Michael Jordon is the greatest basketball player so far. Once he was making a television advertisement. All Michael needed to do in the advertisement was to miss a shot. For Michael, this was difficult. He always succeeded whenever he was throwing the ball. Every time he threw a basketball, it went in. Every time he tried to miss a shot, he failed. In total, it took him over 20 times before he missed a shot.

For Michael, success is a strong habit. He had formed a habit which was so strong that it took him a lot of time to break it and “fail”. Just like drinking, smoking and collecting things, success is also a habit. Like all habits, once it is established, it is difficult to break. Many people think that success is difficult to maintain（维持）. They feel that it will be hard work and will need too much action and focus. The truth is that it is simply a habit, and as easy to keep as any other habit.

Spend some time making success a habit in your life. Once you have developed it, it is not something you will want to change again. Then, the only thing you will fail is failing.

Lasting a Lifetime

      Sidney Wilson's watch was old and it did not work well. It was either too fast or too slow. It spent more time in the repair shop than on his wrist (手腕). So he decided to buy himself a new watch.

      He went into a jewelry shop and said to the saleswoman behind the counter.

      “I want to buy a new watch, please. Show me the best watch you have.”

      The saleswoman smiled happily. This was the kind of customer she liked.

     “Certainly, sir,” she said, and showed Sidney a gold watch.

      “This watch is made of gold and has twenty-four jewels,” she explained.

      “How much is it?” Sidney asked.

      “$5,000,” the saleswoman said.

      “Oh,” Sidney said. “I'm sorry. You did not understand me. I want to see the best watch you have for under $100.”

      The sales woman now lost interest in Sidney. She pushed some cheap watches at him. “Choose one from these,” she said rudely.       “They are all under $100.”

      Sidney picked up one of the watches, “Will it last me a lifetime?” he asked.

     “Of course,” the saleswoman said.

     “Then I'll buy it,” Sidney told her. He paid for the watch and left the shop.

      Two days later the watch stopped. Sidney could not make it work again. He took it back to the shop.

      “This watch is broken,” he said to the saleswoman. “You told me it would last me a lifetime.”

     “When you bought it, sir,” the saleswoman said, “you didn't look very well.”

Choose the best answer to each question about the story.

    Tara: Nicole, I have a problem.

    Nicole: What kind of problem?

    Tara: I have a job interview tomorrow, and I heard that the boss will ask to see my Facebook profile. I'm not comfortable with that.

    Nicole: That's illegal in some countries, like Canada. Can you refuse?

    Tara: I want to, but I'm afraid that if I do, I won't get the job!

    Nicole: I guess I see the boss's point. Looking at a candidate'sFacebook page will tell him a lot about the person's life and personality.

    Tara: That's true. Most of my life is on Facebook. My profile could tell him about my hobbies, my interests and what my friends think of me. I find the idea of showing a boss that much personal information disturbing.

    Nicole: Companies run background checks on possible employees all the time. And this is just another way for him to see if you're trustworthy. Besides, I've seen your Facebook page, and you don't have anything to hide.

    Tara: Maybe not, but my friends might still post things on my Facebook page that make me look bad.

    Nicole: I think the boss will probably realize the differences between your posts and your friends' posts.

    Tara: He might, but I'm also worried that something the boss sees on Facebook could be misleading. For example, I wore a really crazy costume to my friend's party last week. I wouldn't want him to think I always do strange things like that.

    Nicole: Yeah, but I don't think the boss would assume that one picture shows how you always act. I'm sure he'll be pretty cautious about drawing conclusions too quickly based on Facebook.

    Mrs. White asks Monica, "Do you like to have a treasure hunt(寻宝游戏)?" "Yes, Mom," Monica says. Mrs White gives(给) her a green notes(便条). It says, "You can find books in it." Monica comes to the bookcase and sees a yellow note in it. It says, "You can sit on it."

    Monica comes to her bed, but she can't find a note. She comes to her chair and sees a red note. "You can put(放) your tape in it," it says.

    Monica comes to her tape player and sees an orange note next to it. It says, "Call 786-0987." Monica comes to the phone on the table and calls 786-0987. "Monica comes to the phone on the table and calls 786-0987." Hello? This is Aunt Maria."

    "Oh, Aunt Maria, my treasure is you!" says Monica.

It's 5 o'clock. SeanMurphy is on his way home from work. He is tired and the bus is full, but whenhe thinks of seeing his lovely family at home, his heart is full of joy again.

"I want to see mywife, my children and my mother," he thinks. "But first of all I wantto sit on the sofa. I want to relax and read a good book."

Finally Mr. Murphy isat home. He is very tired now but he is happy. He says hello to his family.Then he sits down on the sofa, stretches(伸展)hislegs and lifts up his book.

"Now I canrelax," he thinks and smiles. But Mr. Murphy is not alone in the room. Hismother is playing the guitar and his wife is playing the piano. His two youngerchildren are fighting and his two older children are arguing about thetelevision. And the pots and pans are bubbling on the cooker(炊具).

It's the same everyday. Poor Murphy is very unhappy. He talks to his friend about his problem at abus stop.

Mr. Murphy's friendlistens to him carefully. Then he says: "Go and see Linda McCormack! Sheis a very clever woman. She knows the answer to everything."

Mr. Murphy thinks itworth(值得)a try. The next day, whenhe gets home, he doesn't go into the house as usual. He goes to the garage(车库)and gets on his bike.

The train No. 5609/5610 runs between Chongqing and Xiushan County（县）. It is1 slow train. In some carriages( 车厢）of it,there2 some desks and chairs next to the windows. These carriages are called "study carriages". 

There are also "study carriages" on other slow3 like No. 5619/5620 and No. 5633/5634. The trains4 along the Chengdu-Kunming Railway. Students often take the train between school 5 home. The train are6 their "school buses" and many students do7 homework in the study carriages. 

On the train No. Z150 between Guiyang and Beijing, a "book bar（书吧）" carriages is 8 popular (受欢迎的). The carriage is open(开放）at night to give students a reading place with free tea. And there is only one rule--9 noisy. 

If you need quiet places to study,these carriages on the train are really helpful. Do you want10 a try？