“Would you tell me which way I should go from here?” asked Alice.
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get,” said the Cat.
“I really don’t care where” replied Alice.
“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
--- from “ Alice in Wonderland ”
My name is David. And I have a brother called Mike.
One day, my brother called me and asked me for some advice. He was trying to decide between two job offers:
Job 1 – The first job was your typical 40 hour a week “office” job.
Job 2 – The second job was more of a career in the insurance industry(保险业), where he would start at the bottom, and after many years and many long hours eventually rise to the top (if he was good).
The second job did not pay as well as the first job (at the beginning), but the pay-off of the second job (in the future) was much greater than the first job. So which job should my brother take? Well the answer is…it depends.
Just like the Cat was trying to tell Alice, which road you take depends a great deal on where you want to end up.
Begin with the End in Mind
I asked my brother what was his life’s purpose. He said his purpose was to “teach,” but he wanted to make a lot of money first. I told my brother to forget about the money, and I advised him to focus on his purpose. I then asked him which job best supported his end result of “teaching.” He said the first job best supported his goal because he would only have to work 40 hours a week, which would give him spare time to teach. He continued on to say, “but if I take job number two, I can work hard and make more money, then I can retire early and “teach” later in life.” I again advised him to “focus” on his purpose, not money. Things don’t end wrong, they begin wrong!
You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well
It would be very difficult to have a successful teaching career while you’re working 70-80 hours a week in the insurance business; no one can ride two horses well. As they say, you can do anything, but not everything. I advised him to get started today by choosing the job that best supported that decision.
Tomorrow Never Comes
My brother was thinking that he could always start teaching later in life, but the reality is, tomorrow never es. Unless you decide right now to follow your feelings, they will probably never be pleted. You only live once, don’t go to the end of your life with one regret.
The Money Will Come
My brother seemed to be overly concerned with making money. I told him not to be anxious about making money. You will always have greater money when you’re doing what you love.
In a word, whenever you’re at a cross-road, be sure to make the decision that best supports the goal of your life. If you do, then you will be well on your way.
【小题1】 Mike David one day.A．visitedB．metC．made a telephone call toD．found【小题2】 Mike was trying to .A．look for a jobB．start a careerC．wok in an officeD．decide between two job offers【小题3】As for the life’s purpose, Mike .A．wanted to teach firstB．wanted to make a lot of money firstC．wanted to work in the insurance industryD．wanted to work 40 hours a day【小题4】 You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well means .A．you’d better have two horsesB．you can only ride one horse wellC．you can do everything well.D．you can’t do two things well at the same time【小题5】 The best title of the passage is .A．How to choose a better jobB．It is more important to begin than to endC．How to make a better decisionD．Make more money because tomorrow never esC
网友回答
(答案→)C
解析：
1. C 细节题。根据One day, my brother called me可知他们是通过电话交流，故选C。
2. D 根据He was trying to decide between two job offers可知答案为D。
3. B 定位到He said his purpose was to “teach,” but he wanted to make a lot of money first这句，答案很明显为B。
4. D 语义题的考查。你不能同时骑两匹马，只是表面意思。从下文来看，应该你不能同时做两样事情，是句子的引申义，因为前面讲的两份工作也只能选其一。
5. C 主旨题。文章最后说In a word, whenever you’re at a cross-road, be sure to make the decision that best supports the goal of your life（你最好选择对你生活目标有最大支持的决定），故选C。