Sam Trafton was my violin teacher and what he said during one of my lessons often came back to me years later.

One day he asked me how much I practiced, I said three or four hours a day.

“Do you practice in long stretches, an hour at a time?’’

“I try to.’’

“Well, don’t,’’ he shouted. “When you grow up, time won’t come in long stretches. Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them five or ten before school, after lunch, between household tasks. Spread the practice through the day.’’

When I was teaching at Boston, I wanted to write a novel, but for two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time .Then I remembered what Sam had said. During the next week I did an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my surprise, at the end of the week I had finished a chapter. Later on I continued my novels by the same piecemeal method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, every day there were unoccupied moments that could be caught and put to use.

   However, you must get into your work quickly. If you have only five minutes for writing, you can’t afford to waste four chewing your pencil .You must make your mental preparations beforehand, and concentrate on your task almost instantly when the time comes. Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize Sam Trafton has had a great influence on my life. He let me know that life can be counted on to supply you short moments and even every short periods of time can add up to all useful hours you need, if you start without delay.

77. The underlined part “counted on’’ can probably be replaced by_____________.

   A. expected                B. added up to          C. concentrated on                D. enriched

78. Which of the following statement is TRUE?

   A. The writer owes great thanks to Sam for teaching him how to use free time.

   B. Sam has had a great influence on the writer’s study.

   C. The writer didn’t take the teachers words to heart at first.

   D Rapid concentration is actually more difficult than most people imagine.

79. We can infer that the writer______________.

   A. has new books published each year however busy his teaching is

   B. can always find enough time for mental preparations beforehand

   C. has formed a bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels

   D. is always tired of life because his teaching schedule is always heavy

80. What is the best title for this passage?

   A. A Little Time at a Time               B. How I Became a Writer

   C. Concentrate on Your Work           D. My Violin Teacher