| B．he is ready to help others |
| C．he has a sharp sense of hearing |
| D．he knows little about car repairing |
The underlined part in the third paragraph can be best replaced by____．
| A．spend more than they can afford |
| B．do in their own way |
| C．1ive in their own circle |
| D．1ive within what they earn |
Why do talented people earn so little according to the author?
| A．They don’t work hard enough |
| B．They lack financial intelligence． |
| C．They don't make full use of their talents |
| D．They have no specialized skills． |
The main purpose of the author is to tell us____．
| A．how young people can find a satisfactory job |
| B．What schools should teach about finance |
| C．why so many talented people are poor |
| D．how McDonald's makes much money |
Detective Keeling took his client — a good-looking lady into the back yard of the store together. The lady opened a door in the wall and they entered the small room behind the store. They crossed the room to a locked door.
M r. Keeling took some special keys from his pocket. Moments later, one of the keys unlocked the door. The lady went into the store. She said she would hide under the table to keep watch on her husband. Mr. Keeling did not follow her.
The detective went quickly to the policeman’s house. Then the two men hurried to the jewellery store. They looked through the window. The policeman was surprised. He spoke to Mr. Keeling. “I don’t understand. You told me, ‘Robbins took a young woman to a restaurant.’ Where is she?”
“There she is !” said Mr. Keeling. He pointed through the window.
“Do you know the lady with Robbins?” asked the policeman.
“That’s his secret friend,” said Mr. Keeling.
“No! You’re wrong! That’s Robbins’ wife,” said the policeman. “I’ve known her for fifteen years.”
“What ?” the detective shouted. His face became pale. “Who is under the table in the store?”
He started to kick the door of the jewellery store.
Mr. Robbins came to the door and opened it. The policeman and the detective ran into the store.
“Look under that table!” shouted the detective. “Be quick!”
The policeman lifted the cloth and put his arm under the table. He pulled out a black dress, a black veil and a woman’s wig(假发).
“Is this young lady your wife?” Mr. Keeling asked the jeweler. He pointed at the woman.
“Yes! She is my wife !” said Mr. Robbins angrily. “Why did you kick my door? Why are those clothes under my table?”
“Please check all the jewellery in your store, Mr. Robbins,” the policeman said. “Is anything missing?”
Some diamond rings and some expensive necklaces were missing. The missing jewellery was worth ＄800.
Later that night, Mr. Keeling was sitting in his office. He was looking through a big book of photographs. They were photographs of criminals. The policeman had brought the book to the detective’s office. Suddenly, Mr. Keeling stopped turning the pages. He looked at a picture of a handsome young man with a familiar face.
The next morning, Mr. Keeling paid the jeweler ＄800, and then closed his office.At the beginning, the lady was able to go into the jewellery store because ___________.
| A．she went to the back yard and found the way |
| B．she was the owner of the store and had the key |
| C．two men helped her together to enter the store |
| D．Mr. Keeling unlocked the back door to the store |
The young lady who stayed with Mr. Robbins in the jewellery store was actually _________.
| A．Mr. Robbins’ sister | B．Mr. Robbins’ secret friend |
| C．Mr. Robbins’ wife | D．a clever thief |
It can be inferred from the passage that Mr. Keeling cooperated with his client _____________.
| A．so that he could get some jewellery from the store |
| B．because he thought he was helping the lady |
| C．because he wanted to play a joke on Mr. Robbins |
| D．so that he could get a job as a policeman |
The missing jewellery worth＄800 was in fact taken away by _____________.
| A．a young woman | B．a young man | C．a detective | D．a policeman |
Antidepressant（抗忧郁）drugs such as Prozac were viewed in the early 1900's as wonder pills that would remove depressive blues for good. But in the past five years, growing scientific evidence has shown these drugs work for only a minority of people. And now a research journal says that these antidepressants can make many patients' depression worse. This alarming suggestion centres on the very chemical that is targeted by antidepressants-serotonin（血清素）. Drugs such as Prozac are known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors（or SSRIs）. Their aim is to increase the level of this “feel-good” chemical in the brain.
But the new research, published in the journal Frontiers In Evolutionary Psychology, points out that serotonin is like a chemical Swiss Army knife, performing a very wide range of jobs in the brain and body. And when we start changing serotonin levels purposely, it may cause a wide range of unwanted effects. These can include digestive problems and even early deaths in older people, according to the study's lead researcher Paul Andrews. “ We need to be much more cautious about use of these drugs,” says Andrews, an assistant professor of evolutionary psychology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.
Previous research has suggested that the drugs provide little benefit for most people with mild depression, and actively help only a few of the most severely depressed. Famous psychologist Irving Kirsch has found that for many patients, SSRIs are no more effective than a placebo pill. A research in 2010 on Danish children found a small, but significant, increase in the risk of heart problems among babies whose mothers had used SSRIs in early pregnancy. The key to understanding these side-effects is serotonin, says Andrews. Serotonin is also the reason why patients can often end up feeling still more depressed after they have finished a course of SSRI drugs. He argues that SSRI antidepressants disturb the brain, leaving the patient an even greater depression than before.
“After long use, when a patient stops taking SSRIs, the brain will lower its levels of serotonin production,” he says, adding that it also changes the way receptors in the brain respond to serotonin, making the brain less sensitive to the chemical. These changes are believed to be temporary, but studies indicate that the effects may continue for up to two years.
Most disturbingly of all, Andrews' review features three recent studies which, he says , show that elderly antidepressant users are more likely to die earlier than non-users, even after taking other important variables into account. One study, published in the British Medical Journal last year, found patients given SSRIs were more than 4 per cent more likely to die in the next year than those not on the drugs.
“Serotonin is an ancient chemical,” says Andrews. “It is regulating many different processes, and when you disturb these things, you can expect that it is going to cause some harm.”
Stafford Lightman, professor of medicine at the University of Bristol, and a leading UK expert in brain chemicals and hormones, says Andrews’ review highlights some important problems, yet it should also be taken with a pinch of salt. “This report is doing the opposite of what drug companies do,” he says. “Drug companies selectively present all the positives in their research, while this search selectively presents all the negatives that can be found. Nevertheless, Andrews' study is useful in that it is always worth pointing out that there is a downside to any medicine. ” Professor Lightman adds that there is still a great deal we don't know about SSRIs-not least what they actually do in our brains.
When it comes to understanding why the drugs work only for a limited part of patients, U.S. scientists think they might now have the answer. They think that in many depressed patients, it’s not only the lack of feel-good serotonin causing their depression, but also a failure in the area of the brain that produces new cells throughout our lives. This area, the hippocampus, is also responsible for regulating mood and memory. Research suggests that in patients whose hippocampus has lost the ability to produce new cells, SSRIs do not bring any benefit.According to paragraph 2, serotonin, like a chemical Swiss Army knife, can .
| A．make many patients' depression worse |
| B．cause a wide range of unwanted effects |
| C．affect human body and brain in various ways |
| D．provide little benefit for most depressed people |
In Stafford Lightman's opinion,.
| A．drug companies don't know the negative effect of antidepressants |
| B．Andrews focused on different things from the drug companies |
| C．scientists have found what SSRIs do in the brain |
| D．Andrews' research has no medical value |
Which of the following is TRUE about SSRIs?
| A．They are used to increase the “feel-good” medical in the brain. |
| B．They can work even when the hippocampus can't produce new cells. |
| C．They create a risk of heart problems in pregnant women. |
| D．They are responsible for controlling mood and memory. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．The aim of drug companies |
| B．The function of SSRIs |
| C．The side-effects of antidepressants |
| D．The cause of depression |