I am one of those people who are terrible at saying no. I take on too many projects at once, and spend too much of my time doing things I’d rather not be doing. I get stuff done, but it’s not always the best I can do, or the best way I could spend my time.
That’s why my newest goal, both as a professional and a person, is to be a quitter.
Being a quitter isn’t being someone who gives up, who doesn’t see important things through to the end. I desire to be the opposite of that. The quitter I want to be is someone who gets out when there’s no value in what he’s doing, or when that value comes at the expense of something more important.
We get involved in something, realize we don’t want to be a part of it, but keep on going. We say “Well, I’ve already invested so much time in this, I might as well stick it out.” A friend of mine once told me, “I knew I was an adult when I could stop reading a book, even after getting 500 pages into it.” Odd though it sounds, we all tend to do this.
I propose the opposite: quit as often as possible, regardless of project status or time invested. If you’re reading a book, and don’t like it, stop reading. Cut your losses, realize that the smartest thing to do is stop before your losses grow even more, and quit. Instead of reading an entire book you hate, read half of a bad one and half of a good one. Isn’t that a better use of your time?
Step back for a second. Let’s learn how to say “no” at the beginning, or in the middle, and free up more of our time to do the things we’d like to be doing, and the things actually worth doing.
Saying no is hard, and admitting a mistaken yes is even harder. But if we do both, we’ll start to make sure that we’re spending our time creating value, rather than increasing our losses. Let’s be quitters together.
【小题1】The author wants to be a quitter, because he/she .
A.wishes to have more time for relaxation |
B.hopes to improve his/her personality |
C.expects to make more efficient use of his/her time |
D.has found it hard to do several things at one time |
A.When you know a task cannot be finished. |
B.When you feel tired and need a rest. |
C.When you meet with difficulties along the way. |
D.When you realize what you are doing is not worth the time. |
A.learn to say no | B.create more value |
C.live your life to the fullest | D.stop doing many things at a time |
科目:高中英语 来源:新教材理念设计高中二年级英语下 题型:050
阅读下面短文,根据短文内容,从每小题所给的四个选项中,选出一个最佳答案。
Some people are lucky enough to he born with a good sense of direction and even if they have only visited a place once, they will. be able to find it again years later.
I am one of those unfortunate people who have poor sense of direction and I may have visited a place time after time but I still get lost on my way there. When I was young I was so shy that I never dared ask complete strangers the way and so I used to wander round in circles and hope that by some chance I would get to the spot I was heading for.
I am no longer too shy to ask people for direction, but I often receive replies that puzzle me. Often people do not like to admit that they don’t know their hometown and will insist on telling you the way, even if they do not know it; others, who are anxious to prove that they know their home-town very well, will give you a long list of directions which you can not possibly hope to remember, and still others do not seem to be able to tell between their left and their right and you find in the end that you are going in the opposite direction.
If anyone ever asks me the way to somewhere, I always tell them I am a stranger to the town in order to avoid giving them wrong direction but even this can have embarrassing results.
Once I was on my way to work when I was stopped by a man who asked me if I would direct him the way to the Sunlight Building. I gave my usual reply, but I had not walked on a few steps when I realized that he had asked for directions to my office building. However, at this point, I decided it was too late to turn back and search for him out of the crowd behind me as I was going to meet with someone at the office and I did not want to keep him waiting.
Imagine my embarrassment when my secretary showed in the very man who had asked for directions o my office and his astonishment when he recognized me as the person he had asked.
1.What is the writer going to do when someone asks him for direction?
[ ]
A.He will direct the right way to the person willingly.
B.He will reply as if he were a stranger to the town.
C.He will give the very person long list of direction.
D.He is going to show the man an opposite direction.
2.Why did the writer consider himself to be an unlucky dog?
[ ]
A.Because of his poor sense of direction.
B.Because he always forget the way to home.
C.Because he did not have any friend.
D.Because he used to be too shy to ask the way.
3.How did the visitor feel when he was showed into the very room?
[ ]
A.He felt strange.
B.He felt embarrassed.
C.He felt very sad.
D.He felt astonished.
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科目:高中英语 来源:2011-2012学年浙江省台州市高二下学期期末考试英语试卷(带解析) 题型:阅读理解
Ever since Jerusha started her college, she began to write letters. Through a series of letters, from freshman to senior in college, she shared her life and study with an unknown gentleman, who never wrote back. Here is the very first letter.
Dear Mr. Kind, Here I am! I traveled yesterday for four hours in a train. It's a funny experience. I never rode in one before. College is the biggest, most confusing place — I get lost whenever I leave my room. I will tell you more later when I'm feeling less puzzled. Now I want to write a letter first just to get me familiar to you. It seems strange to be writing letters to somebody you don't know. It seems strange for me to be writing letters at all — I've never written more than three or four in my life, so please overlook it if they are not a model kind. Before leaving yesterday morning, Mrs. Lippett and I had a very serious talk. She told me how to behave, especially towards the kind gentleman who is doing so much for me. I must take care to be very respectful. I have been thinking of you a great deal this summer; having somebody take an interest in me after all these years makes me feel as though I had found a sort of family. It seems as though I belonged to somebody now, and it's a very comfortable feeling. I must say, however, that when I think about you, my imaqination has very little to work upon. There are just three things that I know: I .You are tall. II .You are rich. III. You hate girl. I suppose I might call you Dear Mr. Girl-Hater. Only that's rather unpleasant to me. Or Dear Mr. Rich-Man, but that's unpleasant to you, as though money were the only important thing about you. Maybe you won't stay rich all your life; But at least you will stay tall all your life! So I decide to call you Dear Daddy-long-legs. I hope you won't mind. It's just a private pet name — we won't tell Mrs. Lippett. The ten o'clock bell is going to ring in two minutes. Our day is divided by bells. We eat and sleep and study by bells. There it goes! Lights out. Good night. You can see how strictly I obey rules due to my training in the John Grier Home. Yours most respectfully, Jerusha Abbott |
A.To get her familiar to him. |
B.To present her thankfulness to him. |
C.To share her brand-new college life with him. |
D.To apologize to him for not writing letters too often. |
A.burst into laughter | B.think it acceptable |
C.criticize the writer | D.inform the man |
A.the man she writes to is dull and boring |
B.she is not familiar with the one she writes to |
C.it is not interesting at all to write to a stranger |
D.she lacks imagination when it comes to writing a letter |
A.curious | B.light-hearted | C.serious | D.skeptical |
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科目:高中英语 来源:2014届四川省绵阳市高二上学期12月月考英语试卷(解析版) 题型:阅读理解
When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously ,did not give her good service ,pretended not to understand her ,or even acted as if they did not hear her .W_w w.k*s*5 u.c@o m
My mother has realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she . I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker (股票经纪人).I said in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs.Tan..”
And my mother was standing beside me ,whispering loudly, “Why he don’t send me cheek already two week late.”
And then , in perfect English I said : “I’m getting rather concerned .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.”
Then she talked more loudly. “What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t tolerate any more excuse. If I don’t receive the check immediately , I am going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”
The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs.Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English.
When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom. It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.
1.Why was the author’s mother poorly served?w_w w. k#s5_u.c o*m
A. She was unable to speak good English.
B. She was often misunderstood.
C. She was not clearly heard.
D. She was not very polite.W_w w.k*s*5 u.c@o m
2.From Paragraph 2, we know that the author was ________ .
A. good at pretending B. rude to the stockbroker
C. ready to help her mother D. unwilling to phone for her mother
3.After the author made the phone call, _______.
A. they forgave the stockbroker
B. they went to New York immediately
C. they failed to get the check
D. they spoke to their boss at once
4.What does the author think of her mother’s English now?
A .It confuses her.
B. It embarrasses her.
C. It helps her understand the world.
D. It helps her tolerate rude people.
5.We can infer from the passage that Chinese English ________.w_w w. k#s5_u.c o*m
A. is clear and natural to non-native speakers
B. is vivid and direct to non-native speakers
C. has a very bad reputation in America
D. may bring inconvenience in America
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科目:高中英语 来源:2013届浙江省台州市高二下学期期末考试英语试卷(解析版) 题型:阅读理解
Ever since Jerusha started her college, she began to write letters. Through a series of letters, from freshman to senior in college, she shared her life and study with an unknown gentleman, who never wrote back. Here is the very first letter.
Dear Mr. Kind, Here I am! I traveled yesterday for four hours in a train. It's a funny experience. I never rode in one before. College is the biggest, most confusing place — I get lost whenever I leave my room. I will tell you more later when I'm feeling less puzzled. Now I want to write a letter first just to get me familiar to you. It seems strange to be writing letters to somebody you don't know. It seems strange for me to be writing letters at all — I've never written more than three or four in my life, so please overlook it if they are not a model kind. Before leaving yesterday morning, Mrs. Lippett and I had a very serious talk. She told me how to behave, especially towards the kind gentleman who is doing so much for me. I must take care to be very respectful. I have been thinking of you a great deal this summer; having somebody take an interest in me after all these years makes me feel as though I had found a sort of family. It seems as though I belonged to somebody now, and it's a very comfortable feeling. I must say, however, that when I think about you, my imaqination has very little to work upon. There are just three things that I know: I .You are tall. II .You are rich. III. You hate girl. I suppose I might call you Dear Mr. Girl-Hater. Only that's rather unpleasant to me. Or Dear Mr. Rich-Man, but that's unpleasant to you, as though money were the only important thing about you. Maybe you won't stay rich all your life; But at least you will stay tall all your life! So I decide to call you Dear Daddy-long-legs. I hope you won't mind. It's just a private pet name — we won't tell Mrs. Lippett. The ten o'clock bell is going to ring in two minutes. Our day is divided by bells. We eat and sleep and study by bells. There it goes! Lights out. Good night. You can see how strictly I obey rules due to my training in the John Grier Home. Yours most respectfully, Jerusha Abbott |
1.Which of the following is NOT the reason for Jerusha to write the letter to Mr.Kind?
A. To get her familiar to him. B. To present her thankfulness to him.
C. To share her brand-new college life with him.
D. To apologize to him for not writing letters too often.
2.If Mrs. Lippett learned that the writer calls the man she writes to Daddy-long-legs, she would probably .
A. burst into laughter B. think it acceptable
C. criticize the writer D. inform the man
3.By "when I think about you, my imagination has very little to work upon.", the writer intends to tell us that .
A. the man she writes to is dull and boring
B. she is not familiar with the one she writes to
C. it is not interesting at all to write to a stranger
D. she lacks imagination when it comes to writing a letter
4.Jerusha was probably while she worked on the letter.
A. curious B. light-hearted C. serious D. skeptical
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科目:高中英语 来源:2011-2012学年福建省高三模拟考试英语试卷(解析版) 题型:阅读理解
Every Friday we have a fire alarm test at nine o'clock sharp, and even though the sound is very noisy, I am so happy because when I heard that it reminded me today is Friday and tomorrow is weekend, it is the last working day of the week and I have two days off, it’s so excited!Sometimes we have a fire drill, when you hear the fire alarm, everybody have to run out through the fire exit.
One Monday at nine o’clock, the alarm was sounded and I was working behind the fish house and didn’t hear it. The department manager and staff were looking for me thoroughly, finally they found me and asked me to stop my job and follow them went out.
"I am busy, No problem! You leave, I work." I said.
"No, this is the law, everybody has to leave." The manager said.
I understood that if I insisted not to leave, they must carry me out. I went out with them together finally, no choice.
One afternoon, when I was working outside, the fire alarm cropped up(突然出现) sounding wildly, nobody knew what’s happening, some were standing and looking around, some were asking questions, some were running, I knew this wasn’t a test or drill, must be a real one. At that moment, one lady called me from a distance:"Jinglebell: leave your job, go out quickly."I joined the crowded flow of customers and staff going out. I asked somebody what's happened? And they told me this is a real one as there was some smoke on the shop floor.Finally I found out, actually there was no problem, that it was an electrician who used the equipment for the carpet and made a little smoke.
After that I asked somebody how to deal with the customer’s food in the restaurant in that case, because they went out to leave because of the fire, but hadn't finished their food. They told me that the customers who had bought food or drinks there could get a new one.
I don't understand, if in China, under that situation, everybody must carry a bucket(桶) or some other water containers to the fire spot, to fight the flames.
I agree with the English emphasis the human right, but maybe a very small problem could become a big problem while everybody had withdrawn from the shop, because the fire fighters could not come at once.
I was just thinking.
1.Despite the noise from the fire alarm, the author still feels happy because _____.
A.the noise lasts too long |
B.the noise is not too loud |
C.the noise reminds the author of the coming of weekend |
D.the author often ignores it when working |
2.If there is a fire breaking out in a restaurant, what will happen in China?
A.people will go out to leave |
B.people will scream and cry in panic |
C.people will not leave until they finish their food |
D.people will carry a basket or some water containers to help put out the flames |
3.What’s the author’s attitude to the human right?
A.Approval |
B.Rejection |
C.Neutral |
D.Not mentioned |
4.Why does the author think that a very small problem may become a big one while everybody had withdrawn from the shop?
A.Because the author thinks the fire is dangerous |
B.Because the author thinks the fire spreads fast |
C.Because the author thinks the fire fighters could not come at once |
D.Because the author thinks the human right is important |
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