We often talk about ourselves as if we have permanent genetic defects(缺陷) that can never be changed. “I’m impatient.” “I’m always behind.” “I always put things !” You’ve surely heard them. Maybe you’ve used them to describe .
These comments may come from stories about us that have been for years—often from childhood. These stories may have no in fact. But they can set low expectations for us. As a child, my mother said to me, “Marshall, you have no mechanical （操作机械的） skills, and you will never have any mechanical skills for the rest of your life. ” How did these expectations my development? I was never to work on cars or be around . When I was 18, I took the US Army’s Mechanical Aptitude Test. My scores were in the bottom for the entire nation!
Six years later, , I was at California University, working on my doctor’s degree. One of my professors, Dr. Bob Tannbaum, asked me to write down things I did well and things I couldn’t do. For my strong points, I down, “research, writing, analysis, and speaking. ” For the , I wrote, “I have no mechanical skills. ”
Bob asked me how I knew I had no mechanical skills. I explained my life and told him about my performance on the Army test. Bob then asked, “ is it that you can solve mathematical problems, but you can’t solve easy mechanical problems?”
Suddenly I realized that I didn’t from some sort of genetic defect. I was just living out expectations that I had chosen to . At that point, it wasn’t just my family and friends who had been my belief that I was mechanically hopeless. And it wasn’t just the Army test, either. I was the one who kept telling myself, “You can’t do this!” I realized that as long as I kept saying that, it was going to remain true. , if we don’t treat ourselves as if we have genetic defects that we can never get over, we can do well in almost we choose.
1.A. away B. off C. up D. down
2.A. them B. myself C. yourself D. others
3.A. said B. spoken C. spread D. repeated
4.A. as long as B. as far back as C. as well as D. as much as
5.A. evidence B. wisdom C. cause D. meaning
6.A. lead B. improve C. affect D. change
7.A. encouraged B. demanded C. hoped D. agreed
8.A. means B. tools C. facilities D. hammers
9.A. therefore B. somehow C. instead D. however
10.A. settled B. turned C. took D. got
11.A. short B. other C. weak D. latter
12.A. experiences B. trips C. roads D. paths
13.A. unexpected B. poor C. excellent D. average
14.A. When B. What C. How D. Why
15.A. challenging B. advanced C. common D. normal
16.A. handle B. separate C. suffer D. come
17.A. believe B. doubt C. adopt D. receive
18.A. weakening B. strengthening C. questioning D. accepting
19.A. As a result B. At the same time C. In addition D. Instead
20.A. everything B. something C. nothing D. none
Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, ______ protect you against a heart attack, according to a recent study.
A. have helped B. helped C. help D. helps
To some degree, uncontrolled information from the Internet that many people turn ______ false.
A. to turn out B. to turns out C. turn out D. turns out
There are two thousand students in this college, ______ are from the countryside.
A. one-third of them B. one-third of which
C. one-third of whom D. one-third in which
The lazy boy tried to get through the exam without hard work in the way ______ his friend suggested.
A. in that B. in which C. which D. where
He has ______ lung cancer for several years and is never _______ pain.
A. recovered from; away from B. suffered; away from
C. recovered; free from D. suffered from; free from
