Once upon a time, there lived a man who wanted to achieve everything he was capable of achieving．He was obsessed with this desire --- he ate, slept, and walked with one and only dream: to die, having accomplished every single thing he was able to accomplish．
There were so many things he could do．He felt like the whole world could be his, 36 he set his mind to it．
He knew that his 37 had no limits．He knew that he could accumulate 38 that would dwarf （使相形见绌） that of ancient kings; he knew that he could 39 books that would shake the minds of generations; he knew that he could 40 things that would forever change the lives of millions of people．He lived, constantly feeling the power within --- and that power knew no bounds．
There was only one problem: having such a potential, but only one 41 , he had to make a choice．He had to decide where to 42 all of his ability．Making that decision was extremely hard, for any 43 meant cutting off some future achievements．In the meantime, he went to school, graduated, found a job, married, and 44 children．And he spent every minute of his spare time trying to decide 45 he should bring his potential into full play．
Time went by, and he grew 46 ．Some roads he used to dream about became closed to him．But there was still so much he could accomplish．
One day, a sudden chest pain made him come home early．He dragged his feet to the bathroom．There, feeling 47 , he looked in the mirror．A worn-out, gray-haired man stared back at him．He looked 48 into these eyes and, all of a sudden, 49 one simple truth．The next moment, the pain came again, and his heart stopped 50 forever．
The truth that came upon him was rather simple: People only flatter themselves （自以为是，自鸣得意） by thinking that they could have 51 this or that if not for such-and-such circumstances．Yet this is nothing but 52 ．You simply lack something that is 53 for achieving that goal you’ve never reached — a talent, a skill, willpower, 54 something else．In fact, 55 you don’t achieve is something you’re not capable of achieving．
36. A．before B．since C．if D．though
37 A．wisdom B．freedom C．world D．potential
38 A．courage B．interest C．knowledge D．power
39 A．write B．read C．buy D．edit
40 A．adopt B．acquire C．invent D．destroy
41 A．step B．life C．chance D．condition
42 A．promote B．accumulate C．increase D．apply
43 A．choice B．mistake C．failure D．effort
44 A．assisted B．raised C．loved D．punished
45 A．why B．where C．when D．whether
46 A．older B．wiser C．greedier D．cruder
47 A．sleepy B．weak C．satisfied D．comfortable
48 A．carelessly B．secretly C．angrily D．closely
49 A．reminded B．remembered C．realized D．created
50 A．fueling B．starting C．moving D．beating
51 A．learned B．achieved C．undertaken D．doubted
52 A．reality B．history C．imagination D．record
53 A．unimportant B．necessary C．unbelievable D．ordinary
54 A．and B．or C．even D．as
55 A．what B．which C．that D．how