Another person’s enthusiasm was what set me moving toward the success I have achieved. That person was my stepmother.
I was nine years old when she entered our home in rural Virginia. My father
36 me to her with these words: “I would like you to meet the fellow who is
37 for being the worst boy in this county and will probably start throwing rocks at you no
38 than tomorrow morning.”
My stepmother walked over to me,
39 my head slightly upward, and looked me right in the eye. Then she looked at my father and replied, “ You are
40 . This is not the worst boy at all,
41 the smartest one who hasn’t yet found an outlet for his enthusiasm.”
That statement began a (n)
42 between us. No one had ever called me smart. My family and neighbors had built me up in my
43 as a bad boy. My stepmother changed all that.
She changed many things. She
44 my father to go to a dental school, from which he graduated with honors. She moved our family into the country seat, where my father’s career could be more
45 and my brothers and I could be better
46 .
When I turned fourteen, she bought me a secondhand
47 and told me that she believed that I could become a writer. I knew her enthusiasm, I
48 it, and I saw how it had already improved our lives. I accepted her
49 and began to write for local newspapers. I was doing the same kind of
50 that great day I went to interview Andrew Carnegie and received the task which became my life’s work later. I wasn’t the
51 beneficiary(受益者). My father became the
52 man in town. My brothers and stepbrothers became a physician, a dentist, a lawyer, and a college president.
What power
53 has! When that power is released to support the certainty of one’s purpose and is
54 strengthened by faith, it becomes an irresistible force which poverty and temporary defeat can never
55 .
You can communicate that power to anyone who needs it. This is probably the greatest work you can do with your enthusiasm.
| 小题1: | | A．rushed | B．introduced | C．sent | D．carried |
|
| 小题2: | | A．mistaken | B．favored | C．distinguished | D．rewarded |
|
| 小题3: | | A．later | B．sooner | C．longer | D．earlier |
|
| 小题4: | | A．dragged | B．raised | C．shook | D．bent |
|
| 小题5: | | A．perfect | B．right | C．impolite | D．wrong |
|
| 小题7: | | A．agreement | B．gap | C．friendship | D．relationship |
|
| 小题8: | | A．opinion | B．image | C．mind | D．expectation |
|
| 小题9: | | A．persuaded | B．begged | C．ordered | D．invited |
|
| 小题10: | | A．meaningful | B．successful | C．helpful | D．useful |
|
| 小题11: | | A．treated | B．entertained | C．respected | D．educated |
|
| 小题12: | | A．camera | B．radio | C．typewriter | D．bicycle |
|
| 小题13: | | A．considered | B．appreciated | C．ignored | D．suspected |
|
| 小题14: | | A．criticism | B．belief | C．request | D．description |
|
| 小题15: | | A．writing | B．teaching | C．studying | D．reading |
|
| 小题16: | | A．only | B．next | C．same | D．real |
|
| 小题17: | | A．cleverest | B．strongest | C．healthiest | D．wealthiest |
|
| 小题18: | | A．fortune | B．sympathy | C．enthusiasm | D．confidence |
|
| 小题19: | | A．deliberately | B．constantly | C．traditionally | D．happily |
|
| 小题20: | | A．win | B．reach | C．match | D．doubt |
|
