Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: What I've noticed about some very successful business owners is that they are always learning and growing. For your business to be better you need to be better and, you don't get better by doing nothing! You are the average of the five PEOPLE you hang around with most. Surround yourself with people whom you want to be like. To do this you may have to get right out of your comfort zone and join in a coaching program, go along to seminars where you can meet other like-minded people or those playing at a higher level of business than you. There's no excuse not to _ and learn your way to success. Regardless of where you are located,events are taking place all around the country regularly as well as online. Saying you have "no money" or "no time" is not a good enough excuse. For many business owners they spend their whole lives using these excuses and going nowhere. Don't focus on where you are now, but where you want to be. You'll find the money and the time if you seriously want to change. Your ongoing learning can take you from struggling along to soaring high in all areas of your life. It's been nearly six months since you made those New Year decisions to make changes in your business and your life. Are you getting the results you wanted? Is your business more profitable? Do you have more free time? Is the quality of your life improving? Is your answer "yes", then take a look at why that is. What have you been doing to get these results? And if you're not moving ahead, seriously look at why that is. When's the last time you read a book, listened to a CD, got coached or attended a seminar to learn how to do things better? The people I know who are getting great results in their business and personal lives are always learning and growing. You are the Secret to Your Success, so do everything within your power to invest in yourself. Question: All the following ways can contribute to your business EXCEPT _ . - not dreaming of living a comfortable life - avoiding finding unnecessary excuses - deciding to change your present life - getting in touch with successful people
not dreaming of living a comfortable life
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: A recent National Public Radio program examined the disappearance of some of the first words we were probably taught - "please" and "thank you." Other polite phrases are also disappearing. "You're welcome" has been replaced by "sure," "no problem," "you bet" or "enjoy." Are we becoming ruder, or are patterns of speech merely updating for changing times? Peter Post, director of the program, argues about people stopping using "you're welcome". He says, "Thank you" is an expression of appreciation one person offers another. To respond "No problem" is to ignore this acceptance as really being undeserved. By responding with a simple "you're welcome," Post adds, a person admits the thanks and shows appreciation for the person giving it. Whatever polite vocabulary you believe is fading, sociologist Gregory E. Smith says that such fading is a sign that we're becoming ruder as a society. "Saying please and thank you, asking permission, offering help, and following up on solutions to problems are no longer as important," he says. In 2011, 76 percent of people surveyed said Americans are becoming less civil. But could it be that it's simply the words we're using that are changing? Actually, the principles of respect, consideration and honesty are universal and timeless, but manners do change. For example, it's important to greet people when you see them, though the form of greeting has changed over time. "How do you do," for instance, became "Hello, how are you?" which changed into "Hello, how are things," or "How's it going?". As for "no problem", if the appreciation is expressed in a sincere manner, many Americans think they do not see its use as a loss of politeness. Question: From the text we can infer that most Americans _ . - begin to overlook their polite speech - are unable to use polite vocabulary - intend to advocate civilized lifestyle - are becoming ruder to each other
begin to overlook their polite speech
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: One night when my wife was preparing dinner, our little son took a piece of paper to her which read: For washing the car .........................................................$5.00 For making my own bed this week ....................................... $1.00 Going to the provision shop ................................................$0.50 Playing with little sister......................................................$0.25 Taking out the rubbish....................................................... $1.00 Getting a good report card................................................ ..$5.00 And for sweeping the common corridor................................... $2.00 Total........................................................................... $14.75 His mother looked at him standing there expecting payment. I could see a thousand memories flashed through her mind. So she picked up the pen and turning the paper over, this is what she wrote : For nine months I carried you, growing inside me .................. No Charge For the nights I sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you......No Charge For the toys, food and clothes and wiping your nose ................No Charge When you add it all up, the full cost of my love.......................No Charge Well, when he finished reading, he had big tears in his eyes. He looked at his mother and said, "Mummy, I love you." Then he took the pen and in great big letters wrote on the "bill" "All paid." Question: How do you think of the mother in the passage? - Clever - Greedy - Cold - hearted - Selfish
Clever
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Read the following article and select the best answer. Article: More People Are Leaving the Rat Race for the Simple Life Time is more precious than money for an increasing number of people who are choosing to live more with less--and liking it Kay and Charles Giddens, two lawyers, sold their home to start a B&B hotel.Four years later, the couple dishes out banana pancake breakfast, cleans toilets and serves homemade chocolate chip cookies to guests in a B&B hotel surrounded by trees on a hill known for colorful sunsets. "Do I miss the freeways? Do I miss the traffic? Do I miss the stress? No," says Ms.Giddens, "This is a phenomenon that's fairly widespread. A lot of people are reevaluating their lives and figuring out what they want to do.If their base is being damaged, what's the payoff?" Simple living ranges from cutting down on weeknight activities to sharing housing, living closer to work, avoiding shopping malls, borrowing books from the library instead of buying them, and taking a cut in pay to work at a more pleasurable job. Vicki Robin, a writer, lives on a budget equal to a fifth of what she used to make."You become conscious about where your money is going and how valuable it is," Ms.Robin says, "You tend not to use things up.You cook at home rather than eat out..." Janet Luhrs, a lawyer, quit her job after giving birth and leaving her daughter with a nanny for two weeks."It was not the way I wanted to raise my kids," she says, "Simplicity is not just about saving money; it's about me sitting down every night with my kids to a candlelit dinner with classical music." Mrs.Luhrs now edits a magazine,Simple Living, which publishes tips on how to buy recycled furniture and shoes, organize potluck dinners instead of expensive receptions, and generally how to consume less. "It's not about poverty," Mrs.Luhrs explains, "It's about conscious living and creating the life you want.The less stuff you buy, the less money goes out of the door, and the less money you have to earn." Question: Kay and Charles Giddens sold their home to _ . - pay off the debt - start a private hotel - cut down expenses - buy living necessities
start a private hotel
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