Question

【題目】 Last week I did something that scared me. I stood in front of nearly 200 financial planners and I talked to them about why financial blogs are a good thing. I'm a confident writer. I've been doing this long enough that I know my strength and my limitations. I'm less confident as a speaker. I don't have time to pause to collect my thoughts. I'm not able to edit. I'm afraid of being trapped in a corner without being able to talk my way out. Basically, I'm scared to speak.

It would be easy to simply refuse the chances that come my way. When somebody asks me to speak in front of a group, I could say "no". When radio and television stations call for an interview, I could say "no". But for the past two years, I've been following my own policy to say "yes" to new chances.

To say "yes" is to live in fear. My goal is to continually improve myself to become better than I am today. One way to do that is to do the things that scare me, to take them on as challenges, and to learn from them—even if I fail.

In mid-November, a local station asked me to appear on live television. "I realize it's short notice," the producer wrote, "but we'd love to have you on the show if you're available tonight." I was frightened. I thought about recent taped television interviews that I had hated. I was afraid of what might happen.

But I also thought about the things that had gone right. I thought of how my speaking skills had improved over the past year. And then I thought of the book I was reading, a book that I had bought for $1.29 at the local store. The Magic of Thinking Big was a huge bestseller during the 1960s. Written by Dr. David Schwartz, a professor at Georgia State University, the book contains dozens of practical tips on how to take risks to achieve big goals. Schwartz argues that nobody will believe in you until you believe in yourself.

So when the television producer asked if I wanted to appear on his show, I thought big. "Sure," I said. "I'll do it." I acted confidently, but on the inside I was frightened. What I needed was techniques to build up my confidence and to overcome my fear.

【1】Why is the author afraid of speaking in public?

A.He is aware of his potential.B.He has few chances to talk.

C.He is not able to edit what he says.D.He likes writing better.

【2】The underlined words "my own policy" in Paragraph 2 probably mean ________.

A.self-improving through challenges

B.hesitating before chances

C.turning down the invitations

D.saying yes to fear

【3】The author mentioned the book The Magic of Thinking Big mainly because ________.

A.it was inspiringB.it was a bestseller

C.its author was famousD.its price was attractive

【4】What is the author's purpose to write the passage?

A.To analyze his strength and weaknesses.

B.To give practical tips on speaking in public.

C.To persuade people to follow his example.

D.To share his experiences of overcoming fear.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】A

【3】A

【4】D

【解析】

本文是一篇記敘文。文章中作者是一個自信的作家，但是他害怕在公眾面前講話。后來作者試圖改變這一現(xiàn)狀，對新機會說“是”，勇于在挑戰(zhàn)中提升自己。

【1】

細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第一段中“I don’t have time to pause to collect my thoughts. I’m not able to edit. …Basically, I'm scared to speak.”作者害怕當眾講話是因為他覺得沒有時間停下來匯集自己的想法，也沒法編輯。故選C項。

【2】

詞句猜測題。劃線詞所在句子的后半句“to say “yes” to new chances” 向新的機會說“是”；上文提到作者害怕在公眾面前講話，總是拒絕到來的機會；而現(xiàn)在對新的機會說“是”，即是接受挑戰(zhàn)。第三段中提到“ My goal is to continually improve myself to become better” 作者的目標是不斷提升自己。由此可意猜測“my own policy”意思為“接受挑戰(zhàn)，不斷地提升自我”。故選A項。

【3】

推理判斷題。根據(jù)第五段中“the book contains dozens of practical tips on how to take risks to achieve big goals. Schwartz argues that nobody will believe in you until you believe in yourself. ”這本書包含了很多關于如何冒險實現(xiàn)大目標的實用的建議。該書作者Schwartz認為，直到你相信自己，才會有人相信你。作者先是害怕電視采訪，但后又想到了The Magic of Thinking Big這本書作者說的話，讓他有了勇氣，最終接受了電視采訪。由此可知，作者提到The Magic of Thinking Big這本書主要是這本書激勵了他。故選A項。

【4】

推理判斷題。作者是一個自信的作家，但是他害怕在公眾面前講話。作者試圖改變這一現(xiàn)狀，敢于向挑戰(zhàn)說“是”。在電視臺邀請他做電視采訪時，他起初害怕，后來在“The Magic of Thinking Big”這本書的激勵下，他鼓勵自己克服恐懼心理，接受了電視采訪。由此可知，作者寫這篇文章是想與我們分享他是如何克服恐懼的體驗。故選D項。