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Three simple keys to success

Being successful means different things to different people.1. My point is, the specifics involved in finding success can vary greatly, depending on your goal.

There are three basic components necessary for finding success, regardless of the specifics of your pursuit. And, since the desire for ownership is the driving force behind acquisition, I’ll use the word OWN as my simple three-item method for success:

1.O-Opportunity: One of the most important components in finding success is being able to identify opportunity. It is to success what wind is to sailing. 2. Identifying opportunity is the first step: awareness sets your sails for success while your motivation provides the wind.

2.W-Wisdom: By definition, wisdom is the accurate application of knowledge. 3. It requires clear understanding, great insight (洞察力) and good judgment. Once opportunity is identified, you must use all your inner resources to seize it and make the most of it. 4.Finding success when opportunity presents itself often means reaching out for help in areas where you have weakness or lack of knowledge.

3. N-Never give up: This might possibly be the most important for success. The key is to first break your goal down into workable parts so you don’t feel pressured, and then to work each part at ease with both enthusiasm and purpose. 5. Having this attitude keeps you moving in the face of trouble and becomes the driving force behind most success stories.

A.It takes a lot of time effort and determination to succeed.

B.Besides, wisdom means knowing your limitations.

C.But wisdom involves more than just knowing.

D.You simply can’t have one without the other.

E.Being successful demands doing well.

F.The road to success is being largely determined by what result you want to achieve.

G.You’ll finally succeed if you follow these steps.

    If an emperor penguin wants to survive in the worst of an Antarctic winter, there is no such thing as personal space. The large birds are known to stay very close to each other, feather to feather, in groups of thousands to keep out the cold.

For the first time, German researchers show that these gatherings are carefully organized structures, in which single penguins can cause mass movements within the group that is similar to the movements of cars in a traffic jam.

“If one penguin starts a wave, perhaps walking too close to its neighbor, it travels like a Mexican wave in a football stadium,” said physicist Daniel Zitterbart. The Mexican wave happens when all the people watching a sport stand up, move their arms up and down, and sit down again one after the other in a continuous movement looking like a wave on the sea.

Emperor penguins gather in formation when the temperatures drop below -18℃, using each other’s bodies to keep warm. They arrived at an arrangement that physicists recognize as a “triangular lattice structure”, with a penguin at each point of the triangle. “They gather just by their natural ability,” said Zitterbart who filmed and then analyzed the movements of the penguins.

The researchers explain that the movements of a single bird within the huddle (挤作一团的动物) can set off a chain reaction that travels through the rest of the group.

That movement is similar to what happens when a single car in a traffic jam moves forward, setting off a chain reaction of tiny movements by all of the cars behind it. But there’s a difference: only the first car in the jam can start off the group movement. On the ice, any penguin among the crowd can cause a wave of small movements.

“This is one case where a traffic jam is very useful,” said Zitterbart.

1.What do we know about the Mexican wave?

A.It is the major cause of penguins movements.

B.It is a dangerous incident that happens in stadium.

C.It is a complex structure organized by penguins.

D.It works like the movements of cars in a traffic jam.

2.Penguins’ formations             .

A.often cause trouble B.are well arranged

C.are taught by physicists D.usually move in a square shape

3.What will happen if a penguin moves in the huddle?

A.Other penguins will move one after another.

B.The penguins will spread out on the ice.

C.The whole group will move to another place.

D.Other penguins will just stay where they are.

4.Penguins “traffic jam” can help them         .

A.hatch their eggs B.communicate

C.keep warm D.protect their feathers

    Mexico and the USA share a common border on the northern side of Mexico. However, despite the close physical proximity(临近), there are a lot of differences between their social conduct.

Americans belong to diverse ethnic (种族) as well as national origins, despite which, all of them have mixed perfectly with the mainstream of American culture. Officially, six different races of people have been recognized by the government of the United States, which include White or European Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, Black or African-Americans, Asians, and the people of two or more races. White Americans form the majority, constituting about 75% of the total population of America.

Mexicans are a group of multi-ethnic people. Mexico shelters people of different races, religions and tribes. When the country achieved independence from the Spanish colonizers (殖民者), the population included people of native pre-Columbian ancestry as well as Europeans, who came there through the process of colonization. The fusion of these two, particularly diverse ethnicities, led to the formation of the special multi-ethnic character of the Mexican people.

Americans tend to give a lot of importance to their profession, sometimes more than their family. Children are brought up in a more independent manner. Parents expect their children to set up their independence households once they start earning. Americans feel that the practical application of knowledge is very important. So, their way of acquiring knowledge is based more on reasoning, analysis, and in-depth specialization of a subject.

However, family comes first for Mexicans. In most Mexican families, men work to earn money, while women take care of the housework. Children are brought up with a lot of parental care and attention. Mexicans love to settle down in one place, and prefer to stay with their families. They consider titles and positions as their status symbols. They believe in education based on repeated learning and so, their academic system emphasizes learning through memorization.

Despite so many differences in their cultures, some sort of integration (结合) binds the Mexicans and the Americans, in a way, promotes their co-existence.

1.Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 2?

A.American Indians and Alaska Natives are the largest ethnic group in the USA.

B.There are more Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders than Asians in the USA.

C.American Indians have not been recognized by the US government.

D.European Americans make up about three fourths of the USA’s population.

2.The underlined word “fusion” in Paragraph 3 means “         ”.

A.competition B.mix

C.comparison D.balance

3.Which of the following might Americans agree with?

A.Truth comes from practice. B.Blood was thicker than water.

C.Rome was not built in a day. D.Every dog has its day.

4.In Mexicans’ eyes, they           .

A.look at money as a status symbol B.usually receive an all-round education

C.enjoy the company of family D.husband and wife share the housework

    A few years after Mom died, Dad showed up for lunch wearing the soft smile that took over his face whenever he was thinking about her. “I’ve found these,” he said, handing me a bag. “She would have wanted you to have them.”

I opened the bag to find dozens of shells, each one bearing Mom’s handwritten words: Stone Harbor, N. J. — 8-98. They were pretty common, but to Mom, they were evidence of her endlessly magical life.

She was 61 when she collected these shells, already showing signs of the lung disease that would kill her the next year. Mom needed an adventure. She loved seashore. So we decided to take her to Jersey Shore.

As soon as I said “Jersey Shore”, she started to shout over and over again— “I can’t believe I’m going to New Jersey!”

Once we got to Stone Harbor, Mom acted like the town mayor, greeting everyone as if they were loyal constituents. And she spent hours collecting shells on the beach. The morning we left, I found her photographing every corner of her bedroom. “I don’t even want to forget this,” she said.

For a long time, Mom’s shells stayed buried in a drawer. Last month, I rediscovered them. I put them where I can easily to see them. One by one, the shells are finding a new place in my home. They remind me to live a life like my mother — who never lost her sense of passion.

1.The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 1 refers to            .

A.the bag the author’s dad found B.the photos the author’s mom took

C.the shells the author’s mom collected D.the words the author’s mom wrote

2.Why did the author’s mom greet everyone in the Stone Harbor?

A.She knew them very well. B.She was very excited.

C.She wanted to make friends with them. D.She was popular among the people there.

3.What do we know about the author’s mom?

A.She had a sense of adventure. B.She passed away at the age of 61.

C.She was brought up in New Jersey. D.She showed great enthusiasm for life.

4.We can infer from the last paragraph that the shells         .

A.remind the author of her mom’s attitude towards life

B.make the author think of her mom’s death

C.were taken out of the drawer for the purpose of decorating the house

D.were hidden in a drawer because they are very precious

    Let’s look at some inventions that had their roots in the UK.

The bagless vacuum cleaner（吸尘器), James Dyson,1979

There are some things we don’t know we need until someone invents them. For example, the bagless vacuum cleaner. James Dyson came up with the idea after spending a lot of money on an expensive cleaner that simply pushed dirt around.

Most of us would have given it up, but Dyson went on to change the basic principle of a vacuum cleaner --- an idea that hadn’t been challenged for 100 years --- by designing a system that removed the necessity of the bag for good. His final version took five years of research.

However, when Dyson first approached manufacturers (制造商) with his idea, he couldn’t interest them. But he didn’t give up and set up a factory in Wiltshire in 1993 to produce them himself. Two years later, Dyson’s products were outselling the competition.

The Mini Alec Issigonis, 1959

While the Americans were driving supersize Cadillacs, Britain famously went in the opposite direction and came up with a small car.

Alec Issigonis was responsible for the design and made a name for himself in motoring history with its launch (投放市场) in 1959 for the British Motor Corporation(BMC).

The Mini’s success wasn’t overnight. Many thought it “strange”, but it developed into a love affair with the British that’s never decreased, helped by the fact that many stars loved it.

The London sewage system, Joseph Bazalgette, 1865

Like any major city, London has always produced large amounts of waste. Give thanks to Joseph Bazalgette, an engineer who developed a far-reaching underground sewage system. It changed the process of getting rid of waste by dumping it into the Thames River. Even more impressive was his idea to construct pipes that would function for nearly 150 years and still be large enough to meet the need of the increasing population. As he said, “We’re only going to do this once.”

1.Which of the following is true according to James Dyson’s experience?

A.He invented the first vacuum cleaner. B.He enjoyed immediate success.

C.His idea attracted many manufacturers. D.His product became a bestseller.

2.The Mini won its popularity _____.

A.soon after its launch in 1959

B.because it was advertised by stars

C.with the help of some famous people’s preference

D.because people lost interest in supersize cars

3.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph shows Bazalgette was _____.

A.cautious B.confident

C.far-sighted D.strong-minded