42. About personal growth, the author advocates all of the following except _________.

A. curiosity about more changes

B. quickness in self-adaptation

C. open-mindedness to new experiences　　　

D. avoidance of internal fears and doubts

41. Which of the following can be viewed as the process of personal growth?

A. Our manager was always willing to accept new challenges.

　　 B. Little Tom won the first prize in the Speech Contest.

　　 C. Max picked up French while he was in Paris.

　　 D. Daddy’s salary rose from $3,000 to $3,800.

40. In the author’s eyes, one who views personal growth as a process would __________.

A. succeed in climbing up the social ladder

B. judge his ability to grow from his own achievements

C. face difficulties and take up challenges

D. aim high and reach his goal each time

39. The text suggests that __________.

A. Nail seldom heard natural owl calls

B. the owl never hooted back to Neil

C. Fred was always good at pleasing owls

D. owl watching is no longer interesting to Fred

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 (B)

　　 There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process. People have generally viewed personal growth as an external (外在的) result or a product that can easily be identified and measured. The worker who gets a rise, the student whose grades improve, and the foreigner who learns a new language-all these examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts.

　　 By contrast (对照), the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since it is a journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way. The process is not the road itself, but rather the attitudes and feelings people have, their caution or courage, as they meet with new experiences and unexpected difficulties. In this process, the journey never really ends; there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept.

　　 In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to face the unknown, and to accept the possibility that they may “fail” at first. How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is essential to our ability to grow. Do we see ourselves as quick and curious? If so, then we tend to take more changes and to be more open to unfamiliar experiences. Do we think we’re shy and indecisive? Then our sense of fear can cause us to hesitate, to move slowly, and not to take a step until we know the ground is safe. Do we think we’re slow to adapt to change or that we’re not smart enough to deal with a new challenge? Then we are likely to take a more passive role or not try at all.

　　 These feelings of insecurity and self-doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow. If we do not face and overcome these internal fears and doubts, if we protect ourselves too much, then we stop growing. We become trapped inside a shell of our own making.

38. Mr. Simmons felt upset about the whole thing because __________.

A. all his efforts seemed to be meaningless　

B. his wife let out his secret by chance

C. garden owls hooted so differently

D. Fred had been doing the same

37. “Then the penny dropped.” most probably means “Then __________.”

A. I understood　　　　　　　　　　　 B. everybody knew about it

　 　 C. I heard the noise　　　　　　　　　 　　 D. no money was paid

36. After the talk between the wives, the two men would probably _________ .

A. stop observing owls　　　　　　 　　　　　 B. not stay up hooting again

C. not enter the back garden again　　　 　　 D. make no mistakes about wild owl cries

34. A. waste　 　　　　　　　　　 B. respect　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. neglect　　　　　　　 D. enjoy