In a world where comparisons happen non-stop, it is difficult to look outside yourself and to ever be   21   with who you are. There’s always someone who’s a bit   22  . The only solution is to reach   23   and measure against what Warren Buffett calls your own inner yardstick. There is no more   24   measure for comparison than who your were yesterday, last week or last decade, when you were at your   25  .

Nothing useful ever comes from comparison to others .Either you see yourself as better than someone and you get   26  , or you see someone else as better than you and you feel like all your hard work is for   27  . It is a fool’s game. Not one of us is exactly   28  . The only direct and honest comparison is   29   yourself. Everything else is apples to oranges.

My opinion is that you are only   30   to compare yourself to someone else if their life   31   is the same as your own. Good luck finding that   32  . And one thing is for sure. No matter how hard you work and how dedicated（埋头苦干的）you are, there will always be someone who can run a little faster, jump a little higher, score a little better or look a little nicer in a swimsuit. And if there’s not, you can   33   someone is coming up fast   34   you. So how can you always win in life? Become your best   35  .

Having an image of your most recent past limits is the perfect thing to   36   you to the next level. If you ran 7 flights of stairs yesterday, then do 8 today. Who   37   if the guy next to you did 15? It doesn’t make a bit of   38  . You are a more   39   person today than you were yesterday. Your own   40   is all you need.

1.A. patient                                   B. strict                                 C. content                   D. concerned

2.A. stronger                                 B. better                               C. lazier                       D. wiser

3.A. inside                                     B. out                                    C. for                            D. up

4.A. accurate                           B. useful                                 C. careful                    D. powerful

5.A. end                                    B. best                                    C. convenience          D. side

6.A. satisfied                            B. busy                                   C. inspired                  D. lazy

7.A. nothing                                  B. fun                                    C. sure                         D. success

8.A. equal                             B. unique                              C. alike                         D. common

9.A. within                                     B. by                             C. for                            D. of

10.A. instructed                           B. allowed                            C. directed                  D. suggested

11.A. situation                     B. position                            C. occasion                 D. accommodation

12.A. game                                    B. match                               C. friend                      D. enemy

13.A. conclude                    B. bet                                    C. announce               D. declare

14.A. before                                 B. beside                              C. below                      D. behind

15.A. assistant                     B. competitor                      C. coach                      D. teacher

16.A. contribute                           B. expose                             C. push                        D. devote

17.A. cares                                    B. says                                   C. wonders                 D. asks

18.A. effort                                   B. sense                           C. difference               D. change

19.A. successful                           B. happy                               C. lucky                        D. fit

20.A. benefit                     B. progress                           C. habit                        D. result

Once upon a time a king, in the company of his ministers, went to the imperial garden for a walk. When he was walking around a pond, a strange idea 26 upon him and he asked, “How many buckets(桶) of water are there in the pond?” The ministers looked at each other,  27 to give an answer.
Rather 28 , the king ordered, “You have three days’ grace. Any one who offers an answer will be handsomely awarded. Those who fail will be 29 .”
The time limit was due in the twinkling（闪烁）of an eye, yet the ministers were still at their wit’s end. At this time a child appeared who declared that he knew the answer. The king told his 30 ministers to go with the child for the measurement. To their 31 , the child refused the suggestion with a smile, “It is very easy. No 32 to go to the pond.” This made the king laugh 33 ,  “Alright, let us know what it is.” The child winked (眨眼) and said, “That 34 on the size of the bucket. If it is as big as the pond, there is one bucket of water; if it is half as big, two buckets; if one third as big, three buckets; if...”“Stop! That’s it. You’ve got the 35 .” The king was satisfied and the child was duly rewarded.
Why did the ministers feel it so different to settle the problem? Because they fell in a pitfall (陷阱), following a wrong way of thinking. People’s thinking often goes a habitual way — the beaten track of straightforwardness. 36  is a static (静态的) way presupposing every object definite and certain, i.e. the size of the pond and the bucket should be clearly 37 . If one of them is unknown, it will be difficult to do the measurement, let alone 38 . Why not change your mode of thought — from static to dynamic（动态的）, from concrete to 39  ? If you adopt an indirect way and try to find out the proportional relation between the pond and the bucket, you’ll get an answer — flexible yet 40 to solve the problem.
Sometimes to get out of the difficulty one must change one’s way of thinking, or simply change one’s approach towards a problem.

Once upon a time a king, in the company of his ministers, went to the imperial garden for a walk. When he was walking around a pond, a strange idea 26 upon him and he asked, “How many buckets(桶) of water are there in the pond?” The ministers looked at each other,  27 to give an answer.

Rather 28 , the king ordered, “You have three days’ grace. Any one who offers an answer will be handsomely awarded. Those who fail will be 29 .”

The time limit was due in the twinkling（闪烁）of an eye, yet the ministers were still at their wit’s end. At this time a child appeared who declared that he knew the answer. The king told his 30 ministers to go with the child for the measurement. To their 31 , the child refused the suggestion with a smile, “It is very easy. No 32 to go to the pond.” This made the king laugh 33 ,  “Alright, let us know what it is.” The child winked (眨眼) and said, “That 34 on the size of the bucket. If it is as big as the pond, there is one bucket of water; if it is half as big, two buckets; if one third as big, three buckets; if...” “Stop! That’s it. You’ve got the 35 .” The king was satisfied and the child was duly rewarded.

Why did the ministers feel it so different to settle the problem? Because they fell in a pitfall (陷阱), following a wrong way of thinking. People’s thinking often goes a habitual way — the beaten track of straightforwardness. 36  is a static (静态的) way presupposing every object definite and certain, i.e. the size of the pond and the bucket should be clearly 37 . If one of them is unknown, it will be difficult to do the measurement, let alone 38 . Why not change your mode of thought — from static to dynamic（动态的）, from concrete to 39  ? If you adopt an indirect way and try to find out the proportional relation between the pond and the bucket, you’ll get an answer — flexible yet 40 to solve the problem.

Sometimes to get out of the difficulty one must change one’s way of thinking, or simply change one’s approach towards a problem.

1. A. fixed           B. focused           C. came            D. looked

2.A. struggling       B. thinking           C. falling          D. failing

3.A. disappointed     B. excited            C. pleased         D. contented

4.A. killed          B. punished           C. blamed         D. scolded

5.A. exciting        B. amazing            C. surprising       D. trembling

6.A. doubt          B. surprise            C. envy           D. delight

7.A. good           B. use              C. need             D. wonder

8.A. wonderfully     B. joyfully           C. cheerfully         D. doubtfully

9. A. decides         B. depends          C. calls              D. looks

10.A. award          B. reward            C. answer           D. number

11.A. This           B. That              C. It                D. Such

12.A. marked         B. measured          C. signed           D. known

13.A. another         B. other              C. one             D. both

14.A. detailed         B. easy              C. simple           D. abstract

15.A. acceptable      B. available           C. adequate         D. proper

Sarah wrote a letter to Annie, saying that she felt __31__ by her friend, Hannah. They had an exam recently and Sarah got the __32___ grade in the class. When washing hands with Hannah, Sarah __33__ that she did badly in the exam and __34__ her not to tell anyone else. However, the next day, some other students got to know the news. Sarah thought it was Hannah who didn’t keep her __35__ because the only people who can see their grades are the teacher and the students that the grades __36__ to. But when Sarah talked about it with Hannah, she __37__ that she hadn’t told anyone else and said that someone must have been __38__ on what they said. But Sarah didn’t __39 __ her, and could not __40__ her for doing that and lying. Sarah lost her best friend.

1.A. sad       B. happy      C. annoyed      D. betrayed

2.A. highest    B. worst      C. lowest        D. best

3.A. admitted   B. swore      C. promised     D. thought

4.A. ordered    B. begged     C. suggested    D. asked

5. A. news      B. secret      C. word        D. things

6.A. use       B. belong      C. gave        D. thanks

7.A. swore     B. thought     C. advised      D. promised

8.A. putting    B. keeping     C. focusing     D. spying

9.A. hear      B. believe      C. ask         D. like

10.A. believe    B. trust        C. forgive      D. understand

One day a famous actor had just got into the train with all his luggage when a young man came and 　31 down in the seat opposite him. The young man took out a 32 and began to read it, 33 the actor tried to get some 　34 in his corner of the carriage.

When he opened his eyes, he 　35 that the young man was looking at him with his 　36 open, his book forgotten. The actor shut his eyes and tried to sleep again, 37 every time he opened them, the young man was looking at him with the same excited look .At last, he gave up the attempt(企图) to sleep, took out a newspaper, put it 　38 in front of him and began to read. The young man tried several times to get into conversation with the actor, but 　39 .

After a long period of silence the young man said again, “I’m George P. Anderson of Willington, Vermont.” This time the actor put his 　40 down and said, “So am I.” That was the end of the conversation.

31．A. lay　　　　 B. sat　　　　　　 C. looked　　　　 D. got

32．A. newspaper　 B. magazine　　　 C. book　　　　 D. letter

33．A. when　　　 B. because　　　　 C. as　　　　　　 D. while

34．A. drink　　　 B. help　　　　　　 C. food　　　　 D. sleep

35．A. found　　　 B. thought　　　　 C. felt　　　　　 D. expected

36．A. book　　　 B. mouth　　　　　 C. arms　　　　 D. shirt

37．A. but　　　　 B. therefore　　　　 C. so　　　　　 D. however

38．A. away　　　 B. up　　　　　　 C. down　　　　 D. out

39．A. failed　　　 B. succeeded　　　 C. missed　　　 D. refused

40．A. paper　　　 B. luggage　　　　 C. feet　　　　　 D. hands