We all have weaknesses and strengths, no matter who we are. Sometimes the weaknesses seem to outweigh the strengths and sometimes it’s the other way around. Some people get sick easily. Some struggle to manage their money properly. Some people are hopeless communicators and struggle with relationships.

Many people accept it as just bad luck, but not everyone. Some people facing huge limitations still manage to achieve surprising things. They rise above their weaknesses and do not allow them to limit their possibilities.

I attended a school prize-giving ceremony not so long ago and the guest speaker was Andrew Becroft, who had a severe stutter(口吃) as a child. Instead of allowing this to limit him, he chose to work hard to overcome it. He is now the Principal Youth Court Judge for New Zealand. Not only did he become successful, but he did so in a profession where he had to speak in front of others regularly.

Lots of people face far more significant limitaions than you do. They may be missing limbs or are born into extreme poverty. But no matter what the limitation you will always find people who have overcome it. Brett Eastburn has no arms or legs and yet is an inspirational speaker and also a very good wrestler. Ringo Starr, drummer for the Beatles, came from a very poor background. He was constantly plagued with illness as a child and spent large amounts of time in hospital. Mark Inglis lost both of

his legs below the knees in a mountaineering accident, but has since climbed Mt Everest.

Most of us will never have to face the challenges these people faced. Yet most of us will never achieve to the degree that these people have either, unless we choose to. If Mark Inglis can climb the highest mountain in the world without legs, _________ ?

小题1:What is the main idea of Paragraph 1? (Within 8 words.)

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小题2:Which sentence in the text is the cloest in meaning to the following one?

All of the people don’t think it unlucky to have weaknesses, although many may think so.

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小题3:List three people who rose above their weaknesses according to the text. (Within 8 words.)

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小题4:Fill in the blank in the last paragraph with proper words. (Within 6 words.)

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小题5:Translate the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 into Chinese.

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