Have successful people ever felt sad? Do they have any “secrets” to success? The answers to these questions can be found in US president Barack Obama’s “back to school” speech. Here is an excerpt(摘錄) from his speech.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense that you can be rich and successful without any hard work—that your ticket to success is through rapping (饒舌音樂) or basketball or being a TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. Not all the homework will seem completely important to your life right this minute. And you may not succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was turned down 12 times before it finally came out. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots (投籃) during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures beat you—you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time.
No one’s born being good at things. You become good at things through hard work.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit(承認) when you don’t know something, and to learn something new.
And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged (泄氣), and you feel like other people have given up on you—don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
【小題1】Why does Barack Obama mention (提到) JK Rowling and Michael Jordan in the fourth paragraph?
| A．To compare these two famous persons. |
| B．To explain that writing and sports are difficult skills. |
| C．To show that the two persons were treated unfairly. |
| D．To prove that failure is the mother of success. |
【小題2】Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．No one can be successful without working hard. |
| B．Failure can be good if you treat it in a right way. |
| C．Those who believe in themselves shouldn’t ask others for help. |
| D．One should try his best to make his dream come true. |
【小題3】Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?
| A．One should change his mind when others give honest advice to him. |
| B．One should believe in himself no matter what difficulty he is faced with. |
| C．One doesn’t have to work hard when he has failed several times. |
| D．One doesn’t have to take others’ advice when they get away from him. |
