Make Up Your Mind to Succeed

Kind-hearted parents have unknowingly left their children defenseless against failure．The generation (age) born between 1980 and 2001 grew up playing sports where scores (marks) and performance (show) were played down because “everyone's winner.” And their report cards sounded more positive than ever before．As a result, Stanford University professor Carol Dweck, PhD, calls them “the overpraised generation.”

Dweck has been studying how people deal with failure for 40 years．Her research has led her to find out two clearly different mind-sets that have a great effect on how we react to it．Here's how they work:

　　A fixed mind-set is grounded in the belief that talent is genetic – you're a born artist, point guard, or numbers person．The fixed mind-set believes it's sure to succeed without much effort and regards failure as personal shame．When things get difficult, it's quick to blame (liability), lie, and even stay away from future difficulties.

　 On the other hand, a growth mind-set believes that no talent is entirely heaven-sent and that effort and learning make everything possible．Because the ego (自尊) isn't on the line as much, the growth mind-set sees failure as a chance rather than shame．When faced with a difficulty, it's quick to rethink, change and try again．In fact, it enjoys this experience.

　　We are all born with growth mind-sets．(Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to live in the world.) But parents, teachers, and instructors often push us into fixed mind-sets by encouraging certain actions and misdirecting praise．Dweck's book, Mind-set: The New Psychology of Success, and online instructional program explain this in depth．But she says there are many little things you can start doing today to make sure that your children, grandchildren and even you are never defeated by failure.

1.What does the author think about the present generation?

A．They don't do well at school.

B．They are often misunderstood.

C．They are eager to win in sports

D．They are given too much praise.

2.A fixed mind-set person is probably one who ___ .

A．doesn't want to work hard

B．cares a lot about personal safety

C．cannot share his ideas with others

D．can succeed with the help of teachers

3.What does the growth mind-set believe?

A．Admitting failure is shameful.

B．Talent comes with one's birth.

C. Getting over difficulties is enjoyable.

D．Scores should be highly valued.??

The Fourth “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition is to be held in Shanghai.

　　Organizers: China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network.

　　Co-ordinater: China University English Speaking Association （CUESA）.

　　Co-sponsors（联办单位）: English Speaking Union （ESU）, Lotus Software （China）Co. Ltd., Times Publishing Group of Singapore, Hilton Shanghai, Pearson Education, Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press.

　　Date: March 26（Friday）, 1999.

　　Place: Hilton Shanghai.

　　Competition Format （形式）: Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic, followed by a three -minute off - hand speech and a three - minute question and answer period with the judges.

　　Prepared speech period: six minutes.

　　Q & A period: three minutes.

　　Speech topic: People and Nature: In search of harmony （和谐）in a new age ＋ your personal opinion. （Topics for the off-hand speech will be given on the day of competition）.

　　Prizes: Besides books and certificates （证书）, the top two winners will be offered scholarships（奖学金） to travel to the annual international English -speaking competition which will be held by the English Speaking Union in London in May, 1999. The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group. The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes. All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one - year membership to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language（IATEFL）

1.The main purpose of this passage is ________.

　　A. to invite you to take part in the competition

　　B. to tell you some information about the competition

　　C. to help to improve your spoken English

　　D. to show you how to win the competition

2.Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the Shanghai English Speaking Competition?________.

　　A. Where and when it will take place.

　　B. Its programs.

　　C. What each winner will be offered.

　　D. The number of its competitors.

3.Suppose you get the sixth place, you’ll________ .

　　A. travel to London for free.

　　B. become a one - year member of IATEFL

　　C. get some money, some books and a certificate

　　D. get a chance to study in Singapore

4. An “off- hand speech” is________.

　　A. a speech not longer than three minutes

　　B. a speech without preparation

　　C. a speech with a piece of paper in hand

D. a speech which is well prepared

The British film star Hugh Grant can’t seem to work out what women want.?

“There’s no girl who only wants bastards（坏种），and no girl who wants a nice guy（伙计）.Women want both,” the British star tells the May issue of the Talk magazine.?

“And，really，they’d like to change by turns on a weekly basis. Can any man be both? I like to keep women guessing.”

Since Grant’s break-up last year with his longtime girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley，the thought of throwing himself into another big relationship doesn’t seem like it’s expected.?

“How easy do you think it is to find someone you can share 14 years of personal jokes with? Not easy. And I don’t know that I will，” he says.

Still，the 40-year-old star admits he can’t help thinking that his clock is ticking.?

“In the end，I want to have kids（children）.But in the back of my mind，I never wanted to have kids until I’d done something I’m proud of written a book，had my name on something really worthwhile,” he says. “I’m determined not to be in front of the cameras any more.”?

With all of these concerns（心思)inside，has Grant ever considered seeing a psychiatrist（精神病医生)to sort things out??

“I don’t think I need treatment，thank you,” sniffs the star.?

“I’m frightened of those people. And more than that，I don’t want to know what lies ?beneath?（在下面）.”?

1.Judging from what Hugh Grant says，the film star may consider himself 　　　　.?

A. either a bastard or a nice guy

B. both a bastard and a nice guy at the same time?

C. a bastard in one week and a nice guy in the other?

D. neither a bastard nor a nice guy?

2. Hugh Grant 　　　 .

A. is looking for another girlfriend at the present time?

B. never feels sure of finding a girlfriend who can take the place of Elizabeth Hurley?

C. considers it a shame to look for another girlfriend?

D. doesn’t value much the relationship he had with Elizabeth Hurley?

3.The underlined clause “his clock is ticking” possibly means 　　　 .?

A. he’s having a good time　　　　　 B. he can’t stand being single?

C. his film life is going to end soon　　　　 D. he is getting too old?

4.Hugh Grant thinks that he is not yet successful enough to be 　　　 .

A. a nice guy　　　　　　　　　　 B. a husband

C. a film star　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. a father??

阅读理解

　　Happy birthday! Do birthdays really make people happy? Of course they do. Birthdays celebrate the day we were born. What's more, that extra candle on the cake represents another year of growth and maturity (成熟)—or so we hope. We all like to imagine that we're getting wiser and not just alder. Most of us enjoy observing the miracle of growth in others as well. For instance, seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud. For Americans, like people in most cultures, growing up is a wonderful process. But growing old? That's a different story. Growing old is not exactly pleasant for people in youth-oriented American . Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young. As the old saying goes, “You're as young as you feel . ” Older people joke about how many years young they are ,rather than how many years old. People in sane countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom. But Americana seem to favor those that are young, or at least “young at heart”. Many older Americans find the“golden years” to be anything but golden. Economically, “senior citizens”often struggle just to get by. Retirement — typically at age 65—brings a sharp decrease in personal income. Social Security Benefits usually cannot make up the difference. Older people may suffer from poor nutrition(营养) , medical care and housing. Some even experience age discrimination.

　　Ironically, the elderly population in America is expanding fast. Why? People are living longer. Fewer babies ere being born. The middle-aged “baby boomers” are rapidly entering the ranks of the elderly, so America may soon be a place where wrinkles(皱纹) are “in” . Marketing experts are already focusing on this growing group of consumers. And even now the elderly have a great deal of political power.

　　A common stereotype(模式化的形象) of older Americana is that they are usually “put away” in nursing homes and forgotten about. Actually, only about 5 percent live on acme type of institution(慈善机构).

　　More than half of those 65 or older live with or near at least one of their children. The vast majority ad the elderly live alone and take care of themselves.

　　In spite of challenges they face, Americans in their “twilight years (暮年)” generally refuse to we up on life. They find a variety of ways to keep themselves active. To help them stay in shape, they may join mall (商业区) walkers club, fitness programs and even the “Senior Olympics” .They can enjoy hours of entertainment at senior centers and adult amusement parks. Many enroll in continuing education programs to maintain their mental skills. For Americans, if you're going to grow old, you might as well do it gracefully.

1．Older people in America ________.

[　　]

A．think it sad to enter the golden age

B．are not popular in the society

C．are respected by all

D．find it happy to have another year of growth

2．Which of the following is NOT the reason why there are more and more older people in America?

[　　]

A．The birthrate is lower.

B．The older people are taken good care of.

C．There are many more middle-aged people than before.

D．The average life-span becomes longer.

3．The underlined part in Paragraph 2 refers to ________.

[　　]

A．the babies

B．baby-boomers

C．the middle-aged

D．the elderly

4．It can be seen from the passage that older people in America ________ .

[　　]

A．are content with their life now

B．are faced with challenges throughout their life

C．have chances to remain active in the society

D．receive continuing education programs to hunt for life