You’d better ______________(削尖) all your pencils before the test.

The Most Direct Solution to Any Problem

When trying to solve various problems in life, an approach I find very useful is to first identify what I’d consider the most direct solution, regardless of how I feel about actually implementing (实施) it. What is the clearest, most direct path to my goal or the most efficient way to get around an obstacle?

Many problems will have multiple direct solutions, but often these solutions will be unpleasant at first glance because they’ll require courage, self-discipline, creativity, or persistence to implement.  ___60___

For example, suppose you want to lose weight. And suppose we can say that one of direct solutions is to eat the same as you’re eating now, and boost(促进，提高) your exercise output by 500 calories a day. ___61___  Although it may require discipline and persistence, most people would agree that it will work if you follow through.

Another example: ___62___  However, you don’t know how that person feels about you. One direct solution would be to simply walk up, explain your thoughts and feelings, and ask if she/he is interested in discussing the possibility of a closer relationship. This will take less than a minute to say, and regardless of the outcome, at least you know where you stand.  ___63___  Anyhow it’s very simple and straightforward.

___64___  What’s the simplest and quickest way to reach your goals, assuming that you had limitless courage and discipline?

A. Of course this solution may require a lot of courage to overcome the possibility of rejection.

B. But if we can get ourselves to follow through, we know the solutions will actually work.

C. See if you can identify the most direct solution to some of your problems.

D. So the best way to overcome the difficulty is to ask your friends for advice.

E. If you implement this rather simple solution, you’ll lose weight.

F. Suppose you’re interested in starting a relationship with someone.

G. However, the solution implemented does not work.

Some people are lucky enough to be 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 hoped that by some chance I would get to the spot I was heading for.

Now, 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 hometown 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 to that in which you should be going.

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 directions, 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 of my office and his astonishment when he recognized me as the person he had asked.

50. Why did the writer consider himself to be an unlucky dog?

A. Because of his poor sense of direction.

B. Because he always forgets the way home.

C. Because he did not have any friend.

D. Because he used to be shy and dared not ask others the way.

51. 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 is going to show the man an opposite direction.

C. He will give the very person a long list of directions.

D. He will reply to it by the means of being a stranger to the town.

52. 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.

There is no ______ in trying to talk him into joining us. He enjoys being alone.

A. doubt                B. wonder                    C. hope                        D. point

Peter’s mobile phone was left in a taxi accidentally, never __________again.

A. to find                     B. to be found               C. finding                     D. being found

The theory is true _____ the hotter a body is, the more energy it gives off.

A. that                  B. when                       C. which                      D. what

The fire was finally brought under control, but not _______ heavy damage had been caused.

A. before               B. after                         C. since                        D. as

---Have you seen Bob recently?

---No, but I was told he _______ for a new job all through the summer.

A. has been looking                                          B. had been looking

C. is looking                                                    D. was looking

I’ve already told you that I’m going to buy it, ________.

A. how much does it cost                                 B. no matter how it costs

C. however does it cost much                           D. however much it costs

It was because he would get the chance to travel ______ he wanted to work as a tour guide.

A. that                  B. why                         C. what                        D. where