Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own. My mom was one of those people.
My father died when I was nine months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen. While I was growing up, we lived a very hard life. We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love. Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life, “Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it.”
At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again. Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk again if I wanted to badly enough. She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her. A year later, I returned to school — walking on my own!
When the Great Depression hit, my mom lost her job. Then I left school to support the both of us. At that moment, I was determined never to be poor again.
Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success. But the real turning point occurred on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951. I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was angry that they charged an extra $2 for each child. That was too expensive for the average American family. I told my wife that I was going to open a motel for families that would never charge extra for children. There were plenty of doubters at that time.
Not surprisingly, mom was one of my strongest supporters. She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style. As in any business, we experienced a lot of challenges. But with my mother’s words deeply rooted in my soul, I never doubted we would succeed. Fifteen years later, we had the largest hotel system in the world — Holiday Inn. In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of $ 1 billion a year.
You may not have started out life in the best situation. But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.
CABB
答案解析：
1. What Kemmons’ mom often told him during his childhood was ______.
A. caring
B. moving
C. encouraging
D. interesting
解析：C正确
凯蒙斯的母亲在他童年时经常告诉他的是什么？
从前两段的描述可以看到凯蒙斯的母亲总是在鼓励他，所以可以一句概括。
2. What caused Kemmons to start a motel by himself?
A. His terrible experience in the hotel.
B. His previous business success of various levels.
C. His mom’s support.
D. His wife’s suggestion.
解析：A正确
什么促使凯蒙斯自己开汽车旅馆？
凯蒙斯对当时旅馆的高价和服务很不满，所以决定自己开一家不额外收孩子费用的旅馆。
3. Which of the following best describes Kemmons’ mother?
A. Modest, helpful, and hard-working.
B. Loving, supportive and strong-willed.
C. Careful, helpful and beautiful.
D. Strict, sensitive and supportive.
解析：B正确
对凯蒙斯的母亲的最佳描述是哪个？
其他不对的选项分别有一个形容不恰当。
4. Which of the following led to Kemmons’ success according to the passage?
A. Self-confidence, hard work, higher education and a poor family.
B. Mom’s encouragement, clear goals, self-confidence and hard work.
C. Clear goals, mom’s encouragement, a poor family and higher education.
D. Mom’s encouragement, a poor family, higher education and opportunities.
解析：B正确
什么是引导凯蒙斯成功的因素？
母亲的鼓励是文中的重点，同时文章也强调自己意识的力量，母亲的鼓励中也要让作者要努力用功。可以总结一下，B项最恰当。poor family是客观的条件，并不能为作者的成功起到作用。
参考译文：
有些人可以引导出可能你自己从未完全意识到的最棒的你。我的母亲就是一位这样的人。
父亲在我九个月大的时候就去世了，母亲在18岁就成了单身妈妈。在我成长的过程中，我们的生活非常艰难。我们没有多少钱，但是母亲给了我很多很多爱。每天晚上，她让我坐在大腿上，说着可能会改变我生活的话：“凯蒙斯，你一定能成为一个了不起的人，只要你付出足够的努力你可以在你的生命中做好任何事情。”
14岁的时候，我被一辆车撞了，医生说我也许再也不能行走。每天母亲用她温柔的充满爱的声音对我说，不论那些医生怎么说只要我迫切地想再一次行走，我就可以做到。她将这个信息深深地植入我的心里，最终我相信了她。一年后，我返回了学校——用自己的双脚走了回去！
经济大萧条来袭，母亲失去工作。之后我辍学，以维持我们两个人的生活。那个时候，我就决定了不要再受穷。
几年过去，我经过了各种各样或大或小的生意的成功。但是真正的转折点发生在1951年，我带着妻子和5个孩子出门的时候。我对向家庭开设的二等旅馆非常不满，对他们对每个孩子多收2美元的行径非常愤怒。这样的价钱对美国的一般家庭实在太昂贵。我告诉妻子我打算开一家家庭汽车旅馆，不对孩子额外收费。那时候很多人对我的决定表示怀疑。
不出意料地，母亲是我最坚决的支持者。她在桌子后面工作着，甚至设计房屋的风格。正如任何生意一样，我们经受了很多的挑战。但是母亲的话语在我的灵魂中生根，我从未对我们的成功感到怀疑。15年后，我们拥有世界最大的旅馆系统——假日酒店。1979年，我的公司在50个国家拥有1759家酒店，年收入10亿美元。
可能你没能出生在最好的环境中，但是如果你找到了生命中值得你为之付出努力的事情，相信自己，没有什么可以阻挡你成功。
词汇及短语：
bring out: 引起; 致使; 造成; 达成
lap: (坐着时)膝上腰下的大腿部分
motel: 汽车旅馆
扫一扫
被折叠的 条评论
为什么被折叠?
到【灌水乐园】发言
