Fourteen – year – old Richie Hawley had spent five years studying violin at the Community School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles when he took part in a violin contest. Ninety two young people were invited to the contest and Hawley came out first．

　　The contest could have been the perfect setup for fear, worrying about mistakes, and trying to impress the judges. But Hawley says he did pretty well in staying calm. “I couldn’t be thinking about how many mistakes I’d make — it would distract me from playing,” he says. “I didn’t even remember trying to impress people while I played. It’s almost as if they weren’t there. I just wanted to make music.”

Hawley is a winner. But he didn’t become a winner by concentrating on winning. He did it by concentrating on playing well．

　　“The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part,” said the founder of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin. “The important thing in life is not the triumph (胜利) but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”

　　A characteristic of high performers is their intense, pleasurable concentration on work, rather than on their competitors or future glory or money, says Dr. Charles Garfield, who has studied 1,500 achievers in business, science, sports, the arts, and professions. “They are interested in winning, but they are most interested in self - development, testing their limits.”

　　One of the most surprising things about top performers is how many losses they’ve had and how much they’ve learned from each. “Not one of the 1,500 I studied defined losing as failing,” Garfield says. “They kept calling their losses ‘setbacks’.”

　　A healthy attitude toward setbacks is essential to winning, experts agree．

　　“The worst thing you can do if you’ve had a setback is to let yourself get stuck in a long depression. You should analyze carefully what went wrong, identify specific things you did right and give yourself credit for them.” Garfield believes that most people don’t give themselves enough praise. He even suggests keeping a diary of all the positive things you’ve done on the way to a goal．

1.Hawley won the contest because ________．

A. he put all his mind to his performance

B. he cared much about the judges’ feelings

C. he tried his best to avoid making mistakes

D. he paid close attention to the people around

2.According to the passage, successful people concentrate on ________．

A. challenging their own limits                              B. learning from others

C. defeating their opponents                                    D. avoiding setbacks

3.The passage tells us that “praise” in times of trouble ________．

A. helps people deal with their disappointment

B. makes people forget their setbacks

C. makes people regret about their past

D. helps people analyze what went wrong

　　Russian President Putin named Time magazine’s“Person of the Year”
　　Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time magazine’s“Person of the Year”on December 19th.2007 for strengthening stability（稳定）that made Russia a world power again.
　　The magazine recognized Putin’s“extraordinary feat（技艺）of leadership in taking a country that was in a mess and bringing it stability，”said Richard Stengel，Time’s managing editor.
　　The magazine noted that“Person of the Year”is not an honor or an endorsement（认可）but a recognition of leadership that shapes the world.
　　Putin，who is 56 years old，is very popular in Russia，making a great effort to cause economy to come to life on revenue（收入）from oil and natural gas.
　　Putin recently supported vice-PM Dmitry Medvedev’s presidential bid，and said he would accept Medvedev’s offer to serve as prime minister if Medvedev is elected on March 2.
　　The Kremlin said Wednesday the Time recognition was seen there as an acknowledgement of Putin’s role in helping Russia pull out of its social and economic troubles in the 1990s.
　　Others considered for“Person of the Year”included Nobel Prize-winner Al Gore and author J.K. Rowling.
　　This year’s choice was a return to the magazine’s tradition of picking an individual rather than last year’s choice of“You”，which refers to anyone creating or using content on the World Wide Web.
　　Putin is the fifth Russian（or Soviet）leader to be named Person of the Year：Gorbachev，Andropov，Khrushchev and Stalin，who was named twice.
55．How did Putin try to make Russia a world power again？
A．By performing arms race.
B．By making war.
C．By strengthening stability.
D．By getting foreign help.
56．Which of the following is Not True according to the passage？
A．Russia used to be in a mess.
B．Time always picks an individual to be the“Person of the Year”.
C．Oil and natural gas caused Russia’s economy to come to life.
D．Putin will leave office on March 2,2007.
57．What does the underlined word“acknowledgement”mean？
A．Praise. 　　　　　　　　　　　B．Support.
C．Scold. 　　　　　　　　　　　 D．Recognition.
58．How many times have Russian leaders been named“Person of the Year”so far？
A．Five times. 　　　　　　　　　B．Six times.
C．Seven times. 　　　　　　　　 D．Eight times.

　　Russian President Putin named Time magazine’s“Person of the Year”

　　Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time magazine’s“Person of the Year”on December 19th.2007 for strengthening stability（稳定）that made Russia a world power again.

　　The magazine recognized Putin’s“extraordinary feat（技艺）of leadership in taking a country that was in a mess and bringing it stability，”said Richard Stengel，Time’s managing editor.

　　The magazine noted that“Person of the Year”is not an honor or an endorsement（认可）but a recognition of leadership that shapes the world.

　　Putin，who is 56 years old，is very popular in Russia，making a great effort to cause economy to come to life on revenue（收入）from oil and natural gas.

　　Putin recently supported vice-PM Dmitry Medvedev’s presidential bid，and said he would accept Medvedev’s offer to serve as prime minister if Medvedev is elected on March 2.

　　The Kremlin said Wednesday the Time recognition was seen there as an acknowledgement of Putin’s role in helping Russia pull out of its social and economic troubles in the 1990s.

　　Others considered for“Person of the Year”included Nobel Prize-winner Al Gore and author J.K. Rowling.

　　This year’s choice was a return to the magazine’s tradition of picking an individual rather than last year’s choice of“You”，which refers to anyone creating or using content on the World Wide Web.

　　Putin is the fifth Russian（or Soviet）leader to be named Person of the Year：Gorbachev，Andropov，Khrushchev and Stalin，who was named twice.

55．How did Putin try to make Russia a world power again？

A．By performing arms race.

B．By making war.

C．By strengthening stability.

D．By getting foreign help.

56．Which of the following is Not True according to the passage？

A．Russia used to be in a mess.

B．Time always picks an individual to be the“Person of the Year”.

C．Oil and natural gas caused Russia’s economy to come to life.

D．Putin will leave office on March 2,2007.

57．What does the underlined word“acknowledgement”mean？

A．Praise. 　　　　　　　　　　　B．Support.

C．Scold. 　　　　　　　　　　　 D．Recognition.

58．How many times have Russian leaders been named“Person of the Year”so far？

A．Five times. 　　　　　　　　　B．Six times.

C．Seven times. 　　　　　　　　 D．Eight times.

C
　Being considered a leader in our society is indeed of high praise. Leadership means power, commands, respect and, most important, encourages achievement. Unlike vitamin C, leadership skills can’t be easily swallowed down. They must be carefully cultivated.
　Different from popular belief, most good leaders are made, not born. They learn their skills in their everyday lives. But which do they develop？How do they (and how can you) get others to follow?
　Always give credit. Many leaders note that the most efficient way to get a good performance from others is to treat them like heroes. Giving public credit to someone who has earned it is the best leadership technique in the world. It is also an act of generosity (慷慨) that’s never forgotten.
　Giving credit is more effective than even the most constructive criticism (批评), which often hurts rather than helps. Kenneth Blanchard, the author of The One-Minute Manager, agrees. “Catch people doing something right!” he says. Then tell everyone about it.
　Take informed risks. “The best leaders know that taking a risk is not a thoughtless exercise,” says management adviser Marilyn Machlowitz. “Sky divers don’t go up in an airplane without checking the parachutes (降落伞) beforehand.”
　Because the idea of risk also carries with it the possibility of failure, many of us usually wait for others to take charge. But if you want to be a leader, you must learn to fail and not die a thousand deaths. Pick yourself up and start all over again.
　Encourage enthusiasm (热情). “When people understand the important of work, they lend their mental strengths,” says Lee Ducat. But when they get excited about the work, all their energy gets poured into the job. That’s a great force! Is this the best way to create excitement? Be enthusiastic yourself. You will be followed by everyone.
64．The underlined word “cultivated” (in paragraph1) roughly means ________.
A．encouraged　　　　B．compared　　 C．examined　　　　D．developed
65．The part “always give credit” tells us that a leader should _______.
A．give helpful criticism　　　　　　　     B．regard others as real heroes
C．praise people for their good performances　  D．praise everyone
66．To be a good leader, you should _______.
A．not be afraid of any risks　　　　　　     B．think twice before taking risks
C．try to avoid any possible failures　　　　    D．know what a thoughtless exercise is
67．Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A．Leadership is of skills and techniques　　     B．Leadership is very important
C．Not many can be leaders　　　　　　     D．How to be a leader