Question

One Bite at a Time

One summer day when I was heading for the teaching building, I met Philip, one of my colleagues ( 同 事 ), who worked in the same office with me. Beside him stood another young man. Philip introduced me to the young man, named Stephen. He told me that Stephen would take one of my classes Introduction to American History. Stephen asked if my class was going to be hard. I felt he was worried about failing before the opening day of classes. We talked about what the class would cover and I saw Stephen’s eyes getting big with fear.

Then I remembered a classical dialogue: Question: “How do you eat an elephant?” Answer: “One bite at a time.”

I told him to deal with his work that way — to do all his assignment (作业) and to hand them in on time. I added that most successful students I knew made a timetable in order to plan their study well.

As time went on, I learned more of Stephen’s story. He had difficulty in study when he was in the middle school. Family members, including his mother, kept telling him that he was a failure. He told me that before coming to our college no one had believed he had much potential (潜力).

Stephen didn’t become an “A” student. Still, he managed to pass most of his courses by being in class every day, turning in all of his assignment on time and breaking down his studying into bite-sized parts. By passing course after course he began to build up bit of self-respect.

Every time I saw him, he would brighten up and say, “One bite at a time.” He told his friends that he was succeeding when he was supposed to be failing. His secret, he said, was that he was practising what I taught him before classes ever started: “Take it one bite at a time.”

1.What is the relationship between the writer and Stephen?

A.Father and son. B.Teacher and student.

C.Classmates. D.Colleagues.

2.To plan their study well, most successful students .

A.made a timetable B.chose many courses

C.asked teachers questions D.took notes carefully

3.Stephen’s story mainly tells us that .

A.it is hard to pass courses in college B.we all need good luck to make a success

C.bad things can turn out to be good sometimes D.taking one bite at a time can help students succeed

Answer 1