Accomplishment is often deceptive (导致误解的) because we don’t see the pain and perseverance that produced it. So we may credit the __36__ with brains or lucky break, and let ourselves off the hook(为自己开脱) because we 37 in both two. Not that we could all be concert pianists just by exercising enough discipline. ___38___, each of us has the makings of success in some effort, but we will achieve this only if we ___39___ our wills and work at it.
How can we acquire stick-to-itiveness? There is no simple, fast ___40___. But I have developed a way of thinking that has 41 my own weak will more than once. Here are the basic elements:
“Won’t” power. This is as important as will power. Discipline means choices. Every time you say yes to a goal or objective, you say no to many more. Every prize has its ___42___. The prize is the yes; the price is the no. Igor Gorin, the noted Ukrainian-American baritone(男中音), told of his early days studying ___43___. He loved to smoke a pipe, but one day his professor said, “Igor, you will have to made up your mind ___44___ you are going to be a great singer, or a great pipe smoker. You cannot be both.” ___45___, the pipe went.
Delayed gratification (喜悦). M. Scott Peck, M.D., author of the best-seller The Road less Traveled, ___46___ this tool of discipline as “a process of ___47___ the pain and pleasure of life in such a way as to enhance the ___48___ by meeting and experiencing the pain first and ___49___ it over with.”
This might ___50___ routine daily decisions—something as ___51___ as skipping a favorite late-night TV show and getting to bed early, to be wide awake for a meeting the next morning. Or it might involve longer-term ___52___.
The secret of such commitment is getting past the pain and seeing the delight. “The fact is that many ___53___ efforts aren’t fun,” says one radio and TV commentator. “True, all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy. But trying to turn everything we do into ___54___ makes for terrible frustrations, because life—even the most rewarding one—includes circumstances that aren’t ___55___ at all. I like my job as a journalist. It’s personally satisfying, but it isn’t always joyful.”
36. A. producer B. applicant C. achiever D. performer
37. A. fall short B. come over C. leave behind D. work out
38. A. Meanwhile B. Still C. Rather D. Besides
39. A. restrict B. delay C. apply D. prefer
40. A. dimension B. formula C. dilemma D. foundation
41. A. damaged B. allowed C. suffered D. rescued
42. A. root B. result C. price D. goal
43. A. sound B. voice C. noise D. whistle
44. A. that B. if C. whether D. how
45. A. Instead B. Moreover C. However D. Therefore
46. A. forms B. manages C. shapes D. describes
47. A. determining B. scheduling C. mixing D. substitutes
48. A. commitment B. tool C. mind D. pleasure
49. A. look B. think C. take D. get
50. A. make B. involve C. attach D. undergo
51. A. reasonable B. delightful C. simple D. strange
52. A. resolutions B. debates C. contrasts D. routines
53. A. visible B. experimental C. worthwhile D. challenging
54. A. work B. play C. hobbies D. efforts
55. A. unique B. smooth C. easy D. fun
CACCB DCBCD DCDDB CACBD
Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to 26 in order to pay the high tuition for my brother and me. They don’t act in the 27 ways that I read in books or I see on TV. In their opinion, “I love you” is too 28 for them to say. Sending flowers to each other on Valentine’s Day is even more out of 29 .
One day, my mother was sewing a quilt. I sat down beside her. “Mom, I have a question to ask you. Is there 30 between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice. She didn’t answer immediately. She 31 her head and continued to sew the quilt.
I was very worried because I thought I had 32 her. I was 33 and I didn’t know what I should do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words:
“Susan,” she said thoughtfully, “Look at this thread.Sometimes it 34 , but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt 35 . If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread.It can hardly be seen 36 , but it’s really there. Love is 37 .”
I listened carefully but I 38 her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly 39 seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, they both looked 40 . It seemed both of them had had a serious illness. After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father 41 on the country road.
“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day.
“Susan, don’t 42 me.” he said gently. “To tell you the truth, I just like walking with your mom.” 43 his eyes, I know he loves my mother deeply.
Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and 44 . But from this experience, I understand that love is just 45 in the quilt of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm.
26. A. keep fit | B. rise early | C. earn money | D. collect money |
27. A. magic | B. romantic | C. fantastic | D. attractive |
28. A. simple | B. easy | C. relaxing | D. luxurious(奢侈) |
29. A. the question | B. question | C. reach | D. control |
30. A. feeling | B. love | C. quarrel | D. smile |
31. A. raised | B. shook | C. lifted | D. bowed |
32. A. hurt | B. injured | C. wounded | D. harmed |
33. A. in great surprise | B. in a great embarrassment | ||
C. with delight | D. in great astonishment | ||
34. A. happens | B. comes about | C. appears | D. occurs |
35. A. warm and soft | B. hot and hard | ||
C. thin and cool | D. strong and durable (耐用的) | ||
36. A. somewhere and sometime | B. anywhere or anytime | ||
C. more or less | D. everyhere and everywhere | ||
37. A. inside | B. outside | C. faraway | D. nearby |
38. A. could believe | B. couldn’t understand | ||
C. wouldn’t recognize | D. might know | ||
39. A. got sick | B. got stuck | C. threw up | D. became disabled |
40. A. quite healthy | B. very pale | C. fairly red | D. much surprised |
41. A. jump high | B. go hurriedly | C. run fast | D. walk slowly |
42. A. think about | B. talk with | C. worry about | D. laugh at |
43. A. Reading | B. Listening | C. Speaking | D. Writing |
44. A. fresh roses | B. gold ring | C. sweet kisses | D. beautiful jewelry |
45. A. a thread | B. a needle | C. the cloth | D. the cotton |