单项选择题
Overcoming Difficulties
① Life is full of difficulties and obstacles, from birth to death. At times, Life seems like a hurdle race. We are sure of encountering hurdles, but almost always we are taken by surprise. It is necessary to accept that life in general is full of difficulties and adversities. This recognition is the first step. When faced with problems, we often feel, "I am the only one having such problems" Or, we tend to exaggerate our problems and regard them as most complex, most painful，and as an extreme case. But if we look around us, we find people in much worse conditions. As St. Augustine said, "I cried for boots, till I saw a man who had no legs."
② When faced with difficulties, we either complain or seek to dodge them. We behave like as ostrich in the desert. It is said that when there is a storm in the desert, the ostrich buries his head in the sand-hoping that the storm will go away if he ignores it-and finally gets buried under a heap of sand and dies. Some of us choose to pretend that the problems do not exist. We fail to realize that confronting and solving the problem-no painful the process-makes us grow.
③ Accept the woes of birth. It has many implied meanings. First, it means "accepting," i.e., being able to say that it is "my" problem and it is up to me to solve it. Many times we find ourselves putting the blame on others-parents, society or the circumstances of life. Nothing happens by chance, but all is the result of our past actions. There are times when what is needed is patience. We seek to come out of an unpleasant situation quickly. We must understand that if the cause had been operating for a long time, the effect also would last long-as even when the gas has been turned off, the burner remains hot for a long time. Similarly, we expect quick results; having put in the effort, we must be willing to wait. Patient acceptance of what is due to us makes us makes us take a step further in our development.
④ Once we have learnt to deal with a difficulty, the next time we encounter it, it ceases to be a difficulty. But, more often than not the cause of the problem is internal, i.e., within us, and often, it calls for a change. Often the difficulty is solved when we are willing to change—our way of thinking, our feelings, our likes and dislikes—and ready to adapt or adjust ourselves to a problematic situation or a person in life. We must realize that realize that change is inevitable, and always be mentally prepared for it.
⑤ Not all life's problems are such that they need to be dealt with all at once. Sometimes it is possible to take a step and wait for a long time. For instance, if the tap is leaking then we need to call a plumber as soon as we can. But having called him and having found that he can come only the following morning, we should wait patiently for the next 24 hours. In this period, people can get very anxious and go on talking about it to others. There are many such problems in life.
单项选择题
Spiritual Bond
Besides, do not forget to appreciate the ''spiritual bond'' between people. I've met numerous people in Japan, the US, and Australia. In the beginning, I was __1__ by the differences in the views and cultures. After studying in the US, I got __2__ to the American way of thinking. So when I first moved to Australia, I had __3__ thoughts about Australians, I thought they were quiet and passive. I felt that I couldn't understand them and that I didn't __4__ in. That is when I met the Happy Science teachings. I learned about how people go through reincarnation （转世） and are born again and again in different races and in different countries.
Therefore, I realized that the people I meet in this lifetime are __5__ connected to me from my past. We have known each other before. When I __6__ this spiritual perspective, I reflected on my narrow-Mindedness.
When I found out that people who I thought I couldn't understand could be spiritually connected to me, I felt __7__ even for people I used to __8__ .I felt a feeling of oneness and I was able to make many friends creating bonds of understanding and respect. Value and __9__ every spiritual bond between you and the people you meet and continue to work hard to develop yourself in order to __10__ others and be a good influence.
单项选择题
Marriage Advertisements in India
Every Sunday morning millions of Indians settle down with a cup of tea and special weekend issues of their newspapers, just as Americans do. But here, with the marriage season approaching, many of them quickly to a Sunday feature that is particularly Indian-the-columns of marriage advertisements in which young people look for husbands and wives. This is relatively modern change in the age-old custom of the arranged marriage. The thousands of advertisements published each week increasingly reflect social changes that coming to this traditional society. For example, although women are still described in terms of appearance, or skill in "the wifely arts", information about her earning power is entering more and more of the advertisements. This reflects the arrival in India of the working wife.
Divorce, which used to be almost unheard of in India, is sometimes now mentioned in the advertisements as in the case of a woman whose advertisement in New Delhi newspaper explained that had been "the innocent party" when her marriage broke up.
Because the custom of the dowry (marriage payment) is now illegal, some advertisements say "no dowry" or "simple marriage", which means the same thing. However, the fathers of many bridegrooms still require it. In a land where light skin is often regarded as socially preferable, many also require that a woman have a "wheat-color" complexion or that a man be "tall, fair and handsome". Advertisements are placed and eagerly read by a wide range of people in the upper classes, mostly in cities. Many of them receive dozens of answers."There's nothing embarrassing about it," explained a Calcutta businessman advertising a son-in-law. "It's just another way of broadening the contacts and increasing the possibility of doing the contacts and increasing the possibilities of doing the best one for one's daughter."
Because of high unemployment and a generally poor standard of living here, one of the best attractions a marriage advertisement can offer is a permit to live abroad, especially in Canada or the United States. A person who has one can get what he wants. One recent Sunday in Madras, for example, a Punjabi engineer living in San Francisco advertised for a "beautiful slim bride with lovely features knowing music and dance". And a man whose advertisement said that he held an American immigration permit was able to say, only girls from rich, well-connected families need apply.
单项选择题
Learn from Mistakes
You can only learn from a mistake after you （1） you’ve made it. As soon as you start blaming other people (or the universe itself) you distance yourself （2）any possible lesson. But if you courageously stand up and honestly say “This is my mistake and I am responsible” the possibilities for learning will move towards you. Admission of a mistake, even if only privately to yourself, makes learning （3）by moving the focus away from blame assignment and towards understanding.
This advice （4）counter to the cultural assumptions we have about mistakes and failure, namely that they are （5） things. We’re taught in school, in our families, or at work to feel guilty about failure and to do whatever we can to （6）mistakes. This sense of shame explains why many people give up on their goals: they’re not （7） for the mistakes and failures What’s missing in many people’s beliefs about success is the fact that the more （8）the goal, the more frequent and difficult setbacks will be. The larger your ambitions, the more dependent you will be on your ability to overcome and learn from your mistakes.
But for many reasons admitting mistakes is difficult. An implied value in many cultures is that our work represents us: if you fail a test, then you are a （9）. If you make a mistake then you are a mistake. Learning from mistakes requires three things: putting yourself in situations where you can make interesting mistakes; having the self-confidence to admit to them; being （10）about making changes.
单项选择题
Dreams
Dreams do not happen when you're asleep. They happen when you're awake.
Whatever your goals are, always remember you can make it true. Whether it be love, money, a childhood dream, and ultimately happiness, the most important idea is that you must never lose sight of your dream.
Create reminders. Think about your original motivation often. Besides obvious factors that will come along when your dream is realized, think about other reasons. Who are you doing this dream for? Remind yourself often of your plan. Physical symbols always help—posting up pictures of the end result, buying items that symbolize your goals.
Express your dream frequently. Whisper your dream through moonlight. Shout it on a busy highway. Write it on a balloon and set it free. Write it on paper boats and float them in the ocean. Write it as a message on a bottle and float that into the ocean. Explore and try different ways of different cultures of making ishes come true, small or big: paper cranes, and shooting stars. Tell your pet if you have one. Tell it to all the people you care about in your life.
Create deadlines and punishments. For every step along the way, think of a realistic deadline. If too small, eventually you will be crashed with all the work you need and possibly never do it. If too large, you will probably forget about it. Punishments are necessary. They can be keeping yourself away from your favorite activities. Get a friend or family member to enforce this punishment.
Keep your life. Do not forget about friends, family, work, and especially yourself! Keep contact with friends and family: over the internet, visit them, write to them. Try not start skipping work to work on your dream. Keep your brain, body, and soul in good shape at all times. Sleep often, read often, and enjoy life.
Brainstorm ideas for your dream. Mind mapping (essentially creative concept mapping) is the ideal way to brainstorm. Any creative outlet will do just fine to find some creative ideas for your dream, especially writing or drawing. Any sort of art, even singing, playing music, photography, wood-carving can work. Buy a journal or two. Find inspiration.
单项选择题
Overcoming Difficulties
① Life is full of difficulties and obstacles, from birth to death. At times, Life seems like a hurdle race. We are sure of encountering hurdles, but almost always we are taken by surprise. It is necessary to accept that life in general is full of difficulties and adversities. This recognition is the first step. When faced with problems, we often feel, "I am the only one having such problems" Or, we tend to exaggerate our problems and regard them as most complex, most painful，and as an extreme case. But if we look around us, we find people in much worse conditions. As St. Augustine said, "I cried for boots, till I saw a man who had no legs."
② When faced with difficulties, we either complain or seek to dodge them. We behave like as ostrich in the desert. It is said that when there is a storm in the desert, the ostrich buries his head in the sand-hoping that the storm will go away if he ignores it-and finally gets buried under a heap of sand and dies. Some of us choose to pretend that the problems do not exist. We fail to realize that confronting and solving the problem-no painful the process-makes us grow.
③ Accept the woes of birth. It has many implied meanings. First, it means "accepting," i.e., being able to say that it is "my" problem and it is up to me to solve it. Many times we find ourselves putting the blame on others-parents, society or the circumstances of life. Nothing happens by chance, but all is the result of our past actions. There are times when what is needed is patience. We seek to come out of an unpleasant situation quickly. We must understand that if the cause had been operating for a long time, the effect also would last long-as even when the gas has been turned off, the burner remains hot for a long time. Similarly, we expect quick results; having put in the effort, we must be willing to wait. Patient acceptance of what is due to us makes us makes us take a step further in our development.
④ Once we have learnt to deal with a difficulty, the next time we encounter it, it ceases to be a difficulty. But, more often than not the cause of the problem is internal, i.e., within us, and often, it calls for a change. Often the difficulty is solved when we are willing to change—our way of thinking, our feelings, our likes and dislikes—and ready to adapt or adjust ourselves to a problematic situation or a person in life. We must realize that realize that change is inevitable, and always be mentally prepared for it.
⑤ Not all life's problems are such that they need to be dealt with all at once. Sometimes it is possible to take a step and wait for a long time. For instance, if the tap is leaking then we need to call a plumber as soon as we can. But having called him and having found that he can come only the following morning, we should wait patiently for the next 24 hours. In this period, people can get very anxious and go on talking about it to others. There are many such problems in life.
单项选择题
Spiritual Bond
Besides, do not forget to appreciate the ''spiritual bond'' between people. I've met numerous people in Japan, the US, and Australia. In the beginning, I was __1__ by the differences in the views and cultures. After studying in the US, I got __2__ to the American way of thinking. So when I first moved to Australia, I had __3__ thoughts about Australians, I thought they were quiet and passive. I felt that I couldn't understand them and that I didn't __4__ in. That is when I met the Happy Science teachings. I learned about how people go through reincarnation （转世） and are born again and again in different races and in different countries.
Therefore, I realized that the people I meet in this lifetime are __5__ connected to me from my past. We have known each other before. When I __6__ this spiritual perspective, I reflected on my narrow-Mindedness.
When I found out that people who I thought I couldn't understand could be spiritually connected to me, I felt __7__ even for people I used to __8__ .I felt a feeling of oneness and I was able to make many friends creating bonds of understanding and respect. Value and __9__ every spiritual bond between you and the people you meet and continue to work hard to develop yourself in order to __10__ others and be a good influence.
单项选择题
Personal Finance
When it comes to our finances, each of us has our own individual approach. Some of us are savers, some are spenders, and others are some-where in between. This continuum is a paradigm that our popular culture uses to frame differences in the way people approach money.
I believe that the way we approach our finances goes beyond that particular behavioral characteristic. In reality, I think our approach to finances can be viewed in more of a multi-dimensional setting, where money has a different role in our lives. For some, money means survival, plain and simple. For others, money is something that is a part of their lives but rarely on their mind, regardless of the role it actually plays. For yet others, money is an obsession, as accumulation indicates achievement. Some people view money as a defensive resource to protect against future setbacks. Some people want money to provide a good home, to contribute to the ability to have certain hobbies, or to provide something to future generations and so on. Sometimes the same person may view money differently in different situations. The bottom line is that we each have our own relationship with money, and our own conscious and subconscious needs for money, rooted in our value systems.
This is an area of personal finance that has interested me for a while. Why do people behave the way they do with respect to their money? What's driving this behavior? Of course, a starting point for anybody is to consider how you personally view things. Taking an introspective approach，I have spent time figuring out my own take on money，and the role it plays in my life. What I have determined is that for me，it fits into a framework that includes the following elements：health, wealth, and relationships. These are linked together as a part of a system. They're all connected, and to the extent one is strengthened, the others will be strengthened as well. If one is weakened, the others will be weakened as well. So to me, money is a part of the wealth aspect of HWR. Beyond basic survival, money gives you the opportunity to live a healthier life, with the time and means to have more positive relationships. One thing I want to make clear is that I am not saying that money buys friends. Well, it could, but those aren't true friends. What I am saying is that the more money you have ,on balance, the less stressed you are about it, and the more time you have to do other things, such as cultivate true, genuine relationships that aren’t based on money. Money is but a component in the system.
单项选择题
Learn from Mistakes
You can only learn from a mistake after you （1） you’ve made it. As soon as you start blaming other people (or the universe itself) you distance yourself （2）any possible lesson. But if you courageously stand up and honestly say “This is my mistake and I am responsible” the possibilities for learning will move towards you. Admission of a mistake, even if only privately to yourself, makes learning （3）by moving the focus away from blame assignment and towards understanding.
This advice （4）counter to the cultural assumptions we have about mistakes and failure, namely that they are （5） things. We’re taught in school, in our families, or at work to feel guilty about failure and to do whatever we can to （6）mistakes. This sense of shame explains why many people give up on their goals: they’re not （7） for the mistakes and failures What’s missing in many people’s beliefs about success is the fact that the more （8）the goal, the more frequent and difficult setbacks will be. The larger your ambitions, the more dependent you will be on your ability to overcome and learn from your mistakes.
But for many reasons admitting mistakes is difficult. An implied value in many cultures is that our work represents us: if you fail a test, then you are a （9）. If you make a mistake then you are a mistake. Learning from mistakes requires three things: putting yourself in situations where you can make interesting mistakes; having the self-confidence to admit to them; being （10）about making changes.
单项选择题
Dream for Better
We all have plans and dreams for a better, more ___1___ life. Yet only a small percentage of people actually achieve their ___2___ .A good question is: why?
Recently, I was working with a young man who was ___3___ get on his feet. He had written out his goals, and he had powerful reasons why he wanted to achieve these goals. But after weeks of trying, he was still not much further along.
So we took some time to try to understand what was holding him ___4___ .As we examined his average day, it became apparent to me that he was much too ___5__ .He was spending lots of time doing lots of different things. I ___6___ that most of what he was doing was not very important in the greater scheme of things.
We did some exercises to ___7___ which activities were important, which ones were urgent and which ones was filling (or killing) time. As it turned out, most of the things he was doing throughout the day were filling time. He wasn't comfortable ___8___ he was very busy, so he created things that needed to be done. He was always working on something—yet at the end of the day, he had rarely accomplished any tasks to move him closer to the life he wanted.
This behavior is fairly easy for an outside observer to spot but extremely difficult to self-diagnose. The ___9___ is to slow down and get comfortable with being still, with contemplating what we really want and whether our actions are suitable for our goals. Many of our activities are avoidance activities: we do things to fill up the time and thus avoid having to do more difficult tasks. It wasn't easy, but once the young man finally accepted that he needed to do less overall but more of the important things, his life took a dramatic ___10___ for the better.
