People often ask me how I became successful in that six-year period of time while many of the people I knew did not. The answer is simple: The things I found to be easy to do, they found to be easy not to do.
I found it easy to set the goals that could change my life. They found it easy not to. I found it easy to read the books that could affect my thinking. They found that easy not to. I found it easy to attend the classes. They said it probably really wouldn’t matter. Six years later, I’m a millionaire and they are all still blaming the economy, the government and company policies. They neglected(忽视) to do the basic, easy things.
In fact, the primary reason most people are not doing can be summed up in a single word: neglect. It is not the lack of money – banks are full of money. It is not the lack of opportunity – the government continues to offer the most opportunities. It is not the lack of books – libraries are full of books – and they are free! It is not the schools – the classrooms are full of good teachers. We have plenty of good advisors. The major reason that so few take advantage of all that we have is neglect.
Don’t do the things which cause us to feel guilty(感到内疚的) and guilt erodes our self-confidence. As our self-confidence reduces, so does the level of our activity. And as our activity goes down, so do our results. And as our results suffer, our attitude begins to weaken. And as our attitude begins changing from positive to negative, our self-confidence becomes even less … and on and on it goes.
So my suggestion is that when giving choice of “easy to” and “easy not to”, do not neglect to do the simple, basic, “easy” but potentially life-changing activities.Why did the author become a millionaire in six years?
| A．He was a very lucky man. |
| B．He didn’t come across difficulties. |
| C．He did some basic and easy things. |
| D．He set himself long-term life goals. |
The underlined word “erodes” in Paragraph 4 probably means “_____”.
| A．changes | B．neglects |
| C．weakens | D．exposes |
What is the main reason that some people fail to succeed?
| A．They don’t have good opportunities. |
| B．They neglect the importance of success. |
| C．They lack the government’s support. |
| D．They don’t make use of what they have. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Being self-confident works |
| B．Nothing can not be neglected |
| C．Everything is easy to do |
| D．Success is easy, but so is neglect |
Four simple keys to transform your life
The power of choice.
Every one of us makes countless choices every day. Every choice we make has an impact on our lives. Even insignificant choices can affect what we experience and how we feel. When hunger strikes, we can reach for a healthy, nutritious snack, or we can choose the sugar high of junk food. The more important the decision, the greater its effect. For instance, how do I act towards that person who treated me badly? Do I generally choose to be passive, or do I actively set clear intentions and create what I want in my life? Every choice we make, however big or small, affects us in some way.
How do you make choices?
If you are interested in living a richer, fuller life, there is a foundation upon which you can base all of your decisions which can make life better not only for you, but also for those around you. This foundation is to choose based on what’s best for all. Imagine a world where every parent, spouse(配偶), friend, teacher, businessperson, and politician truly did their best to choose what’s best for all involved in every decision they made. We would certainly live in a more caring, supportive world.
It’s the intention.
“But how do I know what is really best?” you might ask. The answer is simple. It doesn’t matter. What matters is not the choice you make, but rather the intention behind your choice. What matters is that whatever decision you make, you are clear in your intention of choosing based on what’s best for all. If it later turns out that you made what appears to have been a bad choice, there’s no need for guilt. Knowing that you did your best to choose with a sincere desire for what’s best for all, your conscience stays clear and open. This then allows you to more easily learn from your mistakes, and to live with a clear heart and mind.
What’s best for me, too!
Choosing what’s best does not mean you have to always sacrifice yourself for other. An overly(过度的) exhausted mother can lose her temper easily. Some time off for this mother might seem selfish, yet in the long run, it can help her to be a better mother to her children. So as we move through each day of our lives, let us remember to include ourselves as we do our best to choose what’s best for all.According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Every one of us makes countless choices every day. |
| B．Every choice, however big or small, has an influence on us. |
| C．People act differently towards the person who treated them badly. |
| D．People tend to reach for a junk snack when hunger strikes. |
How should we make choices?
| A．To be interested in a richer, fuller life. |
| B．To make life better for ourselves. |
| C．To base our choices on what’s best for all. |
| D．To imagine a world where everyone did their best. |
According to the author, what is really best?
| A．The choice you make. | B．The intention behind your choice. |
| C．The mistake you learn from. | D．The consequence of your choice. |
To choose what is best for us, we’d better ________.
| A．try to be selfish all the time | B．sacrifice ourselves for others |
| C．set aside some time for ourselves | D．control our temper before children |
These days, many passers-by always spot a beggar on the Jiaochangkou Street in Yuzhong District of Chongqing in southwest China.
The beggar’s name is Xia Haibo, and he was born in Meihe Village, Tianmen City of Hubei Province. Being 25 years old, he is quite a special beggar in some ways — he doesn’t beg on his knees, as other beggars do when begging. Rather, he often stands in the crowded street, either reading a book or thinking about something carefully. He also started a blog on the Internet which has been clicked more than 500,000 times. He likes reading — he has read many classical Chinese poems. He has kept writing and recently, he has planned to publish his writings.
In 1998, Xia entered Tianmen Middle School as the best student in his town. However, a year before he took the college entrance examination, he came down with a high fever and was later diagnosed (诊断) as having rheumatoid arthritis (类风湿性关节炎). In order to treat his disease, his father borrowed 60,000 yuan from relatives and friends. However, with this money, he didn’t recover from the disease. He did not want to become a burden (负担) to his family any more. So in July, 2006, he left his hometown and went to Wuhan to make a living by begging.
Begging has become a job to Xia now. However, he doesn’t plan to go on living like this. “By July 24, 2008, when I have been begging for two years, I will stop my begging life. I promise,” he said.
It is his plan that by using the money he “earns”, he will rent a small shop in his hometown and keep on writing in his spare time.
Right now, he is trying to finish a book of his own. The book, called Love Is With Me, tells about the people who helped him during his begging life. The underlined word “spot” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to “______”.
| A．forgive | B．record | C．beat | D．notice |
When did Xia Haibo get the serious illness?
| A．In 1998. | B．In 2001. | C．In 2000. | D．In 2006. |
How does Xia beg in the street?
| A．He begs on his knees in the street. |
| B．He writes Chinese poems for those who like poems. |
| C．He reads or thinks while standing in the street. |
| D．He teaches people how to surf the Internet. |
Which of the following is NOT true about Xia Haibo?
| A．His dream is to have his book published. |
| B．He will not stop begging until he earns enough money for his future life. |
| C．He is writing a book to express his thanks to those who helped him. |
| D．He will keep writing while running a small business. |
The life-long benefits of teaching children how to take care of their money make it well worth the effort. Children who are not taught these lessons pay the consequences for a life time. Some parents don’t teach children about money because they think they shouldn’t talk about money with children, don’t have the time, or think they don’t have enough money. Parents should take the time to teach children about money regardless of their income and should start when children are young.
Most people have strong feelings and opinions about money, based on childhood experiences and the values and beliefs of their families. Most often, these experiences, values, and beliefs are different for each parent. Parents should talk about these feelings and opinions and establish an unchanging approach（方式） to teaching children about money. This is important for the healthy development of children.
Here are some tips that parents can keep in mind as they begin teaching their children to manage money:
★ Guide and advise your children how to spend their money, rather than tell them what they can and cannot do.
★ Encourage and praise children rather than criticize their actions.
★ Allow children to learn by mistakes and by successes.
★ Be consistent（前后一致的） while taking children’s differences into consideration.
★ Include all family members in money management discussions, decision making, and activities that are suitable for their age. As children get older include them in discussions of limits and consequences.
★ Expect all family members to do some everyday chores based on their abilities without being paid.
★ Express your desire to have things you can’t afford. Children need to know that parents say “no” to themselves, too. It is _____ for parents to teach their children about money management in their childhood.
| A．easy | B．useless | C．too early | D．beneficial |
15-year-old Harry isn’t good at managing his money. His mother is advised to _____.
| A．explain to him how to manage his money better |
| B．pay him more money to deal with his chores |
| C．praise him for what he has done |
| D．allow him to buy what he wants |
When parents discuss how to manage the family finances, they should _____.
| A．include their children in the discussion |
| B．express their desire to have some valuable things |
| C．pay more attention to their children’s differences |
| D．try to meet their older children’s needs first |
Dear Editor,
I have just returned home after studying for a year in Germany. But it seems that my parents don’t understand me now. They expect me to be the same person I was before I went abroad, but I’m not! Why can’t they let me be myself?
Jimmy
Hi, Jimmy,
As far as I know, people who have lived abroad often find that the adjustment （调整） to returning home is more difficult than their adjustment to living in a foreign culture. Why? We expect to have some problems when we go to a new place, speak a different language and learn the rules of a different culture ... But home? ... we know that place!
Your parents expect that the same person who boarded the airplane one year ago will be returning. Especially if they have never been abroad themselves, your parents probably won’t understand the changes that living abroad can cause in a person. On the other hand, you may have maintained (保持) an ideal mental image of your loved ones while abroad, an image that is broken into pieces when you return.
Remember you have been living a different lifestyle in your host country, and you have probably become very independent while staying there alone. Now that you’re home, you will be expected to conform （顺应） again to the lifestyle of your family. As a result, you may be upset about your parents’ involvement in your life.
Communication is the key to overcoming this problem. Tell your parents how you are feeling. Share with them information about cultural re-entry（重归）, and ask them to be patient. This does not mean that you have to forget your experience and give up everything you’ve learned! Learn to find a balance between the old and new, just as you did when first adjusting to your host country’s culture.What is Jimmy’s main purpose in writing the letter?
| A．To criticize his parents. |
| B．To ask for advice about his studies. |
| C．To complain about his parents. |
| D．To ask for help. |
What does the editor think of Jimmy’s problem?
| A．It’s unusual. | B．It’s normal. | C．It’s serious. | D．It’s interesting. |
The editor thinks that both Jimmy and his parents ______.
| A．have changed in the past year |
| B．have unrealistic expectations of each other |
| C．need to behave like they did before |
| D．need to find a balance between the good and bad |
The author suggests that ______ would help solve Jimmy’s problem.
| A．patience and trust |
| B．patience and politeness |
| C．better communication between family members |
| D．a deeper understanding of the host country’s culture |
Fourteen is not an age at which you try to earn millions of dollars. But for Bangalore boy, Suhas Gopinath, it was.
One day in August, 1999, Suhas, studying at the Air Force School in Hebbal, was surfing the Net at a cyber cafe. He happened to hit an MSN source code （源码）. That made him decide to learn more about HTML （超文本标记语言） and to design and set up his own website under the address of a US-based company, Network Solutions.
He kept updating his website, posting interesting things on it. This impressed Network Solutions and they invited him to attend a class on Web design and development. His mom and uncle criticised him for not taking his education seriously. But gradually, his dad started encouraging him and even bought him a computer and Net connection. In fact, that was his first investment in the company.
On May 14, 2000, along with friends Clifford Leslie and Binay M. N, he floated （筹资开办） his own website — www.coolhindustani.com. He did not have the money to start, for his parents refused to give him a penny. So he wrote to Network Solutions Inc. in the US and they readily agreed.
In August, the same year, he set up Globals Inc., a Web solutions and networking company, with a team of four. Now, he has 400 employees, more than 200 customers across the globe and offices in 11 countries, and he is worth over $100 million.
After finishing his high school education, he studied at Stanford University for two years. But Suhas says: “Education alone will not make a good professional （专业人员）.”When Suhas Gopinath was praised by Network Solutions, his mother ______.
| A．felt proud of his success |
| B．forbade him to enter a cyber cafe |
| C．worried about his studies |
| D．wanted to buy him a computer |
Suhas Gopinath’s website “coolhindustani” was supported by ______.
| A．his parents | B．an American company |
| C．his uncle | D．Stanford University |
In which order did the following events happen?
a. Suhas was invited by Network Solutions to attend a class.
b. Suhas set up his first website.
c. Suhas set up Globals Inc.
d. Suhas went abroad for further education.
| A．a-c-b-d | B．b-a-d-c | C．a-b-c-d | D．b-a-c-d |
What is TRUE about Globals Inc.?
| A．It is a world-class company. |
| B．It is owned by Suhas and his two friends. |
| C．It is a branch of Network Solutions. |
| D．It earns about 100 million dollars each year. |