We often talk about ourselves as if we have permanent genetic defects(缺陷) that can never be changed. “I’m impatient.” “I’m always behind.” “I always put things 　　1 !” You’ve surely heard them. Maybe you’ve used them to describe　　　 ___2　 .

These comments may come from stories about us that have been 　3　 for many years—often from 　4　 childhood. These stories may have no 　5　 in fact. But they can set low expectations for us. As a child, my mother said to me, “Marshall, you have no mechanical (操作机械的) skills, and you will never have any mechanical skills for the rest of your life.” How did these expectations　 6　 my development? I was never 　7　 to work on cars or be around　 8　 . When I was 18, I took the US Army’s Mechanical Aptitude Test. My scores were in the bottom for the entire nation!

Six years later,　 9　 , I was at California University, working on my doctors degree. One of my professors, Dr. Bob Tannbaum, asked me to write down things I did well and things I couldn’t do. On the positive side, I　 10　 down, “research, writing, analysis, and speaking.” On the　 11　 side, I wrote, “I have no mechanical skills.”

Bob asked me how I knew I had no mechanical skills. I explained my life 　12 and told him about my 　13　 performance on the Army test. Bob then asked, “　 14　 is it that you can solve 　 15　 mathematical problems, but you can’t solve simple mechanical problems?”

Suddenly I realized that I didn’t 　16　 from some sort of genetic defect. I was just living out expectations that I had chosen to 　17　 . At that point, it wasn’t just my family and friends who had been　 18　 my belief that I was mechanically hopeless. And it wasn’t just the Army test, either. I was the one who kept telling myself, “You can’t do this!” I realized that as long as I kept saying that, it was going to remain true. 　19　 , if we don’t treat ourselves as if we have incurable genetic defects, we can do well in almost 　20　 we choose.

1. A. away 　　　　　 B. off 　　　　　　　 C. up 　　　　　　　　　 D. down

2. A. them 　　　　 B. myself 　　　　　 C. yourself 　　　　 D. others

3. A. said 　　　　　 B. spoken 　　　　　 C. spread 　　　　　 D. repeated

4. A. as long as 　 B. as far back as 　 C. as well as 　　　 D. as much as

5. A. basis 　　　　 B. plot 　　　　　　　 C. cause 　　　　　　　　　　 D. meaning

6. A. lead 　　　　　 B. improve　　　　　　 C. affect 　　　　　 D. change

7. A. encouraged B. demanded 　　 C. hoped 　　　　　 D. agreed

8. A. means 　　　 B. tools 　　　　　　 C. facilities 　　　　 D. hammers

9. A. therefore 　 B. somehow 　　　 C. instead 　　　　　 D. however

10. A. settled 　　 B. turned 　　　　　 C. took 　　　　　　　　　　 D. got

11. A. passive 　　　 B. active 　　　　　 C. negative 　　　　　 D. subjective

12. A. experiences 　　　 B. trips 　　　　　　　　　　 C. roads 　　　　　　 D. paths

13. A. unexpected B. poor 　　　　　　 C. excellent 　　　 D. average

14. A. When 　　　 B. What 　　　　　　 C. How 　　　　　　　 D. Why

15. A. complex 　 B. advanced　　　　　 C. common 　　　　 D. primary

16. A. arise 　　　　 B. separate　　　　　　 C. suffer 　　　　　 D. come

17. A. believe 　　 B. suspect 　　　　 C. adopt 　　　　　　 D. receive

18. A. weakening B. strengthening 　 C. abandoning 　 D. accepting

19. A. As a result 　　　 B. At the same time C. In addition 　　 D. On the contrary

20. A. anything 　　 B. something 　　 C. nothing 　　　　 D. all

Yesterday, after telling my brother, Rhys, and me to stop playing like wild animals, Mom went to take a bath. We were having a pillow fight when 　36 one hit a vase. Mom 　37 the loud crash. Wasting no time, she came 　38 into the room. I was sure that she was going to shout at us, but instead she just knelt by the 39 and began to cry.

　 This made Rhys and me feel pretty 　40 . We went over and put our arms around her, and she explained to us why she was so upset. In the pieces 　41 a broken glass rose, one petal (花瓣)gone, which was given by Dad on their first wedding anniversary. Dad had said that if he ever forgot to bring flowers home 　42 an anniversary in the future, Mom was to look at that one. It was like their love—it would last a 　43 .

　 We began crying, and 　44 to glue it. But Mom said that wouldn’t really fix it. 　45 it had been broken, the 　46 of the “limited edition” had reduced. As Mom 　47 began to pick up the mess, we tried everything we could think of to　 48 her up, but even our best funny faces didn’t 　49 . Tears kept coming down her cheeks. Everything was picked up. Seeing Mom going back to the bath, I 　50 her and put both hands on her shoulders, saying, “All things can be 　51 ，Mom. The only thing that cannot be broken is our 　52 . It’s the only thing that can never be broken. ”

　 Mom hugged me very tightly and 　53 smiled. After dinner that night, Mom glued the petal back onto the rose. Then she softly said, “My rose is truly unique. Its tiny damage reminds me of 　54 more important：the realization that love 　55　 forever. ”

36. A. gradually　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. suddenly

C. surprisingly　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. immediately

37. A. caused　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. witnessed

C. heard　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. ignored

38. A. dressing　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. shouting

C. flying　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. crying

39. A. pieces　　　　　　　　 B. vase　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. pillow　　　　　　　 D. ground

40. A. disappointed　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. angry

C. awful　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. sensitive

41. A. grew　　　　　　　　 B. lay　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. stood　　　　　　　 D. existed

42. A. for　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. in　　　　　　　　　　 C. from　　　　　　　　 D. by

43. A. decade　　　　　　　 B. year　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. season　　　　　　　　　　 D. lifetime

44. A. offered　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. supported

C. pretended　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. agreed

45. A. Just as　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. In case

C. Now that　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Even though

46. A. price　　　　　　　　　 B. wealth　　　　　　　 C. value　　　　　　　　 D. treasure

47. A. skillfully　　　　　　 B. hopefully　　　　　 C. kindly　　　　　　　 D. slowly

48. A. cheer　　　　　　　　 B. make　　　　　　　　 C. light　　　　　　　　 D. get

49. A. smile　　　　　　　　 B. work　　　　　　　　 C. show　　　　　　　 D. say

50. A. prevented　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. stopped

C. kept　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. followed

51. A. destroyed　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. mended

C. improved　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. broken

52. A. friendship　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　 B. honesty

C. love　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. happiness

53. A. finally　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. quickly

C. confidently　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. immediately

54. A. anything　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. something

C. nothing　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. everything

55. A. changes　　　　　　　　　　 B. appears　　　　　　　　　 C. lasts　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. keeps

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