Waller was a liked－by－all fellow full of fun who often went to coffee houses to tell people interesting stories, of which some even brought him some money. One day, asked by an office secretary who told Waller that his boss was a never－seen before serious man and he never even smiled. Waller would tell a most funny story. “Well, sir,” Waller said before he began the story, “What will be given in return of my success?”“＄100,”replied the secretary. “I haven’t seen him have a bright face since I worked in his office.”
“Then let’s make it.” Waller went to the man’s table and whispered to him, “Please tell your boss that the funny man Waller’s hen gave birth to a baby.”
Three days later a letter reached Mr. Waller in which were ＄100 and a piece of yellow paper with the words, “Mr. Waller, you have succeeded—When I repeated your ＄100－worth sentence, my boss burst into frightening laughter, saying that whoever has managed to make him laugh during the business hours will get dismissed!”
【小题1】The secretary asked Waller for a most funny story because he ______.

Waller was a liked－by－all fellow full of fun who often went to coffee houses to tell people interesting stories, of which some even brought him some money. One day, asked by an office secretary who told Waller that his boss was a never－seen before serious man and he never even smiled. Waller would tell a most funny story. “Well, sir,” Waller said before he began the story, “What will be given in return of my success?”“＄100,”replied the secretary. “I haven’t seen him have a bright face since I worked in his office.”

“Then let’s make it.” Waller went to the man’s table and whispered to him, “Please tell your boss that the funny man Waller’s hen gave birth to a baby.”

Three days later a letter reached Mr. Waller in which were ＄100 and a piece of yellow paper with the words, “Mr. Waller, you have succeeded—When I repeated your ＄100－worth sentence, my boss burst into frightening laughter, saying that whoever has managed to make him laugh during the business hours will get dismissed!”

1.The secretary asked Waller for a most funny story because he ______.

2.Saying "Let's make it," Waller______．

3.Which of the following ends is true according to the passage?

4.Which sentence can describe the theme of the story?

There are many ways of defining success.It is accurate to say that each of us has our own ideas of success to the extent that each of us is responsible for setting our own goals and determining whether we have met these goals satisfactorily.Because each of us possesses unique differences in genetic ability and favorable environments in which to express these abilities，it is necessarily true that we must define success broadly.

For some people，simply being able to live their life with the least misery and suffering is considered a success.Think of the peace of mind of the poor shepherd who tends his sheep，enjoys his simple life with his family in the beauty of nature，and who is respected because he does a good job of achieving the goals expected of him and accepted by his family and his society. On the other hand，it seems that even though some people appear to be rich in material possessions，many of them seem to be miserable and consider themselves unsuccessful when judged by their own standards of success.Because not all ventures can be successful，one should not set unrealistic goals for achieving success，but if one has self­confidence it would be unfortunate to set one's goals at a too low level of achievement.

A wise man once said to a young man who was experiencing frustration(失败) with his own professional success，“You do not have to set your goal to reach the moon in order to have success in traveling.Sometimes one can be very successful merely by taking a walk in the park or riding the subway downtown.”The man added，“You have not really failed and spoiled your chances for success until you have been unsuccessful at something you really like，and to which you have given your best effort.”

36．According to the first paragraph，what is implied as basics in achieving success?

A．Ability and goals.

B．Goals and determination.

C．Ability and environments.

D．Goals and environments.

37．Some rich people consider themselves unsuccessful because ________．

A．their life is busy and miserable

B．they haven't reached their own standards

C．they set their goals at a very low level

D．they are not rich in material possessions

38．From the last paragraph we can tell that ________．

A．success means achieving great goals

B．success comes from setting great goals

C．success means efforts and favorites pay off

D．success has nothing to do with the distance of your travel