Question

If you have failed in the past to try to make big changes in life, try again now, one tiny step at a time.

Every year it's the same. As December comes to an end, you think about the new year and all the ways you want to improve your life. But as you start to write down your hopes for the new year, you think about the last year. You excitedly write down all the changes you are going to make, but by the end of January those ideas get lost in your busy life.

Here's a suggestion : Forget the too big, hard-to-achieve goals and just think about the small ones. "We often think that we have to do everything in big steps, even though it's so hard for us to reach it," said Robert Maurer, who recently wrote the book One Small Step Can Change Your Life. "What we try to do is to begin with such a small step that we can't find any excuse not to do it. "

“Kaizen”, a Japanese word, is used to mean to change behavior and attitudes. During World War II, American factory managers were able to increase productivity by trying small, continuous improvements instead of sudden changes. After the war, the idea was brought to a rebuilding Japan. It made Japan develop fast. The Japanese called it “kaizen”, which means “improvement”.

Maurer studied the idea and did some experiments with it. "Kaizen" could possibly help people succeed in doing everything.

1.At the end of December, people usually________.

A. fail to make big changesB. plan for the last year

C. think about the new yearD. try to lose their ideas

2.Robert Maurer wrote a book to tell us_________.

A. we should do everything in big steps

B. how to change one's life with one small step

C. we should try a lot of sudden changes

D. how to find a small step without any excuse

3.The underlined part "increase productivity" in the passage means “________”.

A.提高生产率B.增加成本C.增加出口量D.提高待遇

4.The writer of the passage suggests we should_________.

A. make changes at the end of the year

B. do few experiments with "kaizen"

C. do things with hard-to-achieve goals

D. take a tiny step to achieve big goals

5.Which of the following is true from the passage?

A. You can achieve your goals if you are not too busy.

B. Robert Maurer studied “kaizen” and found it helpful.

C. You can’t find any excuse not to reach a big goal.

D. “Kaizen” was brought to Japan during World War II.

 

Answer 1

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.D

5.B

【解析】

试题分析：这篇短文中作者主要介绍了我们在年末展望未来时往往目标过于宏达而不易实现，要注重小的细节，从小的步骤开始，就有可能实现更大的目标。

1. As December comes to an end, you think about the new year and all the ways you want to improve your life.可知，在年末大家都会展望新年；故选C。

2. "What we try to do is to begin with such a small step that we can't find any excuse not to do it. "及其他的书名One Small Step Can Change Your Life.可知，他写这本书的目的就是告诉人们通过小的步骤来逐步改变自己的生活；故选B。

3. It made Japan develop fast.可知，"increase productivity"的意思是提高生产率；故选A。

4.If you have failed in the past to try to make big changes in life, try again now, one tiny step at a time.及后面的内容说明可知，作者的目的就是鼓励大家要注重小的步骤来实现大的目标；故选D。

5.Maurer studied the idea and did some experiments with it. "Kaizen" could possibly help people succeed in doing everything.可知，B项正确；其他几项在文中都没有理论依据；故选B。

考点：教育类短文阅读。