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 entered our home in rural Virginia. My father__16__me to her with these words: “I would like you to meet the fellow who is___17__for being the worst boy in this county and will probably start throwing rocks at you no ___18__than tomorrow morning.”
My stepmother walked over to me, ___19__my head slightly upward, and looked me right in the eye. Then she looked at my father and replied, “You are ___20__. This is not the worst boy at all, ___21__the smartest one who hasn’t yet found an outlet（释放的途径）for his enthusiasm.”
That statement began a(n) ___22__between us. No one had ever called me smart, My family and neighbors had built me up in my ___23__as a bad boy. My stepmother changed all that.
She changed many things. She ___24__my father to go to a dental school, from which he graduated with honors. She moved our family into the county seat, where my father’s career could be more ___25__and my brother and I could be better___26__.
When I turned fourteen, she bought me a secondhand___27__and told me that she believed that I could become a writer. I knew her enthusiasm, I___28__it and I saw it had already improved our lives. I accepted her ___29__and began to write for local newspapers. I was doing the same kind of___30__that great day I went to interview Andrew Carnegie and received the task which became my life’s work later. I wasn’t the ___31__beneficiary (受益者). My father became the ___32__man in town. My brother and stepbrothers became a physician, a dentist, a lawyer, and a college president.
What power __33__has! When that power is released to support the certainty of one’s purpose and is ___34__strengthened by faith, it becomes an irresistible（不可抗拒的）force which poverty and temporary defeat can never ___35__.
You can communicate that power to anyone who needs it. This is probably the greatest work you can do with your enthusiasm.
16. A. rushed B. sent C. introduced D. carried
17. A. encouraged B. well-known C. mistaken D. rewarded
18. A. later B. sooner C. longer D. earlier
19. A. dragged B. shook C. bent D. raised
20. A. right B. wrong C. perfect D. impolite
21. A. so B. but C. and D. or
22. A. gap B. agreement C. friendship D. relationship
23. A. expectation B. opinion C. image D. mind
24. A. begged B. ordered C. persuaded D. invited
25. A. meaningful B. successful C. helpful D. useful
26. A. treated B. entertained C. respected D. educated
27. A. typewriter B. radio C. bicycle D. camera
28. A. considered B. appreciated C. ignored D. doubted
29. A. request B. belief C. optimism D. description
30. A. teaching B. studying C. writing D. reading
31. A. next B. same C. real D. only
32. A. cleverest B. strongest C. wealthiest D. healthiest
33. A. confidence B. enthusiasm C. sympathy D. fortune
34. A. constantly B. definitely C. happily D. traditionally
35. A. win B. reach C. match D. count