Anyone who is afraid of failure and afraid to face challenges will never taste success, so said our professor in marketing. I laughed it off at that time, but got frightened when it actually happened in my life. I landed in a small city in the Middle East to set up a firm, a world-class car rental firm. Having decided on the project, I earnestly settled in preparation. With a positive mind, I told myself nothing should stop me now, and was more than keen to make it a success. However, the least expected thing happened. Iraq invaded Kuwait. Tension ran high in the region. Eventually the war broke out, and many people fled the country, leaving my firm in deep trouble. As usual, "things become difficult, and every effort seems to bring disappointment, it can be tempting to lower your expectations or even water down your goals and ambitions."I was no exception. I thought of running away. I remembered the words of Thomas Edison, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to succeed when they gave up." I decided to hang on, telling myself, "I am not afraid of challenges and obstacles." I stayed on through months of uncertainty and insecurity. Finances ran low, and banks could not wait to get their dues. To add to all this, the banks even threatened to take all my vehicles. I felt I made a wrong decision to move there. I was now ready to face failure. I was living against all hopes, believing that something good would happen. After 2 months the war ended. My persistence paid off: people started flooding back and the car bookings picked up, five times over. Success comes to the one who dares, even after failure, to think positively and look forward confidently. After all, it is only the experience that makes a man tough. Failure does not mean you will never make it. It means that it will take a little longer. It provides us with a learning experience. The main method the author uses to support his understanding of his professor's viewpoint is _ . A) offering analyses B) providing explanations C) making comparisons D) giving examples
D
My students often tell me that they do not have "enough time" to do all their homework. My response often is "You have as much time as the president." I usually carry on a bit about there being twenty-four hours in the day for everyone, and suggest that "not enough time" is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done. Once in graduate school, I tried to prove to my professor that I was working hard. His answer was "That's irrelevant .What's important is the quality of your work." That led me to a new idea: the quality of the work, which is perhaps best explained in a sign: "Don't work harder. Work smarter." If you can't get more time, as few of us can, the only solution is to improve the quality of your work. That means improving ways to get more out of the same time. That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits, which for students should be read as "study habits". Then as a smart student, you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing. If you can, it will pay off in all your subjects. As to improving reading, one suggestion is to take a quick nap when you feel reading puts you to sleep, which later helps you read better. The second solution is to speed up. But there are other issues. First, you need to find a place where you can work without unnecessary disturbances. Second, you need to take control. Success depends on realizing that you have to take active control over what you are doing. Third, you might as well get hold of a good book on reading and master the reading skills that pay off in all your classes. Talking about advice on good writing habits, you simply have to master the writing skills. Increasing your efficiency in both reading and writing will pay off immediately in terms of the quality of your work and in terms of the time spent doing it. Then you will be able to do better work in less time. And maybe you will find time to play golf with the president. The author believes a most important way for a student to improve work quality is to _ . A) improve reading and writing skills B) find a quiet place to read and write C) take control over his or her work D) read and write in all classes
A
Q: We Americans are wasteful people, not used to saving. The frontiersmen began this pattern, for natural resources were so plentiful that no one ever imagined a shortage, within a few years of the first Virginia settlement, for example, pioneers burned down their houses when they were ready to move west. They wanted to have the nails for future use. No one ever gave a thought to the priceless hardwoods that went up in smoke. As a people,we destroy many things that other people save. I noticed a letter from one of England's largest banks. It was enclosed in a used envelope that had been readdressed to me. Such a practice would be unthinkable in the United States. American banks, even the smallest, always use expensive stationery with the names of all twenty-eight vice-presidents listed on one side of the page. Why are Americans wasteful, according to this passage? A) They learn from their own ancestors. B) There are too many resources in America. C) They never think of the future. D) They do not know the value of resources.
A: A
(Question)
George Prochnik would like the world _ . He makes his case in a new book. Listening for meaning in a World of Noise. Here he explain himself (using his voice); "We've become so accustomed to noise, there's almost a deep prejudice against the idea that silence might be beneficial, if you tell someone to be quiet ,you sound like an old man. But it's never been important to find continuing quiet. Silence focuses us, improves our health, and is a key to lasting peace and satisfaction." "We need to excite people about the sounds you start to hear, if you merely quiet things down a little. During a Japanese tea ceremony ,the smallest sounds become a kind of art the spoons making a light ringing sound on a bowl, the edges of a kimono brushing against the floor. "Deaf people are very attentive in almost every aspect of life. If two deaf people are walking together, using sign language, they constantly watch out for each other and protect each other by paying steady attention to the other. They are connected yet also fully aware of their surroundings. Even deaf teenagers! We in the hearing world can learn from them. If we remove the powerful blasts of noise .we become aware of an extraordinarily rich world around us---of little soft sounds and the sound of footsteps, of bind songs and ice cracking . It's astonishing how beautiful things sound when you can really listen.." It can be inferred from the text that A) we can benefit a lot from old people B) it is a good idea to use sign language. C) there is no escape from the world of sound D) it is possible to find how beautiful things sound
(Answer)
D