“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity，” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’ s probably worth listening to.
Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’ re a Chinese，you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump (树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.
A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’ s not about going to a temple to burn some incense (香) in hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’ s practical advice you can follow each day.
Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups：those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper，” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not  spot the message.
It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”， in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.
I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners，my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence(巧合)? After reading about Professor Wiseman’ s studies I think not.
As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational (理性)thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential （潜在）problem.
Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.
【小题1】Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’ s point?

“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity，” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’ s probably worth listening to.

Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’ re a Chinese，you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump (树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.

A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’ s not about going to a temple to burn some incense (香) in hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’ s practical advice you can follow each day.

Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups：those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper，” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not  spot  the message.

It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”， in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.

I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners，my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence(巧合)? After reading about Professor Wiseman’ s studies I think not.

As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational (理性)thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential （潜在）problem.

Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.

1.Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’ s point?

A. Make the best of a bad job.

B. Rome was not built in a day.

C. All is not gold that glitters.

D. A good heart conquers ill fortune.

2.What do you know about Oprah Winfrey?

A. She became famous through her family background.

B. She was very lucky and seldom suffered setbacks （挫折）in her life.

C. She is a British talk show host.

D. She became successful by her own effort.

3.The writer quoted（引用） the Chinese tale of a farmer in order to show________.

A. luck is in your own hand

B. bad luck can turn into good

C. you should not sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you

D. man can conquer nature

4.From the experiment Wiseman drew the conclusion that________.

A. lucky people are quick-minded

B. unlucky people are slow to read

C. lucky people often have an open mind

D. unlucky people are more creative

5.The underlined word “spot” is the closest in meaning to“________”．

A. discover         B. mark   C. make               D. receive

“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity，” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’ s probably worth listening to.
Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’ re a Chinese，you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump (树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.
A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’ s not about going to a temple to burn some incense (香) in hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’ s practical advice you can follow each day.
Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups：those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper，” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not  spot the message.
It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”， in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.
I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners，my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence(巧合)? After reading about Professor Wiseman’ s studies I think not.
As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational (理性)thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential （潜在）problem.
Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English

1. 1.

   Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’ s point?

   1. A.
      Make the best of a bad job
   2. B.
      Rome was not built in a day
   3. C.
      All is not gold that glitters
   4. D.
      A good heart conquers ill fortune
2. 2.

   What do you know about Oprah Winfrey?

   1. A.
      She became famous through her family background
   2. B.
      She was very lucky and seldom suffered setbacks （挫折）in her life
   3. C.
      She is a British talk show host
   4. D.
      She became successful by her own effort
3. 3.

   The writer quoted（引用） the Chinese tale of a farmer in order to show________

   1. A.
      luck is in your own hand
   2. B.
      bad luck can turn into good
   3. C.
      you should not sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you
   4. D.
      man can conquer nature
4. 4.

   From the experiment Wiseman drew the conclusion that________

   1. A.
      lucky people are quick-minded
   2. B.
      unlucky people are slow to read
   3. C.
      lucky people often have an open mind
   4. D.
      unlucky people are more creative
5. 5.

   The underlined word “spot” is the closest in meaning to“________”．

   1. A.
      discover
   2. B.
      mark
   3. C.
      make
   4. D.
      receive

“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity，” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’s probably worth listening to.

Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’ re a Chinese，you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump (树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.

A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’ s not about going to a temple to burn some incense (香) in hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’ s practical advice you can follow each day.

Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups：those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper，” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not spot the message.

It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”，in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.

I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners，my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence? After reading about Professor Wiseman’ s studies I think not.

As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential problem.

Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.

57．Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’s point?

A. Make the best of a bad job.                      B. Rome was not built in a day.

C. All is not gold that glitters.                       D. A good heart conquers ill fortune.

58．What do you know about Oprah Winfrey?

A. She became famous through her family background.

B. She was very lucky and seldom suffered setbacks in her life.

C. She is a British talk show host.

D. She became successful by her own effort.

59．The writer quoted the Chinese tale of a farmer in order to show________.

A. luck is in your own hand

B. bad luck can turn into good

C. you should not sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you

D. man can conquer nature

60．From the experiment, Wiseman drew the conclusion that________.

A. lucky people are quick-minded                B. unlucky people are slow to read

C. lucky people often have an open mind         D. unlucky people are more creative

Shyness is the cause of much unhappiness for a great many people．Shy people are anxious and self-conscious; that is, they are concerned with their own appearance and actions too much．Negative thoughts are constantly occurring in their minds: What kind of impression am I making? Do they like me? Do I sound stupid? Am I wearing unattractive clothes?

    It is obvious that such uncomfortable feelings must affect people unfavorably．A person's self-concept is reflected in the way he or she behaves and the way a person behaves affects other people's reactions．In general, the way people think about themselves has a deep effect on all areas of their lives．

       Shy people, who have low respect, are likely to be passive and easily influenced by others．They need faith that they are doing "the right thing"．Shy people are very sensitive to criticism．It makes them feel inferior（自卑）．They also find it difficult to be pleased by praises because they believe they are unworthy of praise．A shy person may respond to a praise with a statement like this one: "You're just saying that to make me feel good, I know it's not true．” It is clear that, while self-awareness is a healthy quality, overdoing it is harmful．

       Can shyness be completely got rid of, or at least reduced? Fortunately, people can overcome shyness with determination since shyness goes hand in hand with lack of self respect．It is important for people to accept their weakness as well as their strengths．Each one of us has his or her own characteristics．We are interested in our own personal ways．The better we understand ourselves, the easier it becomes to live up to our chances for a rich and successful life．

The first paragraph is mainly about______．

       A．the cause of shyness        B．the effect of shyness on people

       C．the feelings of shy people     D．the questions in the minds of shy people

According to the writer, self-awareness is______．

       A．harmful to people                B．a weak point of shy people

       C．the cause of unhappiness           D．a good characteristic

What is the shy people's reaction to praise?

       A．They are pleased by it．

       B．They feel it is not true．

       C．They are very sensitive to it．

       D．They feel they are worthy of it．

We can learn from the passage that shyness can ______．

       A．block our chances for a successful life

       B．help us to live up to our full development

       C．enable us to understand ourselves better

       D．have nothing to do with lack of self respect