“Would you tell me which way I should go from here?” asked Alice.

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get,” said the Cat.

“I really don’t care where” replied Alice.

“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

--- from “ Alice in Wonderland ”

My name is David. And I have a brother called Mike.

One day, my brother called me and asked me for some advice. He was trying to decide between two job offers:

Job 1 – The first job was your typical 40 hour a week “office” job.

Job 2 – The second job was more of a career in the insurance industry(保险业), where he would start at the bottom, and after many years and many long hours eventually rise to the top (if he was good).

The second job did not pay as well as the first job (at the beginning), but the pay-off of the second job (in the future) was much greater than the first job. So which job should my brother take? Well the answer is…it depends.

Just like the Cat was trying to tell Alice, which road you take depends a great deal on where you want to end up.

Begin with the End in Mind

I asked my brother what was his life’s purpose. He said his purpose was to “teach,” but he wanted to make a lot of money first. I told my brother to forget about the money, and I advised him to focus on his purpose. I then asked him which job best supported his end result of “teaching.” He said the first job best supported his goal because he would only have to work 40 hours a week, which would give him spare time to teach. He continued on to say, “but if I take job number two, I can work hard and make more money, then I can retire early and “teach” later in life.” I again advised him to “focus” on his purpose, not money. Things don’t end wrong, they begin wrong!

You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well

It would be very difficult to have a successful teaching career while you’re working 70-80 hours a week in the insurance business; no one can ride two horses well. As they say, you can do anything, but not everything. I advised him to get started today by choosing the job that best supported that decision.

Tomorrow Never Comes

My brother was thinking that he could always start teaching later in life, but the reality is, tomorrow never comes. Unless you decide right now to follow your feelings, they will probably never be completed. You only live once, don’t go to the end of your life with one regret.

The Money Will Come

My brother seemed to be overly concerned with making money. I told him not to be anxious about making money. You will always have greater money when you’re doing what you love.

In a word, whenever you’re at a cross-road, be sure to make the decision that best supports the goal of your life. If you do, then you will be well on your way.

1.Mike ___________ David one day.

A．visited            B．met              C．made a telephone call to   D．found

2.Mike was trying to ____________.

A．look for a job                          B．start a career

C．wok in an office                         D．decide between two job offers

3.As for the life’s purpose, Mike ______________.

A．wanted to teach first                     B．wanted to make a lot of money first

C．wanted to work in the insurance industry     D．wanted to work 40 hours a day

4.You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well means _____________.

A．you’d better have two horses

B．you can only ride one horse well

C．you can do everything well.

D．you can’t do two things well at the same time

5.The best title of the passage is ______________.

A．How to choose a better job

B．It is more important to begin than to end

C．How to make a better decision

D．Make more money because tomorrow never comes

“Would you tell me which way I should go from here?” asked Alice.

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get,” said the Cat.

“I really don’t care where” replied Alice.

“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

--- from “ Alice in Wonderland ”

My name is David. And I have a brother called Mike. 

One day, my brother called me and asked me for some advice. He was trying to decide between two job offers:

Job 1 – The first job was your typical 40 hour a week “office” job.

Job 2 – The second job was more of a career in the insurance industry(保险业), where he would start at the bottom, and after many years and many long hours eventually rise to the top (if he was good). 

The second job did not pay as well as the first job (at the beginning), but the pay-off of the second job (in the future) was much greater than the first job. So which job should my brother take? Well the answer is…it depends.

Just like the Cat was trying to tell Alice, which road you take depends a great deal on where you want to end up.

Begin with the End in Mind

I asked my brother what was his life’s purpose. He said his purpose was to “teach,” but he wanted to make a lot of money first. I told my brother to forget about the money, and I advised him to focus on his purpose. I then asked him which job best supported his end result of “teaching.” He said the first job best supported his goal because he would only have to work 40 hours a week, which would give him spare time to teach. He continued on to say, “but if I take job number two, I can work hard and make more money, then I can retire early and “teach” later in life.” I again advised him to “focus” on his purpose, not money. Things don’t end wrong, they begin wrong!

You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well

It would be very difficult to have a successful teaching career while you’re working 70-80 hours a week in the insurance business; no one can ride two horses well. As they say, you can do anything, but not everything. I advised him to get started today by choosing the job that best supported that decision.

Tomorrow Never Comes

My brother was thinking that he could always start teaching later in life, but the reality is, tomorrow never comes. Unless you decide right now to follow your feelings, they will probably never be completed. You only live once, don’t go to the end of your life with one regret.

The Money Will Come

My brother seemed to be overly concerned with making money. I told him not to be anxious about making money. You will always have greater money when you’re doing what you love.

In a word, whenever you’re at a cross-road, be sure to make the decision that best supports the goal of your life. If you do, then you will be well on your way.

1. Mike ___________ David one day.

A. visited         B. met        C. made a telephone call to    D. found

2. Mike was trying to ____________.

A. look for a job            B. start a career   

C. wok in an office          D. decide between two job offers

3.As for the life’s purpose, Mike ______________.

A. wanted to teach first                    B. wanted to make a lot of money first 

C. wanted to work in the insurance industry    D. wanted to work 40 hours a day

4. You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well means _____________.

A. you’d better have two horses     

B. you can only ride one horse well

C. you can do everything well.      

D. you can’t do two things well at the same time

5. The best title of the passage is ______________.

A. How to choose a better job    

B. It is more important to begin than to end

C. How to make a better decision 

D. Make more money because tomorrow never comes

Have you ever heard the song called “Is there anyone who told you”? It may be impossible for you not to know the song and its singer．It is sung by the famous “Happy Boy” Chen Chusheng， who appeared on Hunan Satellite TV．He caught everyone’s attention． Before the competition he was just a farmer’s son who had never got professional trainings of any kind． As a child， Chusheng wasn’t a good student， but he was very interested in music． He liked to listen to and sing his favorite songs again and again． Like many other parents， his parents also wanted him to go to college，but he failed．Chusheng had no choice but to help his brother repair bicycles and motorbikes．In Sanya, a small city in Hainan Province， Chen worked during the daytime while singing in different bars in the evening． He lived like that until the year 2000．

In 2000, Chen went to Shenzhen．He never expected that his first job in this new place would be delivering food．He went on working in the daytime while singing in the evenings．His life was hard at that time．In the bar called Star-making Factories he met many famous local musicians．In the following several years, Chen, with his musical dream, attended many music contests throughout the country， winning prizes many times． Today，when we think about his success, we cannot help thinking that if one wants to be successful, he should work harder than others．

1.From the passage we know that ________ ．

A．Chen Chusheng wasn’t very lucky

B．Chen Chusheng’s parents wanted him to be a singer

C．Chen Chusheng became a successful singer because he worked hard

D．Chen Chusheng got more money

2.What did his parents want him to do?

A．They wanted him to go to college．

B．They wanted him to be a doctor．

C．They wanted him to repair bikes for his brother．

D．They wanted him to go to bars．

3.What was Chen Chusheng’s life in Shenzhen like?

A．Enjoyable． B．Interesting． C．Comfortable． D．Hard．

4.What’s the meaning of the word“delivering”?

A．烹饪 B．递送 C．品尝 D．购买

5.Where did he work in the evening in Shenzhen?

A．In a bar． B．In a factory．C．In a restaurant． D．In a supermarket．

   I have to make a choice．Princeton, along with its significantly better financial （财政的）aid package．Or Yale, which wrote me a letter praising my writing skills and saying that his university is prefect for me．

    First of all, I sent e-mails to some friends, asking for advice．The feedback was half and half． I also sought opinions from current students．The Yale Website was friendlier, giving me the names of Yalies from China．

    I sent my questions and concerns to all of them．From their replies, I could tell that these Chinese students, whether they are American Chinese or native Chinese, were all enthusiastic(热心的)about Yale．Their love for the school shone through their words．I was beginning to lean toward Yale．

    The next deciding factor （因素）is the Spring Visit．I went down to New Haven, Connecticut, and was very excited to see Yale．I think it is the most beautiful campus, though most people would disagree．(Princeton is said to have the most beautiful campus of all the Ivy League universities．) Compared with the red brick buildings at Harvard or Andover, I appreciate the Gothic(哥特式的) styles of Yale much more．

    The culture in Yale is also more attractive than Princeton’s．I went to an event held by CASA( Chinese American Students Association), and met many Chinese Americans there．I discovered Yale’s Chinese population is very active and often stages cultural  events．I even bought a shirt that reads “ Ye Lu Da Xue” in traditional Chinese．

    I enjoyed Yale so much that I began to feel glad that Harvard had refused me． I used to think it was Harvard or nothing．Had I been accepted, I wouldn’t have given Yale or Princeton a chance．

1． _________made me begin to like Yale in some way．

A．The letter from the university           B．My e-mail’s feedback

C．The Yale website                    D．The Chinese students’ interest in it

2．_________finally made me choose Yale．

A．The Spring Visit                     B．The Gothic styles of Yale

C．The Yale community                  D．The shirt that reads“ Ye Lu Da Xue”

3．What does the underlined sentence mean?

A．My friends’ advice is not worth listening to at all．

B．My friend didn’t tell me the truth completely．

C．Only half of my friends wrote back to me on line, giving me advice．

D．Half of my friends suggested Princeton while others suggested Yale．

4．What do you think “Ivy League” refer to most probably?

A．An organization of universities and colleges in the United States．

B．An organization of universities and colleges in the world．

C．A football league in the United States．

D．A student union in an American university．