Would you BET on the future of this man？He is 53 years old.Most of his adult life has been a losing struggle against debt and misfortune.A war injury has made his left hand stop functioning，and he has often been in prison.Driven by heaven-knows-what motives，he determines to write a book.
   The book turns out to be one that has appealed to the world for more than 350 years.That former prisoner was Cervantes，and the book was Don Quixote（《堂吉訶德》）.And the story poses an interesting question：why do some people discover new vitality and creativity to the end of their days，while others go to seed long before？
   We've all known people whorun out of steam before they reach life's halfway mark.I'm not talking about those who fail to get to the top.We can't all get there.I'm talking about people who have stopped learning on growing because they have adopted the fixed attitudes and opinions that all too often come with passing years.
   Most of us，in fact，progressively narrow the variety of our lives.We succeed in our field of specialization and then become trapped in it.Nothing surprises us.We lose our sense of wonder.But，if we are willing to learn，the opportunities are everywhere.
   The things we learn in maturity seldom involve information and skills.We learn to bear with the things we can't change.We learn to avoid self-pity.We learn that however much we try to please，some people are never going to love us-an idea that troubles at first but is eventually relaxing.
   With high motivation and enthusiasm，we can keep on learning.Then we will know how important it is to have meaning in our life.However，we can achieve meaning only if we have made a commitment to something larger than our own little egos （自我），whether to loved ones，to fellow humans，to work，or to some moral concept.
   Many of us equate （視…等同于）"commitment" with such "caring" occupations as teaching and nursing.But doing any ordinary job as well as one can is in itself an admirable commitment.People who work toward such excellence-whether they are driving a truck，or running a store-make the world better just by being the kind of people they are.They've learned life's most valuable lesson.

（1）The passage starts with the story of Cervantes to show that

B

B

.
A．loss of freedom stimulates one's creativity
B．a(chǎn)ge is not a barrier to achieving one's goal
C．misery inspires a man to fight against his fate
D．disability cannot stop a man's pursuit of success
（2）What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 probably mean？

D

D

A．End one's struggle for liberty.
B．Waste one's energy taking risks.
C．Miss the opportunity to succeed.
D．Lose the interest to continue learning.
（3）What could be inferred from Paragraph 4？

C

C

A．Those who dare to try often get themselves trapped.
B．Those who tend to think back can hardly go ahead.
C．Opportunity favors those with a curious mind.
D．Opportunity awaits those with a cautious mind.
（4）What does the author intend to tell us in Paragraph 5？

D

D

A．A tough man can tolerate suffering.
B．A wise man can live without self-pity.
C．A man should try to satisfy people around him.
D．A man should learn suitable ways to deal with life.
（5）What is the author's purpose in writing the passage？

A

A

A．To provide guidance on leading a meaningful adult life.
B．To stress the need of shouldering responsibilities at work.
C．To state the importance of generating motivation for learning.
D．To suggest a way of pursuing excellence in our lifelong career.