“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity，” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’ s probably worth listening to.

Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’ re a Chinese，you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump (树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.

A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’ s not about going to a temple to burn some incense (香) in hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’ s practical advice you can follow each day.

Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups：those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper，” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not  spot  the message.

It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”， in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.

I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners，my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence(巧合)? After reading about Professor Wiseman’ s studies I think not.

As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational (理性)thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential （潜在）problem.

Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.

1.Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’ s point?

A. Make the best of a bad job.

B. Rome was not built in a day.

C. All is not gold that glitters.

D. A good heart conquers ill fortune.

2.What do you know about Oprah Winfrey?

A. She became famous through her family background.

B. She was very lucky and seldom suffered setbacks （挫折）in her life.

C. She is a British talk show host.

D. She became successful by her own effort.

3.The writer quoted（引用） the Chinese tale of a farmer in order to show________.

A. luck is in your own hand

B. bad luck can turn into good

C. you should not sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you

D. man can conquer nature

4.From the experiment Wiseman drew the conclusion that________.

A. lucky people are quick-minded

B. unlucky people are slow to read

C. lucky people often have an open mind

D. unlucky people are more creative

5.The underlined word “spot” is the closest in meaning to“________”．

A. discover         B. mark   C. make               D. receive

“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity，” said the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey. I’ve never watched her show, but when a self-made billionaire gives life advice it’s probably worth listening to.

Her point is that blind luck is very rare. You may have to be lucky to find a good job these days but that does not mean you should sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you. If you’ re a Chinese，you may already be familiar with the tale of a farmer waiting by a tree stump (树桩) for a rabbit to run out and break its neck.

A book by the UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, called The Luck Factor, argues we can all make ourselves luckier. It’ s not about going to a temple to burn some incense (香) in hopes that the gods will give you good fortune; it’ s practical advice you can follow each day.

Wiseman conducted an experiment as part of his studies. First he divided volunteers into two groups：those who said they were lucky in life and those who said they were not. He gave everyone a newspaper and asked them to look through it to count how many photographs it had inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs while the lucky people took just seconds. Why? On the second page of the newspaper, a command, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper，” was written in big letters. The unlucky people mostly did not spot the message.

It’s easy to compare this situation to a young person looking for jobs in a local paper. They might search so hard for one type of position that they miss an even better opportunity. People who are “lucky”，in fact, keep an open mind and don’t go through the same routine every day.

I first came to China in 2002 when it was considered a rather strange thing to do. Like many foreigners，my plan was to teach English for one year. Seven years later, and still here, I’ ve had many great opportunities such as writing for newspapers and magazines. I did not dream these would have been possible. I’ ve also never been sick, had an accident, got into a fight or had problems with the police. Coincidence? After reading about Professor Wiseman’ s studies I think not.

As Wiseman advises, I usually trust my own judgment. Your friends and parents may give you advice based on rational thinking, but it’s important to consider how you feel about each choice you make. Your feeling acts as a warning for a potential problem.

Finally, try to turn bad luck into good. Even if you do fall down and break a leg, the time spent at home can be used wisely to study English.

57．Which of the following proverbs most agrees with the writer’s point?

A. Make the best of a bad job.                      B. Rome was not built in a day.

C. All is not gold that glitters.                       D. A good heart conquers ill fortune.

58．What do you know about Oprah Winfrey?

A. She became famous through her family background.

B. She was very lucky and seldom suffered setbacks in her life.

C. She is a British talk show host.

D. She became successful by her own effort.

59．The writer quoted the Chinese tale of a farmer in order to show________.

A. luck is in your own hand

B. bad luck can turn into good

C. you should not sit at home waiting for the opportunity to come to you

D. man can conquer nature

60．From the experiment, Wiseman drew the conclusion that________.

A. lucky people are quick-minded                B. unlucky people are slow to read

C. lucky people often have an open mind         D. unlucky people are more creative

History is full of examples of leaders joining together to meet common goals. But rarely have two leaders worked together with such friendship and cooperation as American President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. They both were born in wealthy families and were active in politics for many years. Both men loved the sea and the navy，history and nature.
Roosevelt and Churchill first met when they were lower­level officials in World War One. But neither man remembered much about that meeting. However，as they worked together during the Second World War they came to like and trust each other. Roosevelt and Churchill exchanged more than one thousand seven hundred letters and messages during five and a half years. They met many times，at large national gatherings and in private talks. But the closeness of their friendship might be seen best in a story told by one of Roosevelt’s close advisors，Harry Hopkins. Hopkins remembered how Churchill was visiting Roosevelt at the White House one day. Roosevelt went into Churchill’s room in the morning to say hello. But the president was shocked to see Churchill coming from the washing room with no clothes at all. Roosevelt immediately apologized to the British leader for seeing him naked. But Churchill reportedly said: “The Prime Minister of Great Britain has nothing to hide from the president of the United States.” And then both men laughed.
The United States and Great Britain were only two of several nations that joined together in the war to resist Hitler and his Allies. In January,1942，twenty­six of these nations signed an agreement promising to fight for peace，religious freedom，human rights，and justice. The three major Allies，however，were the most important for the war effort: the United States，Britain，and the Soviet Union. Yet，Churchill and Roosevelt disagreed about when  to attack Hitler in western Europe. And Churchill resisted Roosevelt’s suggestions that Britain give up some of its colonies. But in general，the friendship between Roosevelt and Churchill，and between the United States and Britain led the two nations to cooperate closely.
【小题1】What can be inferred from the passage?

History is full of examples of leaders joining together to meet common goals. But rarely have two leaders worked together with such friendship and cooperation as American President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. They both were born in wealthy families and were active in politics for many years. Both men loved the sea and the navy，history and nature.

Roosevelt and Churchill first met when they were lower­level officials in World War One. But neither man remembered much about that meeting. However，as they worked together during the Second World War they came to like and trust each other. Roosevelt and Churchill exchanged more than one thousand seven hundred letters and messages during five and a half years. They met many times，at large national gatherings and in private talks. But the closeness of their friendship might be seen best in a story told by one of Roosevelt’s close advisors，Harry Hopkins. Hopkins remembered how Churchill was visiting Roosevelt at the White House one day. Roosevelt went into Churchill’s room in the morning to say hello. But the president was shocked to see Churchill coming from the washing room with no clothes at all. Roosevelt immediately apologized to the British leader for seeing him naked. But Churchill reportedly said: “The Prime Minister of Great Britain has nothing to hide from the president of the United States.” And then both men laughed.

The United States and Great Britain were only two of several nations that joined together in the war to resist Hitler and his Allies. In January,1942，twenty­six of these nations signed an agreement promising to fight for peace，religious freedom，human rights，and justice. The three major Allies，however，were the most important for the war effort: the United States，Britain，and the Soviet Union. Yet，Churchill and Roosevelt disagreed about when  to attack Hitler in western Europe. And Churchill resisted Roosevelt’s suggestions that Britain give up some of its colonies. But in general，the friendship between Roosevelt and Churchill，and between the United States and Britain led the two nations to cooperate closely.

1.What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Roosevelt and Churchill had much in common.

B．Roosevelt and Churchill had nothing in common.

C．Roosevelt and Churchill had no difference but cooperation.

D．Roosevelt and Churchill always joined together to meet common goals.

2.Which of the following about Roosevelt and Churchill is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Since World War One they had believed in each other.

B．They exchanged just 27 letters and messages per month during the 5.5 years.

C．Harry Hopkins never let out the closeness of their friendship.

D．Roosevelt and Churchill hadn’t been presidents before World War One.

3.We can know from the passage that________.

A．Roosevelt and Churchill did not always agree with each other

B．over two differences between Churchill and Roosevelt were mentioned

C．Churchill urged Roosevelt to give up some of its colonies

D．the differences between Roosevelt and Churchill had an effect on their cooperation

History is full of examples of leaders joining together to meet common goals. But rarely have two leaders worked together with such friendship and cooperation as American President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. They both were born in wealthy families and were active in politics for many years. Both men loved the sea and the navy，history and nature.

Roosevelt and Churchill first met when they were lower?level officials in World War One. But neither man remembered much about that meeting. However，as they worked together during the Second World War they came to like and trust each other. Roosevelt and Churchill exchanged more than one thousand seven hundred letters and messages during five and a half years. They met many times，at large national gatherings and in private talks. But the closeness of their friendship might be seen best in a story told by one of Roosevelt’s close advisors，Harry Hopkins. Hopkins remembered how Churchill was visiting Roosevelt at the White House one day. Roosevelt went into Churchill’s room in the morning to say hello. But the president was shocked to see Churchill coming from the washing room with no clothes at all. Roosevelt immediately apologized to the British leader for seeing him naked. But Churchill reportedly said: “The Prime Minister of Great Britain has nothing to hide from the president of the United States.” And then both men laughed.

The United States and Great Britain were only two of several nations that joined together in the war to resist Hitler and his Allies. In January,1942，twenty?six of these nations signed an agreement promising to fight for peace，religious freedom，human rights，and justice. The three major Allies，however，were the most important for the war effort: the United States，Britain，and the Soviet Union. Yet，Churchill and Roosevelt disagreed about when to attack Hitler in western Europe. And Churchill resisted Roosevelt’s suggestions that Britain give up some of its colonies. But in general，the friendship between Roosevelt and Churchill，and between the United States and Britain led the two nations to cooperate closely.

69．What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Roosevelt and Churchill had much in common.

B．Roosevelt and Churchill had nothing in common.

C．Roosevelt and Churchill had no difference but cooperation

D．Roosevelt and Churchill always joined together to meet common goals.

70．Which of the following about Roosevelt and Churchill is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Since World War One they had believed in each other.

B．They exchanged just 27 letters and messages per month during the 5.5 years.

C．Harry Hopkins never let out the closeness of their friendship.

D．Roosevelt and Churchill hadn’t been presidents before World War One.

71．We can know from the passage that________.

A．Roosevelt and Churchill did not always agree with each other

B．over two differences between Churchill and Roosevelt were mentioned

C．Churchill urged Roosevelt to give up some of its colonies

D．the differences between Roosevelt and Churchill had an effect on their cooperation