The Winner's Guide to Success

    Do you know what makes people successful? To find out the answers, an American scholar recently visited some of the most successful people in America. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Be responsible for yourself.

    Sometimes you may want to blame others for your failure to get ahead. In fact, when you say someone or something outside of yourself is stopping you from making success, you are giving away your own power. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Write a plan.

    It is very difficult trying to get what you want without a good plan. It is just like trying to drive through strange roads to a city far away. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Without this “map”, you may waste your time, money and also your energy; while with the “map” you'll enjoy the “trip” and get what you want in the shortest possible time.

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    Nothing great is easy to get. So you must be ready to work hard — even harder than you have ever done. If you are not willing to pay the price, you won't get anything valuable.

Never give up.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When you are doing something, you must tell yourself again and again: Giving up is worse than failure because failure can be the mother of success, but giving up means the death of hope.

    Although problems are a part of our lives, it certainly doesn't mean that we let them rule our lives forever. One day or the other, you'll have to stand up and say – problem, I don't want you in my life.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Problems with friends, parents, girlfriends, husbands, and children —— the list goes on. Apart from these, the inner conflicts within our work, too. These keep adding to our problems. Problems come in different shapes and colors and feelings.

    But good news is that all problems can be dealt with. Now read on to know how to solve your problems.

    Talk, it really helps. What most of us think is that our problem can be understood only by us and that no talking is going to help. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Talking helps you move on and let go.

    Write your problems. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. When you write down your problems, you are setting free all the tension from your system. You can try throwing away the paper on which you wrote your problems. By doing this, imagine yourself throwing away the problems from your life.

    Don't lose faith and hope. No matter what you lose in life, don't lose faith and hope. Even if you lose all your money, family… you should still have faith. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}.

    Your problems aren't the worst. No matter what problem you get in life, there're another one million people whose problems are huger than yours. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.Your problems might just seem big and worse, but in reality they can be removed.

    Go about and solve your problems because every problem, however big or small, always has a way out.

A. But the truth is that when you talk about it, you're setting free the negative energies that have been gathering within you.

B. When we have a problem, a pressing, critical, urgent, life-threatening problem, how do we try and solve it?

C. Tell yourself: when they can deal with them, why can't I?

D. Of course, we've been fighting troubles ever since we were born.

E. We can often overcome the problem and achieve the goal by making a direct attack.

F. Having a personal diary can also be of huge help if you don't want a real person to talk with.

G. With faith and hope, you can rebuild everything that you lose.

    Everyone has heard of Groundhog Day (土拨鼠日).{#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

    People in America think that the groundhog awakens from its winter's sleep on February 2^nd. The groundhog comes out of its hole. If the sun is shining, it will see its shadow. The shadow scares it. So it runs back into its hole. This means six more weeks of winter. If the day is cloudy, it will not see its shadow. Since it is not scared, it stays out of its hole.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. These are the same things we say on Groundhog Day today.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}They are known mainly to country people. City people just don't know how to look for them. City people think that a groundhog sitting by its hole may look like a root(根). It could also be seen as a clod (块) of earth. Or it may look like a broken fence-post(栅栏柱). But a farmer sees groundhogs anywhere he looks. They'll be watching like guards.

    The groundhog is a native American.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} It may also appear as far north as Alaska. It is hated by farmers. The groundhog eats a third of its weight in a day. What a big appetite(胃口)！It may eat about a half-ton of alfalfa(苜蓿) in a summer. So 10 groundhogs in a big field would eat five tons.

    Why do groundhogs eat so much? To prepare for winter.{#blank#}5{#/blank#} .This extra food is changed to fat. This fat is what they live on during their long winter's sleep.

A. It is an American holiday.

B. Groundhogs are strange animals.

C .This means that spring will soon come.

D. There are several ways to protect the groundhog.

E. In the fall, when there is a lot of food, they fill up.

F. It is found in most states east of the Rockies(落基山脉).

G. While it is not one of your major holidays, it is one that children love.

    People Are People

    Globalization has brought different cultures together in a way unimaginable one hundred years ago. Today, Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Africans, Anglos, and Hispanics may all work in the same offices, attend the same schools or live in the same neighborhoods{#blank#}1{#/blank#} And our society has lately emphasized（强调）the importance of diversity.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Take the following old proverbs for example.  

    “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” Thomas Jefferson, American President

    “One falsehood spoils a thousand truths.” African proverb

    “Be honest to those who are honest, and be also to those who are not honest.” Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher

    “A sacrifice is written off by a lie and the merit of devotion by an act of cheat.” Hindu saying

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} These seems to be a sort of cultural unity.

    We don't wish to imply all cultures are the same. Cultural diversity is real, and people from different cultures view many situations in different ways. However, historically, different cultures seem to share many common values. They are justice, courage, patience, generosity, equality, mercy and kindness, respect for the elders, and many more. Lying and stealing appear to be wrong no matter where you go. Perhaps some cultures make room for extenuating（情有可原）circumstances more than others; perhaps cultures apply these virtues in different ways; and when values disagree, different cultures may place different levels of importance on them{#blank#}4{#/blank#} But both cultures may still value both.

    To us, it seems as if there is some sort of code of right and wrong that everyone everywhere seems to understand, regardless of culture. It is almost as if, behind all of the diversity, one finds a common understanding – a human culture, if you will – that goes beyond racial, social, and political boundaries.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. All people seem to agree that we should tell the truth.

B. As cultures meet with each other, many differences stand out.

C. Each value supports many more sayings from different cultures.

D. We want to show, however, that there is more to these cultures than diversity.

E. These sayings from four separate cultures all support the same value – honesty.

F. It is almost as if, despite all our differences, we are all still the same – we are just people.

G. In other words, one culture may lean more toward justice and another culture more toward mercy.

Can zoos ever be animal-friendly?

    The topic of our last class discussion was “How can zoos provide animals with a good life?” Everyone believed it was impossible for zoos to give animals a caring environment. Our teacher suggested that visiting a modern zoo might give us a new point of view.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} In our discussion, many people said that zoos were full of smelly cages with unhappy animals living in. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, however, was set in an attractive, open environment. Trees and flowers had been planted around the park. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    At school, some people accused（指责）zoos of exploiting（剥削）animals for money but at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, as I see it, nothing could be further from the truth. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Before I visited Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, I wasn't sure about the rights and wrongs of zoos. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I feel that, although zoos can't provide the freedom of the wild, they can be animal-friendly by giving animals a safe and caring environment. As long as they do this well, to my mind they make a good contribution（贡献）to animal health. They also play an important part in educating us about wildlife. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    On the bus back to school, we all agreed that what we liked most was the zoo's environment and we would recommend（推荐）it for next year's group.

A. It is difficult for the zoo to raise animals.

B. More and more animals enjoy their wild homes.

C. I think lots of my friends changed their minds, too.

D. Most of the money is used to improve conditions at the zoo.

E. I went to the zoo and was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

F. In my opinion, the animals, rather than seeming upset, were pleased.

G. It was difficult to say how a zoo could really make up for animals' loss of freedom.

    A good book can be satisfying. If reading is a habit you'd like to get into, there are some ways to develop it.

    Realize that reading is enjoyable if you have a good book. If you have a difficult book and you are forcing yourself through it, it will seem like a task. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Set time. You should have some time during every day when you'll read for at least 5 to 10 minutes. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}For example, make it a habit to read during breakfast and lunch and even dinner if you eat alone.

    Always carry a book. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} When I leave the house, I always make sure to have my car keys and one book at hand. The book stays with me in the car, and I take it into the office and to appointments and pretty much everywhere I go.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Find a place in your home where you can sit in a comfortable chair. Don't lie down unless you're going to sleep. There should be television or computer near the chair, and no music or no noisy family members/roommates. If you don't have a place like this, create one.

    Reduce television/the Internet. If you really want to read more, try cutting back on time on TV or the Internet. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Still, every minute you reduce of the Internet/TV, you could use for reading. This could create hours of book reading time.

A. Wherever you go, take a book with you.

B. Go to bookstores.

C. Have some good tea or coffee while you read.

D. Find a quiet place.

E. This may be difficult for some people.

F. If this happens, give up the book and find another one that you'll really love.

G. It means you will read no matter how busy you are