How can we improve our life? Many people think that they have to accept whatever life throws at them. They’ll say, “this is my destiny (命运). I cannot change it.”
Certainly not! You don’t have to suffer too much. Your destiny depends on yourself, not on any other factors.
I know someone who says she just accepts what life gives her because she has done everything she can to improve it. Guess what her lifestyle is? She wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes back home, relaxes, chats with people, watches TV, then goes to sleep. Next day, the same routine cycle follows. Huh! Is this what she calls “doing her best”? She believes she has tried her best. But in fact she hasn’t.
Remember that you get what you pay. You just don’t sit around and wait for a million dollars to fall from the sky. You have to get off the couch, get your eyes off the TV screen, get your hands off the phone. Don’t expect your luck to change unless you do something about it. If something goes wrong, don’t just regard it as a little failure, but use it as feedback (反馈). Learn your lesson, make the most of the situation, and do something to solve the problem. It’s not enough to think positively (积极地), you also have to act positively.
If someone’s life is in the trouble, do you just hope that things will turn out fine? Of course not! You get to do anything you can to save the person. So it is with your own life. It is not enough to hope for the best, but you have to do your best. In other words, don’t just stand (or sit) there, do something to improve your life.
【小题1】The writer’s attitude towards destiny is that ________.

When I was a child, my parents always told me that I should never talk to strangers. This was part of a whole list of things I should never do ： Never accept food or candy from strangers，never get in a car with strangers，and so on.

But if we didn’t start a conversation with strangers, we，d never make new friends. We，d never get a job.①We may miss the joy that comes from talking with strangers. And the more people you know, the more chances you can find.

The following passage offers you some advice on how to ②break the ice.

Don，t just stare at your shoes. Go and say “Hi” to that new guy. It will be easier to break the ice if you know more about different cultures.

British：Beautiful day, isn’t it?

The weather in Britain is changeable. So, it’s one of the topics the British care most about. And there’s a simple rule：Say “Yes” whether you agree with the person’s idea on the weather or not.③That’s because the British start a conversation using the weather so that they can continue their talk.

French：Where did you go on holiday?

To talk with a French person, the safest way is to ask about his or her last holiday. French students enjoy a 10-to-15-day holiday every two months. French employees(雇员）get more than six weeks of holidays per year.

American:So，where are you from?

The US is so big and people move so often that location is always a source (来源) of talk. You can try to find a connection with the place they’re from. For example, if someone’s from Los Angeles, you could say : “Oh, I have a friend who studied there.”

56. 将文中①处划线句子翻译成汉语。

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57. 将文中②处划线短语翻译成汉语。

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58将文中③处划线句子改写成同义句。

That’s because the British start a conversation using the weather ______ ______their talk.

59. What do you usually talk about to start a conversation with a French person?

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60. What is the main idea of the passage?

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