Another person’s enthusiasm was what set me moving toward the success I have achieved.That person was my stepmother.
I was nine years old when she enterd our home in rural Virginia. My father__36__me to her with these words:“I would like you to meet the fellow who is___37  for being the worst boy in this county and will probably start throwing rocks at you no ___38  than tomorrow morning.”
My stepmother walked over to me, ___39  my head slightly upward,and looked me right in the eye.Then she looked at my father and replied,“You are ___40  .This is not the worst boy at all, ___41   the smartest one who hasn’t yet found an outlet（释放的途径）for his enthusiasm.”
That statement began a(n) ___42   between us.No one had ever called me smart,My family and neighbors had built me up in my ___43   as a bad boy . My stepmother changed all that.
She changed many things.She ___44   my father to go to a dental school,from which he graduated with honors.She moved our family into the county srat,where my father’s career could be more ___45   and my brother and I could be better___46   .
When I turned fourteen,she bought me a secondhand___47   and told me that she believed that I could become a writer.I knew her ernthusiasm,I___48
it had alreadly improved our lives.I accepted her ___49  and began to write for local newspapers.I was doing the same kind of___50   that great day I went to interview Andrew Carnegie and received the task which became my life’s work later.I wasn’t the ___51   beneficiary (受益者).My father became the ___52   man in town.My brother and stepbrthers became a physician,a dentist,a lawyer,and a college president.
What power __53  has!When that power is released to support the certainty of one’s purpose and is ___54  strengthened by faith,it becomes an irresistible（不可抗拒的）force which poverty and temporary defeat can never ___55   .
You can communicate that power to anyone who needs it.This is probably the greatest work you can do with your enthusiasm.
36.A.rushed            B .sent             C .carried             D .introduced
37.A.distinguished      B .favored          C .mistaken           D .rewarded
38. A.sooner           B .later             C .longer            D .earlier
39. A.dragged          B .shook           C .raised            D .bent
40. A.perfect          B .right            C .wrong            D .impolite
41. A.but             B .so               C .and              D .or
42. A.ageement        B .friendship          C .gap             D .relationship
43. A.opinion         B .image            C .espectation        D .mind
44. A.begged          B .persuaded          C .ordered          D .invited
45. A.successful        B .meaningful     C.helpful           D .useful
46. A.treared          B .entertained     C.educated          D .respected
47. A.cemera          B .radio             C .bicycle           D .typewriter
48. A.considered       B .suspected           C .ignored          D .appreciated
49. A.belief           B .request           C .criticism         D .description
50. A.teahing          B .writing           C .studying         D .reading
51. A.next             B .same             C .only             D .real
52. A.cleverest         B .wealthiest          C .strongest           D .bealthiest
53. A.ebthusiasm        B .sympathy          C .fortune          D .confidence
54. A.deliberately       B .happily           C .traditionally   D.constantly
55. A.win             B .match            C .reach            D .doubt