“Would you tell me which way I should go from here?” asked Alice.

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get,” said the Cat.

“I really don’t care where” replied Alice.

“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

--- from “ Alice in Wonderland ”

My name is David. And I have a brother called Mike.

One day, my brother called me and asked me for some advice. He was trying to decide between two job offers:

Job 1 – The first job was your typical 40 hour a week “office” job.

Job 2 – The second job was more of a career in the insurance industry(保险业), where he would start at the bottom, and after many years and many long hours eventually rise to the top (if he was good).

The second job did not pay as well as the first job (at the beginning), but the pay-off of the second job (in the future) was much greater than the first job. So which job should my brother take? Well the answer is…it depends.

Just like the Cat was trying to tell Alice, which road you take depends a great deal on where you want to end up.

Begin with the End in Mind

I asked my brother what was his life’s purpose. He said his purpose was to “teach,” but he wanted to make a lot of money first. I told my brother to forget about the money, and I advised him to focus on his purpose. I then asked him which job best supported his end result of “teaching.” He said the first job best supported his goal because he would only have to work 40 hours a week, which would give him spare time to teach. He continued on to say, “but if I take job number two, I can work hard and make more money, then I can retire early and “teach” later in life.” I again advised him to “focus” on his purpose, not money. Things don’t end wrong, they begin wrong!

You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well

It would be very difficult to have a successful teaching career while you’re working 70-80 hours a week in the insurance business; no one can ride two horses well. As they say, you can do anything, but not everything. I advised him to get started today by choosing the job that best supported that decision.

Tomorrow Never Comes

My brother was thinking that he could always start teaching later in life, but the reality is, tomorrow never comes. Unless you decide right now to follow your feelings, they will probably never be completed. You only live once, don’t go to the end of your life with one regret.

The Money Will Come

My brother seemed to be overly concerned with making money. I told him not to be anxious about making money. You will always have greater money when you’re doing what you love.

In a word, whenever you’re at a cross-road, be sure to make the decision that best supports the goal of your life. If you do, then you will be well on your way.

1.Mike ___________ David one day.

A．visited            B．met              C．made a telephone call to   D．found

2.Mike was trying to ____________.

A．look for a job                          B．start a career

C．wok in an office                         D．decide between two job offers

3.As for the life’s purpose, Mike ______________.

A．wanted to teach first                     B．wanted to make a lot of money first

C．wanted to work in the insurance industry     D．wanted to work 40 hours a day

4.You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well means _____________.

A．you’d better have two horses

B．you can only ride one horse well

C．you can do everything well.

D．you can’t do two things well at the same time

5.The best title of the passage is ______________.

A．How to choose a better job

B．It is more important to begin than to end

C．How to make a better decision

D．Make more money because tomorrow never comes

There was a boy who was sent by his parents to a boarding school  (寄宿学校). 1   being sent away, this boy was the   2 student in his class. He was at the top in every  3  always with high marks.

But the boy changed after   4 home and attending the boarding school. His grades started    5  . He hated being in a   6 . He was lonely all the time. And there were especially dark times when he   7  committing suicide  (自杀). All of this was because he felt   8  and no one loved him.

His parents started   9 about the boy. But they even did not know what was  10  with him. So his dad decided to travel to the boarding school and   11  him.

They sat on the bank of the lake near the school. The father started asking him some casual questions about his classes, teachers and  12 . After some time his dad said, “Do you know, son, why I am here today?”

The boy answered back, “To   13  my grades?”

“No, no,” his dad replied. “I am here to tell you that you are the most   14  person for me.  I want to see you   15 . I don't care about grades. I care about you. I care about your happiness. YOU ARE MY LIFE.”

These words   16  the boy’s eyes to be filled with tears. He  17  his dad. They didn’t say anything to each other for a long time.

Now the boy had   18  he wanted. He knew there was someone on this earth who cared for him deeply. He   19  the world to someone. And today this young man is in college at the top of his class and no one has ever seen him  20  ！