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  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 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 country seat, where my father’s career could be more  45  and my brothers 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 enthusiasm, I  48  it, and I saw how it had already 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 brothers and stepbrothers 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 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.

A．rushed B．introduced C．sent D．carried

A．mistaken B．favored C．distinguished D．rewarded

A．later B．sooner C．longer D．earlier

A．dragged B．raised C．shook D．bent

A．perfect B．right C．impolite D．wrong

A．so B．but C．or D．and

A．agreement B．gap C．friendship D．relationship

A．opinion B．image C．mind D．expectation

A．persuaded B．begged C．ordered D．invited

A．meaningful B．successful C．helpful D．useful

A．treated B．entertained C．respected D．educated

A．camera B．radio C．typewriter D．bicycle

A．considered B．appreciated C．ignored D．suspected

A．criticism B．belief C．request D．description

A．writing B．teaching C．studying D．reading

A．only B．next C．same D．real

A．cleverest B．strongest C．healthiest D．wealthiest

A．fortune B．sympathy C．enthusiasm D．confidence

A．deliberately B．constantly C．traditionally D．happily

A．win B．reach C．match D．doubt