閱讀理解

From now on， never spend your time thinking of reasons for your failures and shortcomings. Instead， realize that the seeds of success were planted within you when you were born. The seeds， and the power to grow them， are contained in the most wonderful machine ever made: the human mind. Success is a choice and not a chance. You can be a success only if you make the right choice.

You cannot be successful without first developing your self-esteem（自尊）. Your level of self-esteem is always based on the degree of control that you are able to exercise over yourself， and thus over your life. People with low self-esteem are those who do not believe that they have any power or responsibility for their lives. They are the lasting victims. They are leaves moved from side to side by the winds of chance and blown about with any sudden change in the weather.

You can exercise control over your life only to the degree that you believe that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Failures think that everything happens by accident and chance. Successful people realize that they are responsible.

Everything happens as a result of something. If we can find out the cause， we can control the effect. We are responsible for what we choose to think and believe. One generally rises to the level that one expects. We are responsible for setting our expectations. Our success is dependent upon our level of confidence.

If you get along with positive-thinking people， you are definitely going to achieve success. On the contrary， the opposite happens.

In short， in all areas of your life， whether they are financial， physical， emotional or spiritual， you are responsible. Once you recognize this， accept it and firmly believe it， you are on the road to success.

1. The author campares people with low self-esteem to leaves because he thinks ＿＿＿ .

A. they are free to change their minds

B. they are easily changed by windy weather

C. they can’t exercise control over themselves

D. they don’t have the power to face their future

2. According to the author losers would think that ＿＿＿ .

A. life is equal

B. working hard will lead to success

C. their failure is because of bad luck

D. they may succeed without making efforts

3. It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that ＿＿＿ .

A. whether we will succeed depends on our attitudes

B. developing confidence is the key to further success

C. thoughts and beliefs are the results of active mind

D. setting expectations is important before taking action

完形填空

When I joined a private football league a few years ago， the sport meant everything to me. My coach said that I had lots of potential， and I became captain of my 1 . That was before all the fun was taken out of 2 .

At first， everyone on the team got 3 playing time. Then the team moved up to the top division after winning all its games， and the 4 started. Some parents， who had paid the coach extra so that their daughters could have 5 one-on-one training， got angry when she didn’t give them more playing time in our 6 . The coach was replaced.

The new coach， however， took all the fun out of the game. All we did during practice was 7 . I always wished to God that it would rain so we would not have the 8 . Of course， all teams run drills; they are 9 . But we ran so much that， afterwards， we had trouble 10 . Younger people shouldn’t be doing exercise

11 for 18-year-olds.

I was very thin 12 I started football， but as a member of this team I wouldn’t eat much， because I was afraid of being too 13 to run. I feared making mistakes， and the added 14 caused me to make more than my usual share.

Is all this pressure necessary? I 15 up leaving the football team. Four other girls did the same， and two of them stopped playing football completely. That’s 16 ， because they had so much potential. They were just burned-out with all the pressure they 17

from the coach or their parents.

I continued playing football at school and 18 my love for it. I joined a private team 19 by my school coach. When I started playing for him， he told me I needed to relax because I looked nervous. After I 20 down， I played better. When you enjoy something， it’s a lot easier to do it well.

1. A. classB. clubC. teamD. board

2. A. playingB. livingC. learningD. working

3. A. greatB. equalC. rightD. extra

4. A. businessB. struggleC. attemptD. pressure

5. A. freeB. privateC. goodD. basic

6. A. matchesB. coursesC. lessonsD. programs

7. A. jumpingB. playingC. runningD. shooting

8. A. dutyB. meetingC. operationD. training

9. A. necessaryB. boringC. scientificD. practical

10. A. speakingB. movingC. sleepingD. breathing

11. A. usedB. intendedC. awardedD. described

12. A. tillB. sinceC. beforeD. because

13. A. fullB. tiredC. lazyD. excited

14. A. timeB. pressureC. foodD. trouble

15. A. gaveB. keptC. endedD. picked

16. A. sadB. shamefulC. sillyD. serious

17. A. receivedB. sufferedC. broughtD. felt

18. A. reconsideredB. rediscoveredC. reformedD. replaced

19. A. rentB. stoodC. coachedD. measured

20. A. fellB. steppedC. slowedD. calmed