Once I spoke at a high school. After the speech, I was asked to see a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and it would mean a great deal to him. I agreed.

He was Matthew. When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to see five, then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal weight lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles(障碍) and going for my dreams.

      I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain(抱怨). He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams.  He knew what he was talking about. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weight with me.

       When we finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles（障碍） than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion（冠军）. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”

       Last summer I got the news that Matthew had died and a letter Matthew had written me a few days before:

Dear Rick,

My mom said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. The doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more. But I still smile as much as I can.

       I told you some day I was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal. But I know now I’ll never make it. But I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you.

Thank you for loving me.

Your friend,

Matthew

1. The boy wished to meet the writer because ________.

A. he wished to take part in the Olympics

B. he admired the author very much

C. he hoped to make friends with the author

    D.  he enjoyed going in for weighting lifting

2. Which of the statements is TRUE?

A. Matthew was good at weight lifting.

    B. Rick had the similar disease as a child.

C. Rick encouraged the boy to become a champion. 

    D. Matthew never gave up in face of disease.

3. Why did the boy refuse the writer’s medal?

A. He didn’t need Rick’s pity.

B. Rick looked on the medal as the most important thing.

C. The gold medal was very dear to Rick.

D. He thought he was not worthy of it.  

4. What can be inferred from Matthew’s letter?

  A. Mathew was unhappy before death. 

  B. Mathew kept in touch with Rick .

  C. Mathew sent some pictures to Rick.

D. Mathew got an Olympic gold medal.

I must have been about fourteen then, and I put away the incident from my mind with

the easy carelessness of  youth. But the words, Carl Walter spoke that day, came back to me

years later, and ever since have been of great value to me.

Carl Walter was my piano teacher. During one of my lessons he asked how much practicing I

was doing. 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 exclaimed. "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, and piano-playing will become a part of your life."

When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading, and committee meetings filled my days and evenings. For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time. Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript ready for revision, later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were idle moments which could be caught and put to use. I even took up piano--playing again, finding that the small intervals of the day provided sufficient time for both writing and piano practice.

There is an important trick in this time--using formula: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but 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.

I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes. But life can be counted on to supply interruptions. Carl Walter has had a tremendous influence on my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I plunge（投入）in without delay.

The meaning of “stretch” in the underlined part is the same as that in sentence “        ”.

A．The forests in the north of the province stretch for hundreds of miles.

B．Bob worked as a government official for a stretch of over twenty years.

C．My family wasn’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.

D．During his senior year his earnings far enough to buy an old car.

Which of the following statements is true?

A．The writer didn’t completely take the teacher’s words to heart at first.

B．Carl Walter has had a great influence on the writer's life since he became a student.

C．The writer owes great thanks to his teacher for teaching him to work in long stretches.

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

We can infer that the writer             . 

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

B．is always tired of interruptions in life because his teaching schedule is always heavy

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

D．can find sufficient time for mental preparations beforehand, so he's devoted to work   instantly

What is the best title of this passage?

A．Concentrate on Your Work            B．A Little at a Time

C．How I Became a Writer              D．Good Advice Is Most Valuable

    I must have been about fourteen then, and I put away the incident from my mind with the

easy carelessness of  youth. But the words, Carl Walter spoke that day, came back to me years

later, and ever since have been of great value to me.

Carl Walter was my piano teacher. During one of my lessons he asked how much practicing I was doing. 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 exclaimed. "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, and piano-playing will become a part of your life."

When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading, and committee meetings filled my days and evenings. For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time. Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript ready for revision, later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were idle moments which could be caught and put to use. I even took up piano--playing again, finding that the small intervals of the day provided sufficient time for both writing and piano practice.

There is an important trick in this time--using formula: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but 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.

I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes. But life can be counted on to supply interruptions. Carl Walter has had a tremendous influence on my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I plunge（投入）in without delay.

56．The meaning of “stretch” in the underlined part is the same as that in sentence “        ”.

      A．The forests in the north of the province stretch for hundreds of miles.

       B．Bob worked as a government official for a stretch of over twenty years.

       C．My family wasn’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.

       D．During his senior year his earnings far enough to buy an old car.

57．Which of the following statements is true?

　　A．The writer didn’t completely take the teacher’s words to heart at first.

　　B．Carl Walter has had a great influence on the writer's life since he became a student.

　　C．The writer owes great thanks to his teacher for teaching him to work in long stretches.

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

58．We can infer that the writer             . 

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

      B．is always tired of interruptions in life because his teaching schedule is always heavy

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

       D．can find sufficient time for mental preparations beforehand, so he's devoted to work   instantly

59．What is the best title of this passage?

       A．Concentrate on Your Work           B．A Little at a Time

       C．How I Became a Writer           D．Good Advice Is Most Valuable

    I must have been about fourteen then, and I put away the incident from my mind with the
easy carelessness of  youth. But the words, Carl Walter spoke that day, came back to me years
later, and ever since have been of great value to me.
Carl Walter was my piano teacher. During one of my lessons he asked how much practicing I was doing. 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 exclaimed. "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, and piano-playing will become a part of your life."
When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading, and committee meetings filled my days and evenings. For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time. Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript ready for revision, later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were idle moments which could be caught and put to use. I even took up piano--playing again, finding that the small intervals of the day provided sufficient time for both writing and piano practice.
There is an important trick in this time--using formula: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but 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.
I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes. But life can be counted on to supply interruptions. Carl Walter has had a tremendous influence on my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I plunge（投入）in without delay.
56．The meaning of “stretch” in the underlined part is the same as that in sentence “       ”.
A．The forests in the north of the province stretch for hundreds of miles.
B．Bob worked as a government official for a stretch of over twenty years.
C．My family wasn’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.
D．During his senior year his earnings far enough to buy an old car.
57．Which of the following statements is true?
　　A．The writer didn’t completely take the teacher’s words to heart at first.
　　B．Carl Walter has had a great influence on the writer's life since he became a student.
　　C．The writer owes great thanks to his teacher for teaching him to work in long stretches.
　　D．Rapid concentration is actually more difficult than most people imagine.
58．We can infer that the writer             . 
A．has new books published each year however busy his teaching is
B．is always tired of interruptions in life because his teaching schedule is always heavy
C．has formed a bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels
D．can find sufficient time for mental preparations beforehand, so he's devoted to work   instantly
59．What is the best title of this passage?
A．Concentrate on Your Work           B．A Little at a Time
C．How I Became a Writer                 D．Good AdviceIs Most Valuable

    I must have been about fourteen then, and I put away the incident from my mind with the

easy carelessness of  youth. But the words, Carl Walter spoke that day, came back to me years

later, and ever since have been of great value to me.

Carl Walter was my piano teacher. During one of my lessons he asked how much practicing I was doing. 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 exclaimed. "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, and piano-playing will become a part of your life."

When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading, and committee meetings filled my days and evenings. For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time. Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript ready for revision, later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were idle moments which could be caught and put to use. I even took up piano--playing again, finding that the small intervals of the day provided sufficient time for both writing and piano practice.

There is an important trick in this time--using formula: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but 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.

I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes. But life can be counted on to supply interruptions. Carl Walter has had a tremendous influence on my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I plunge（投入）in without delay.

56．The meaning of “stretch” in the underlined part is the same as that in sentence “       ”.

A．The forests in the north of the province stretch for hundreds of miles.

B．Bob worked as a government official for a stretch of over twenty years.

C．My family wasn’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.

D．During his senior year his earnings far enough to buy an old car.

57．Which of the following statements is true?

　　A．The writer didn’t completely take the teacher’s words to heart at first.

　　B．Carl Walter has had a great influence on the writer's life since he became a student.

　　C．The writer owes great thanks to his teacher for teaching him to work in long stretches.

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

58．We can infer that the writer             . 

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

B．is always tired of interruptions in life because his teaching schedule is always heavy

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

D．can find sufficient time for mental preparations beforehand, so he's devoted to work   instantly

59．What is the best title of this passage?

A．Concentrate on Your Work           B．A Little at a Time

C．How I Became a Writer                 D．Good AdviceIs Most Valuable