In a world where comparisons happen non-stop, it is difficult to look outside yourself and to ever be content with who you are. There's always someone who's a bit better. The only solution is to reach inside and measure against what Warren Buffett calls your own inner yardstick. There is no more accurate measure for comparison than who you were yesterday, last week or last decade, when you were at your best.

Nothing useful ever comes from comparison to others. Either you see yourself as better than someone and you get lazy, or you see someone else as better than you and you feel like all your hard work is for nothing. It is a fool's game. None of us are inherently above or below the person next to us. We are who we are. Not one of us is exactly alike. The only direct and honest comparison is within yourself. Everything else is apples to oranges.

My opinion is that you are only allowed to compare yourself to someone else if their life situation is the same as your own. Good luck finding that match. And one thing is for sure. No matter how hard you work and how dedicated you are, there will always be someone who can run a little faster, jump a little higher, score a little better or look a little nicer in a swimsuit. And if there's not, you can bet someone is coming up fast behind you. So how can you always win in life? Become your best competitor.

The following are the reasons why you are your own best competitor.

1. You will always be motivated. Having an image of your most recent past limits is the perfect thing to push you to the next level. If you ran 7 flights of stairs yesterday, then do 8 today. Who cares if the guy next to you did 15? It doesn't make a bit of difference. You are a more fit person today than you were yesterday. Your own progress is all you need.

2. You will continuously be your personal best. If you commit to a slightly higher standard of yourself every day, you will always be at the top of your game. And that game will only get better. But if for some reason you fall off your mark, you will always have the past image of your best performance to show you what you're capable of. Once you've done it, you know what's possible and then it's just a matter of doing it again.

47. Through the passage the writer advises the readers to ________.

A. avoid comparison with others                 B. work much harder

C. pay attention to others’ progress                 D. make full use of motivation

48. If you want to be content with yourself, according to the author, you should ________.

A. see yourself better than others                B. measure accurately  

C. compare with yourself                           D. be honest with yourself

49. Which of the following is certain to happen according to the author?

A. Finding someone else who is in the same life situation as you are.

B. Finding someone who runs faster and jumps higher than you.

C. Finding someone who is hiding right behind you.

D. Finding someone who almost always wins in their life.

50. What can help you up to higher level in your life according to the passage?

A. Comparing yourself with the guy next to you.

B. Thinking about your own progress.

C. Promising to play a game every day.

D. Thinking of your most recent past limits.

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科目：高中英語 來源：2014屆河北容城中學(xué)高三上期第一次摸底測試英語卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

For years, my family has vacationed in the same Florida town. In fact, we just returned home after spending a week of spring break there with our three sons.

Many nights, we take the same scenic drive to dinner at a favorite restaurant. As we travel along Gulf Shore Boulevard, we admire a combination of small beach apartments, swanky high-rises and spectacular homes.

A few years ago, we noticed that whenever we drive this particular route, there are always two men sitting in front of the same third-floor window of a low-rise apartment building that overlooks the road. All that is visible from the road are their two silhouettes. Even during off-peak months, they’ve always been there. Over the years, we’ve had great fun speculating about who they are, whether they’re having a drink, and if so, what they fancy, where they’re from, and what they might be discussing. Our guesses have become a modern form of car bingo. Widowers? Retirees? Partners? We’ve run through the gamut of possibilities.

Eventually, I started beeping the horn as we passed. We’d wave. Our new friends would do likewise. There was something comforting in seeing them. In a world of constant change, it has been nice to look up and see that they are there, just as we remember from our last visit. And then last spring, we drove by and they were missing. The apartment was dark. No one was visible in the window. Strangely, we drove by and they were missing The apartment was dark. No one was visible in the window. Strangely, we grew worried about two people we’d never even met. Where did they go? A new round of the guessing game began.

On our last trip at Christmastime, we were relieved to see them once again. We were driving past about 6 p.m., and there they were at cocktail hour. I told my wife that I suspected they were gin drinkers and said we should buy them a bottle. She said that if I bought it, she’d deliver it. I said, “Tomorrow.”

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A．It was a pleasure for them to see the two men again.

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C．It was an agreement between him and the two men.

D．It was for the sake of safety while driving.

3.Which of the following can best describe the family?

A．generous and sensitive        B．curious and kind

C．helpful and brave                  D．friendly and hurnorous

4.Which of the following will best continue this passage?

A．The two men’s favorite drinks.

B．The two men’s beach apartments

C．The reason of the two men’s absence

D．The author’s next visit to the town

 

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If Confucius（孔子）were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles． He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out．

While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought． It’s nothing personal． Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes．

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In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities． More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries． These schools teach both Chinese language and culture． The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy． Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy． Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese． So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States． Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers． 

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Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.

As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.

1.The opening paragraph is mainly intended to ________.

A．provide some key facts about Confucius

B．a(chǎn)ttract the readers’ interest in the subject

C．show great respect for the ancient thinker

D．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations

2.We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students______.

A．have a great interest in studying Chinese

B．take an active part in Chinese competitions

C．try to get high scores in Chinese exams

D．fight for a chance to learn Chinese

3.What is the best title for the passge?

A．Forgotten Wisdom in America

B．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language

C．Chinese Culture for Westerners

D．Old Thinker with a Big Future

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A．a(chǎn) biography        B．a(chǎn) history paper     C．a(chǎn) newspaper       D．a(chǎn) philosophy textbook

 

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Directions: Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage and required words limit.

Junior Achievement is an international movement to educate young people about business and economics. It has helped many of them succeed in a world economy since it was founded.

The organization is the largest of its kind. JA Worldwide says it reaches over eight million students each year in more than one hundred countries. Programs begin in elementary school and continue through middle and high school. The education is based on the ideas of market-based economics and entrepreneurship.

Junior Achievement began in 1919 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Two business leaders, Horace Moses and Theodore Vail, joined with Senator Murray Crane of Massachusetts to start it.

For more than fifty years, Junior Achievement programs met after school. They began as a group of business clubs. The organization started with a number of children of ages ten to twelve.

But in nineteen seventy-five, Junior Achievement began to offer classes during school hours. Many more young people joined the organization once it began to teach business skills as part of the school day.

Volunteers from the community teach about businesses, such as how they are organized, and how products are made and sold. They also teach about the American and world economies and about industry and trade.

The Junior Achievement Company Program teaches young people how entrepreneurship works. They learn about business by operating their own companies.

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Junior Achievement says two hundred eighty-seven thousand volunteers support its programs around the world. In the United States alone, there are more than twenty-two thousand places that hold Junior Achievement events.

Junior Achievement Incorporated and Junior Achievement International combined their operation in two thousand four. They formed Junior Achievement Worldwide. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

81. What is the passage mainly about?(within 15 words)

___________________________________________________________________________

82. How long a history does JA have? (within 8 words)

___________________________________________________________________________

83. What do volunteers of JA teach about? (within 10 words)

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84. What achievements has JA achieved? (within 15 words)

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