As children face their final month of revision before the exam season starts, many parents are looking for the words to motivate their offspring．But could they be mistakenly praising the value of ability over effort, asks Matthew Syed．
Take a glance at these expressions of encouragement:
"You learned that so quickly, you're so smart!"
"Look at that drawing．Are you -the next Picasso or what?"
They appear as the kind of confidence-boosting statements that should be given to children or, indeed, anyone else．Such phrases are used in homes and classrooms every day, particularly with exams approaching．
Intelligence-based praise leads the receiver towards the fixed thought —it suggests to them that intelligence is of primary importance rather than the effort through which intelligence can be transformed．
Let's take a quick second look into the science of expertise, and ask a question．Where does excellence come from? For a long time, it was thought the answer to this depended, to a large degree, on genetic inheritance．Or, to put it another way, it is all about talent．
It turns out that this is mistaken．Dozens of studies have found that top performers—whether in maths, mi sic or whatever—learn no faster than those who reach lower levels of achievement—hour after hour, they improve at almost the same rates．
The difference is simply that high achievers practice for more hours．Further research has shown that when students seem to possess a particular gift, it is often because they have been given extra tuition at home by their parents．
This is not to deny that some kids start out better than others—it is merely to suggest that the starting point we have in life is not particularly relevant．
Why? Because, over time, with the right, kind of practice, we change so dramatically．It is not just the body that changes, but the brain．The question of talent versus effort would not matter terribly much if it  as merely theoretical．But it is so much more than that．It influences the way we think, feel, and the way we engage with our world．
【小题1】What is the best title of this passage?

A．The Words That Could Encourage Your Child

B．Intelligence Says All

C．High and Low Achievers

D．Start Early, Learn More

【小题2】Which statement is intelligence-based praise?

A．"You're so brilliant - you passed that exam without really studying!"

B．"With more efforts, you can achieve more!"

C．" You combine study with entertainment so well!"

D．"You study so hard even when you are so good at it!"

【小题3】The writer thinks the answer to the question of talent versus effort is _____．

A．simple

B．complicated

C．obvious

D．mysterious

【小题4】Why do some people have higher achievements?

A．Because they are born with great talent.

B．Because they start better than others.

C．Because they spend more of their spare time practicing what they have learnt.

D．Because they improve themselves at almost the same rates.

There are many ways of defining success.It is accurate to say that each of us has our own ideas of success to the extent that each of us is responsible for setting our own goals and determining whether we have met these goals satisfactorily.Because each of us possesses unique differences in genetic ability and favorable environments in which to express these abilities，it is necessarily true that we must define success broadly.

For some people，simply being able to live their life with the least misery and suffering is considered a success.Think of the peace of mind of the poor shepherd who tends his sheep，enjoys his simple life with his family in the beauty of nature，and who is respected because he does a good job of achieving the goals expected of him and accepted by his family and his society. On the other hand，it seems that even though some people appear to be rich in material possessions，many of them seem to be miserable and consider themselves unsuccessful when judged by their own standards of success.Because not all ventures can be successful，one should not set unrealistic goals for achieving success，but if one has self­confidence it would be unfortunate to set one's goals at a too low level of achievement.

A wise man once said to a young man who was experiencing frustration(失败) with his own professional success，“You do not have to set your goal to reach the moon in order to have success in traveling.Sometimes one can be very successful merely by taking a walk in the park or riding the subway downtown.”The man added，“You have not really failed and spoiled your chances for success until you have been unsuccessful at something you really like，and to which you have given your best effort.”

36．According to the first paragraph，what is implied as basics in achieving success?

A．Ability and goals.

B．Goals and determination.

C．Ability and environments.

D．Goals and environments.

37．Some rich people consider themselves unsuccessful because ________．

A．their life is busy and miserable

B．they haven't reached their own standards

C．they set their goals at a very low level

D．they are not rich in material possessions

38．From the last paragraph we can tell that ________．

A．success means achieving great goals

B．success comes from setting great goals

C．success means efforts and favorites pay off

D．success has nothing to do with the distance of your travel

     You are near the front line of a battle . Around you shells are exploding ;people are shooting from a house behind you .What are you doing there? You aren’t a soldier .You aren’t  36   carrying a gun .You’re standing in front of a    37  and you’re telling the TV   38  what is happening.

      It’s all in a day’s work for a war reporter ,and it can be very    39  .In the first two years of the   40   in former Yugoslavia（前南斯拉夫）,28 reporters and photographers were killed .Hundreds more were    41  . What kind of people put themselves in danger to   42   pictures to our TV screens and   43   to our newspapers? Why do they do it ?

      “I think it’s every young journalist’s   44   to be a foreign reporter,” says Michael Nicholson, “that’s   45   you find the excitement .So when the first opportunity comes, you take it    46   it is a war.”

       But there are moments of   47   . Jeremy Bowen says, “Yes ,when you’re lying on the ground and bullets （子弹）are flying  48   your ears ,you think: ‘What am I doing here? I’m not going to do this again.’ But that feeling   49   after a while and when the next war starts, you’ll be   50   .”

       “None of us believes that we’re going to   51   ,” adds Michael. But he always 52   a lucky charm（护身符）with him .It was given to him by his wife for his first war. It’s a card which says “Take care of yourself.”Does he ever think about dying?“Oh,   53  ,and every time it happens you look to the sky and say to God, ‘If you get me out of this ,I   54   I’ll never do it again.’ You can almost hear God   55   , because you know he doesn’t believe you .”

36．A．simply             B．really                 C．merely               D．even

37．A．crowd              B．house                C．battlefield         D．camera

38．A．producers         B．viewers             C．directors           D．actors

39．A．dangerous         B．exciting             C．normal              D．disappointing

40．A．stay                 B．fight                   C．war                    D．life

41．A．injured            B．buried               C．defeated                D．saved

42．A．bring               B．show                 C．take                    D．make

43．A．scenes              B．passages              C．stories               D．contents

44．A．belief              B．dream                   C．duty                    D．faith

45．A．why                B．what                 C．how                    D．where

46．A．even so            B．ever since            C．as if                D．even if

47．A．fear                 B．surprise            C．shame               D．sadness

48．A．into                 B．around                  C．past                 D．through

49．A．returns             B．goes                  C．continues         D．occurs

50．A．there                B．away                 C．out                  D．home

51．A．leave               B．escape                  C．die                  D．remain

52．A．hangs               B．wears                   C．holds                D．carries

53．A．never               B．many times          C．some time               D．seldom

54．A．consider           B．accept               C．promise           D．guess

55．A．whispering       B．laughing               C．screaming        D．crying

 (05·湖北)

You are near the front line of a battle .Around you shells are exploding ;people are shooting from a house behind you .What are you doing there? You aren’t a soldier .You aren’t  36   carrying a gun .You’re standing in front of a    37  and you’re telling the TV   38  what is happening.

       It’s all in a day’s work for a war reporter ,and it can be very    39  .In the first two years of the   40   in former Yugoslavia（前南斯拉夫）,28 reporters and photographers were killed .Hundreds more were    41  .What kind of people put themselves in danger to   42   pictures to our TV screens and   43   to our newspapers? Why do they do it ?

       “I think it’s every young journalist’s   44   to be a foreign reporter,” says Michael Nicholson, “that’s   45   you find the excitement .So when the first opportunity comes ,you take it    46  it is a war.”

       But there are moments of   47   . Jeremy Bowen says, “Yes ,when you’re lying on the ground and bullets （子弹）are flying  48   your ears ,you think: ‘What am I doing here? I’m not going to do this again.’ But that feeling   49   after a while and when the next war starts , you’ll be

  50   .”

       “None of us believes that we’re going to   51   ,” adds Michael .But he always  52   a lucky charm（护身符）with him .It was given to him by his wife for his first war .It’s a card which says “Take care of yourself.” Does he ever think about dying? “Oh,   53  ,and every time it happens you look to the sky and say to God, ‘If you get me out of this ,I   54   I’ll never do it again.’ You can almost hear God   55   ,because you know he doesn’t believe you .”

36．A．simply                B．really                 C．merely               D．even

37．A．crowd                B．house                C．battlefield          D．camera

38．A．producers         B．viewers              C．directors            D．actors

39．A．dangerous        B．exciting              C．normal               D．disappointing

40．A．stay                   B．fight                   C．war                    D．life

41．A．injured               B．buried                C．defeated            D．saved

42．A．bring                 B．show                  C．take                   D．make

43．A．scenes              B．passages           C．stories               D．contents

44．A．belief                 B．dream                C．duty                   D．faith

45．A．why                   B．what                   C．how                   D．where

46．A．even so             B．ever since          C．as if                   D．even if

47．A．fear                   B．surprise             C．shame               D．sadness

48．A．into                    B．around               C．past                   D．through

49．A．returns              B．goes                  C．continues          D．occurs

50．A．there                 B．away                  C．out                     D．home

51．A．leave                 B．escape              C．die                     D．remain

52．A．hangs                B．wears                 C．holds                 D．carries

53．A．never                B．many times        C．some time          D．seldom

54．A．consider            B．accept               C．promise             D．guess

55．A．whispering         B．laughing            C．screaming         D．crying

  

You are near the front line of a battle. Around you shells （炮弹）are exploding; people are shooting from a house behind you. What are you doing there? You aren’t a soldier. You aren’t  36  carrying a gun. You’re standing in front of a  37  and you’re telling the TV  38  what is happening.

It’s all in a day’s work for a war reporter, and it can be very  39  . In the first two years of the  40  in former Yugoslavia（前南斯拉夫), 28 reporters and photographers were killed. Hundreds more were  41  .

What kind of people put themselves in danger to  42  pictures to our TV screens and  43  to our newspapers? Why do they do it ?

“I think it’s every young journalist’s  44  to be a foreign reporter,” says Michael Nicholson, “that’s  45  you find the excitement. So when the first opportunity comes, you take it  46  it is a war.”

But there are moments of  47  . Jeremy Bowen says, “Yes, when you’re lying on the ground and bullets（子弹）are flying  48  your ears, you think: ‘What am I doing here? I’m not going to do this again.’ But that feeling  49  after a while and when the next war starts, you’ll be  50  .”

“None of us believes that we’re going to  51  ” adds Michael. But he always  52  a lucky charm（护身符）with him. It was given to him by his wife for his first war. It’s a card which says “Take care of yourself.” Does he ever think about dying? “Oh, 53  , and every time it happens you look to the sky and say to God, ‘If you get me out of this, I  54  I’ll never do it again.’ You can almost hear God  55  , because you know he doesn’t believe you .”

1.                A．really          B．simply          C．merely   D．even

 

2.                A．battlefield       B．crowd          C．camera   D．house

 

3.                A．directors       B．producers       C．actors    D．viewers

 

4.                A．depressing      B．disappointing    C．dangerous D．endangered

 

5.                A．life            B．stay            C．war  D．fight

 

6.                A．buried         B．defeated        C．wounded D．beaten

 

7.                A．take           B．bring           C．make D．show

 

8.                A．Stories         B．scenes         C．passages  D．contents

 

9.                A．faith           B．nightmare       C．dream    D．duty

 

10.               A．how           B．why           C．where D．because

 

11.               A．even if         B．as if           C．even so   D．ever since

 

12.               A．fear           B．surprise        C．sadness   D．shame

 

13.               A．past           B．into           C．through   D．around

 

14.               A．occurs         B．returns         C．goes  D．continues

 

15.               A．away          B．out            C．home     D．there

 

16.               A．die            B．leave          C．remain    D．escape

 

17.               A．wears          B．carries         C．hangs D．holds

 

18.               A．seldom         B．never          C．many times D．some time

 

19.               A．consider        B．promise        C．guess D．accept

 

20.               A．screaming      B．laughing        C．crying D．whispering