Pete Rose,the famous baseball player,whom I have never met,taught me something so valuable that it changed my life.Pete was being interviewed in spring training the year he was about to break Ty Cobb's alltime hits record.One reporter asked, "Pete,you only need 78 hits to break the record.How many atbats do you think you'll need to get the 78 hits?" Without hesitation,Pete said,"78." The reporter yelled back,"Ah,come on Pete.You don't expect to get 78 hits in 78 atbats,do you?" Mr. Rose calmly shared his rule in life with all the reporters who were anxiously awaiting his reply."Every time I step up to the plate,I expect to get a hit! If I don't expect to get a hit,I have no right to step in the batter's box in the first place! If I go up hoping to get a hit,then I probably don't have a prayer of getting a hit.It is the positive expectation that has gotten me all of the hits in the first place." When I thought about Pete Rose's rule and how it was applied to everyday life,I felt a little embarrassed.As a business person,I was hoping to make my sales meet the quotas .As a father,I was hoping to be a good dad.As a married man,I was hoping to be a good husband.The truth was that I was an adequate salesperson,I was not so bad as a father,and I was an okay husband.I immediately decided that being okay was not enough! I wanted to be a great salesperson,a great father and a great husband.I changed my attitude to one of positive expectation,and the results were amazing.I was fortunate enough to win a few sales trips,I won Coach of the Year in my son's baseball league,and I share a loving relationship with my wife! Thanks,Mr. Rose! What can be inferred about Pete Rose from the passage? A) He was generous to share all his rules with everyone. B) He got all the hits he wanted because of good luck. C) He set himself a goal of being the best. D) He liked to dream of something impossible.
C
One of the main challenges facing many countries is how to maintain their identity in the face of globalization and the growing multi-language trend. "One of the main reasons for economic failure in many African countries is the fact that, with a few important exceptions, mother-tongue education is not practiced in any of the independent African states." said Neville Alexander, Director of the Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa at the University of Cape Town. In response to the spread of English and the increased multi-language trends arising from immigration, many countries have introduced language laws in the laws in the last decade. In some, the use of languages other than the national language is banned in public spaces such as advertising posters. One of the first such legal provisions was the 1994 "Toubon law" in France, but the idea has been copied in many countries since then. Such efforts to govern language use are often dismissed as _ by language experts, who are well aware of the difficulty in controlling fashions in speech and know from research that language switching among bilinguals is a natural process. It is especially difficult for native speakers of English to understand the desire to maintain the "purity" of a language by law. Since the time of Shakespeare, English has continually absorbed foreign words into its own language. English is one of the most mixed and rapidly changing languages in the world, but there has not been a barrier to acquiring prestige and power. Another reason for the failure of many native English speakers to understand the role of state regulation is that it has never been the Anglo-Saxon way of doing things. English has never had a state-controlled authority for the language, similar, for example, to the Academic Francaise in France. The need to protect national languages is, for most western Europeans, a recent phenomenon--especially the need to ensure that English does not unnecessarily take over too many fields. Public communication,... Neville Alexander believes that _ . A) mother-tongue education is not practiced in all African countries B) lack of mother-tongue education can lead to economic failure C) globalization has led to the rise of multi-language trends D) globalization has resulted in the economic failure of Africa
B
Q: Glacier National Park in Montana shares boundaries with prefix = st1 /Canada, an American Indian reservation, and a national forest. Along the North Fork of the Flathead River, the park also borders about 17,000 acres of private lands that are currently used for ranching, timber, and agriculture. This land is an important part of the habitat and migratory routes for several endangered species that frequent the park. These private lands are essentially the only ones available for development in the region. With encouragement from the park, local landowners initiated a landaus planning effort to guide the future of the North Fork. The park is a partner in an interlocal agreement that calls for resource managing agencies to work together and with the more than 400 private owners in the area. A draft plan has been prepared, with objective of maintaining traditional economic uses but limiting new development that would damage park resources. Voluntary action by landowners, in cooperation with the park and the county, is helping to restrict small lot subdivisions, maintain wildlife corridors, and minimize any harmful impact on the environment. The willingness of local landowners to participate in this protection effort may have been stimulated by concerns that congress would impose a legislative solution. Nevertheless, many local residents want to retain the existing character of the area. Meetings between park officials and landowners have led to a dramatically improved understanding of all concerns. Why are the private lands surrounding GlacierNational Parkso important? A) They function as a hunting preserve. B) They are restricted to government use. C) They are heavily populated. D) They contain natural habitats of threatened species.
A: D
(Q).
The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy." The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They're all for you, Daddy." The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness. Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there. In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family members, friends, and God. There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this. Choose the best title for the passage. A) The kisses in the box. B) A girl and his father C) A love story D) The box under the Christmas tree.
(A).
A