The world is filled with smart, talented, educated and gifted people. We meet them every day. A few days ago, my car was not running well. I pulled it into a garage and the young mechanic had it fixed in just a few minutes. He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine. I was amazed. The sad truth is: Great talent is not enough.

I am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn. I heard the other day that less than 5 percent of Americans earn more than $100, 000 a year. A business consultant who specializes in the medical trade was telling me how many doctors and dentists struggle financially. It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase, “They are one skill away from great wealth.”

There is an old saying that goes, “Job means just over broke (破产)' ”. And unfortunately, I would say that the saying applies to millions of people. Because school does not think financial intelligence is intelligence, most workers “live within their means”. They work and they pay the bills. Instead I recommend to young people to seek work for what they will learn, more than what they will earn.

When I ask the classes I teach, “How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonald’s?” almost all the students raise their hands. I then ask, “So if most of you can cook a better hamburger, how come McDonald’s makes more money than you?” The answer is obvious: McDonald’s is excellent at business systems. The reason so many talented people are poor is because they focus on bui1ding a better hamburger and know little or nothing about business systems. The world is filled with talented poor people. They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger.

1.The author mentions the mechanic in the first paragraph to show that __________.

A. he has a sharp sense of hearing

B. he is ready to help others

C. he is just one of the talented people

D. he knows little about car repairing

2.The underlined part in the third paragraph can be best replaced by__________.

A. spend more than they can afford

B. live within what they earn

C. live in their own circle

D. do in their own way

3.Why do talented people earn so little according to the author?

A. They don't work hard enough.

B. They have no specialized skills.

C. They don't make full use of their talents.

D. They lack financial intelligence.

4.The main purpose of the author is to tell us___________.

A. why so many talented people are poor

B. what schools should teach students

C. how young people can find a satisfactory job

D. how McDonald's makes much money

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Culture means any human behavior that is learned in human society. All of the meaningful parts of a culture are passed on to different generations through tradition or social learning.1. Culture exists in agricultural as well as industrialized societies.

Culture is necessary for the survival and existence of human beings. Practically everything humans know, think, value, feel, and do is learned through taking part in a sociocultural system. 2. Here is one of the cases of children growing up apart from human society. In the province of Midnapore in India, the director of a children’s home was told by local villagers that there were “ghost” in the forest. Upon looking into the case, the director found that two children, one about eight years old and the other about six years old, appeared to have been living with a pack of wolves in the forest.3. In his diary, the director describes his first view of Kamala (as the older child was named) and Amala (the name given to the younger child):

Kamala was a terrible-looking being, the head, a big ball of something covering the shoulders. 4.Their eyes were bright and sharp, unlike human eyes. They were very fond of raw meat and raw milk. Gradually, as they got stronger, they began going on all fours, and afterwards began to run on all fours, just like squirrels.

Children learn human language in the same way they learn other kinds of human behavior — by taking part in a cultural community.5.

A. Culture refers only to the high art and classical music of a particular society.

B. This statement is well supported by some well-written cases.

C. Close at its heels there came another terrible creature exactly like the first, but smaller in size.

D. From this viewpoint, all human groups have a culture.

E. These children were the ghosts described by the local people.

F. They learn a certain human language as well as certain kinds of human behavior through their membership in a certain cultural community.

G. Human beings can only develop human abilities by the local people.

Do you have memories of being kidnapped (绑架)by aliens (外星人) and taken away rapidly in a spaceship? You wouldn’t be alone. Several thousand people worldwide reported to have had such experiences, researchers say. But in a new study, a psychology expert at London’s Goldsmiths College says these experiences are proof of the weakness of the human memory, rather than evidence of life in outer space.

“Maybe what we’re dealing with here is false memories, and not that people are actually being kidnapped and taken aboard spaceships,” says Professor Chris French, who surveyed 19 so-called victims.

Several of the victims reported being taken away from their beds or cars by alien creatures around four feet high, with long and lean arms and legs and oversized heads, French said. Some men said they were forced to take painful medical examinations by the aliens.

Many of the alien experiences could be explained by sleep paralysis, a condition in which a person is awake and aware of the surroundings but is unable to move. Sleep paralysis often leads to hallucinations —the experience of seeing or feeling something that is not really there and 40 percent of people experience the state at least once in their lives, French said. A rich imagination was also at play. Several of the alien victims were more likely to fantasize and reported to have seen ghosts (幽灵) and have unnatural abilities.

“People have very rich fantasy lives,” said French, who is due to present his findings at a public seminar at London’s Science Museum on Wednesday. “So much that they often mix up what’s happening in their heads with what is going on in the real world.”

1.According to Chris French, if someone told you an alien experience again, you might _____.

A. believe the story B. just laugh it away

C. wonder why D. report it to the police

2.The underlined word “fantasize” in Paragraph 4 probably means _____.

A. use vivid imagination B. tell the truth

C. have good memories D. make up excuses

3.What is the author’s attitude towards alien experiences?

A. Puzzling. B. Supportive.

C. Respectful. D. Objective.

4.Where can this passage probably be found?

A. A science magazine. B. A textbook.

C. A science fiction. D. A storybook.

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