As you probably know, J.Paul Getty was one of the richest and moat successful American industrialists in history.Quite ambitious from an early age, Getty made his first million at age 23 in 1916.He later went on to found the Getty oil company, In 1957, Fortune magazine named him the richest living American and in 1966, the Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen.
Although he is highly regarded by vast numbers of people for his financial success, as a younger man, his drive to acquire power and money had a
detrimental impact on other aspects of his life, particularly in his relationships with women.He was, at one point quoted assaying "A lasting relationship with a woman is only possible if you are a business failure.” He married five times, having children with four of these wives.He couldn’t seem to keep a marriage going for very long.His obsession with having a fortune and power alienated (疏遠(yuǎn)) each of his wives, eventually driving them away. His marriage with his first wife Jeanette lasted for only three years, with Allene for two years, Adolphine, four years, Ann, four years, and finally Louise, nineteen years.
Perhaps as a young man, Getty was willing to pay whatever price for financial success.Yet Paul came to feel some regret in regard to his life priorities as he approached his later years when he Wrote: "I hate and regret the failure of my marriages.I would gladly give all of my millions for just one lasting marriage success."
At the end of Getty's life, all of the wealth that he had got meant very little to him.It was only then that he became wise enough to understand what really mattered most.Despite all of his accomplishments, he died with great regret.
It' s a sad story and a cautionary tale for those of us who may have chosen to make career building our highest priority(優(yōu)先權(quán)), thereby ignoring our relationships.Like any other living organism, relationships require care and attention in order to grow.Even the strongest relationships will he damaged, if there is not enough care.
小題1:What is Paragraph l mainly about?
A.People' s admiration for J.Paul Getty. |
B.How J.Paul Getty led his life. |
C.J. Paul Getty's achievements. |
D.How J.Paul Getty became rich. |
小題2:The underlined word "detrimental" in Paragraph 2 is the closest in meaning to "_
".
A.harmful | B.interesting | C.positive | D.demanding |
小題3:J.Paul Getty's marriage that lasted for the longest time was with _
.
A.Ann | B.Adolphine | C.Allene | D.Louise |
小題4:At the end of his life, what J.Paul Getty cares about most is the success in
.
A.business | B.politics | C.marriage | D.education |
小題5:What is the author's conclusion from the passage?
A.Young people should focus an career - building. |
B.The strongest relationships between people won't be damaged. |
C.We should attend to the needs in relationships. |
D.Successful people don't care about relationships with others. |