In a world where comparisons happen non-stop, it is difficult to look outside yourself and to ever be content with who you are. There's always someone who's a bit better. The only solution is to reach inside and measure against what Warren Buffett calls your own inner yardstick. There is no more accurate measure for comparison than who you were yesterday, last week or last decade, when you were at your best.

Nothing useful ever comes from comparison to others. Either you see yourself as better than someone and you get lazy, or you see someone else as better than you and you feel like all your hard work is for nothing. It is a fool's game. None of us are inherently above or below the person next to us. We are who we are. Not one of us is exactly alike. The only direct and honest comparison is within yourself. Everything else is apples to oranges.

My opinion is that you are only allowed to compare yourself to someone else if their life situation is the same as your own. Good luck finding that match. And one thing is for sure. No matter how hard you work and how dedicated you are, there will always be someone who can run a little faster, jump a little higher, score a little better or look a little nicer in a swimsuit. And if there's not, you can bet someone is coming up fast behind you. So how can you always win in life? Become your best competitor.

The following are the reasons why you are your own best competitor.

1. You will always be motivated.

Having an image of your most recent past limits is the perfect thing to push you to the next level. If you ran 7 flights of stairs yesterday, then do 8 today. Who cares if the guy next to you did 15? It doesn't make a bit of difference. You are a more fit person today than you were yesterday. Your own progress is all you need.

2. You will continuously be your personal best.

If you commit to a slightly higher standard of yourself every day, you will always be at the top of your game. And that game will only get better. But if for some reason you fall off your mark, you will always have the past image of your best performance to show you what you're capable of. Once you've done it, you know what's possible and then it's just a matter of doing it again.

Through the passage the writer advises the readers to ________.

A. avoid comparison with others                 B. work much harder

C. pay attention to others’ progress                  D. make full use of motivation

If you want to be content with yourself, according to the author, you should ________.

A. see yourself better than others                B. measure accurately  

C. compare with yourself                           D. be honest with yourself

Which of the following is certain to happen according to the author?

A. Finding someone else who is in the same life situation as you are.

B. Finding someone who runs faster and jumps higher than you.

C. Finding someone who is hiding right behind you.

D. Finding someone who almost always wins in their life.

What can help you up to higher level in your life according to the passage?

A. Comparing yourself with the guy next to you.

B. Thinking about your own progress.

C. Promising to play a game every day.

D. Thinking of your most recent past limits.

If you go to Juliano’s restaurant in San Francisco,you can’t get a cup of coffee or a hot cheese sandwich.All the food in the restaurant is raw,including the pizza and the rice.
Juliano thinks that cooked food makes us sick. “Food is alive,like you and me.When you cook food,you take away some of the vitamins,”he says,Juliano never eats food that is over 50 degrees.His restaurant doesn’t have a stove(火炉) or a microwave(微波炉).But he has lots of clever ideas for making raw food taste great.Instead of heat,Juliano uses water to prepare foood.He puts foods in water to make them soft.For example,he places beans in water for a few days and rice in water for two or four weeks.
Everything at the restaurant is cold,and the pizza and the rice taste good.So do the fruit and vegetable juices made from carrots ,apples,oranges and so on.Juliano’s restaurant doesn’t serve meat,but some people who cat raw food also eat raw meat.Juliano has three friends who ate raw meat.They all got very sick..One of them is still sick.
Juliano eats mostly fruits,vegetables,nuts,rice and beans.He says he feels very healthy. “Raw food gives you lots of energy,”he says,Juliano says he needs only six hours of sleep a night,and he never gets sick..
61.What is the main idea of the passage?
A.A man who eats only raw food.               B.A special restaurant in San Francisco.
C.Raw food is better than cooked food.          D.How to make raw food taste good.
62.How is the food in Juliano’s restaurant prepared?
A.Foods are put into water to make them soft.
B.Foods are cooled in a fridge.
C.Foods are heated on a stove to a certain degree.
D.Foods are boiled and then cooled.
63.What is NOT served in Juliano’s restaurant?
A.Carrot juice.         B.Cold pizza.          C.Raw rice.          D.Hot meat.

Apples are usually sold by ________ weight and eggs are sometimes sold by ________ dozen.

　　A. the; the　　　　　　　　　　　 B. /;a

　　C. /; the　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. the; a

Why does night fall but never break and day break but never fall?

Why are people who ride motorcycles called bikers and people who ride bikes called cyclists?

In what other language do people drive in a parkway and park in a driveway?

In what other language do they call the third hand on the clock the second hand?

      Let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in an eggplant, neither pine nor apple in a pineapple and no ham in a hamburger. Sweet-meats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.

      We take English for granted. But when we explore its paradoxes (探讨它的矛盾), we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, public bathrooms have no baths in them.

      And why is it that a writer writes, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth? One goose, two geese — so one moose, two meese?

      How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?

      English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of human beings. That’s why, when stars are out, they are visible; but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it; but when I wind up this essay, I end it.

According to the passage ______.

A. sweet-meats and sweetbreads are different things

B. there should be egg in an eggplant

C. pineapples are the apples on the pine tree

D. boxing rings should be round

Which of the following includes two items which have the similar meaning?

A. A wise man and a wise guy.   

B. Overlook and oversee.  

C. Quite a lot and quite a few.   

D. Hot as hell and cold as hell.

The underlined words “wind up” in the last paragraph probably mean “______”.

A. blow     B. roll up     C. get hurt      D. finish

Through the many paradoxes in the English language, the writer wants to show that human beings are ______.

A. clever      B. crazy       C. lazy       D. dull

______enough  time , he  would  sell  the  apples  at  half  the  price .

A  .Not there being   B. There being not    C. There not being   D. There wasn’t