When I was about 12, I hated a girl. I even thought of her as an enemy. She liked to pointed out my shortcomings(缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was too thin; I was not a good student; I talked too much; I was too proud and so on. At last, I couldn’t stand her. I ran to my father.
He listened to me quietly, and then he asked, “Are the things she says true or not? Jane, didn’t you ever wonder what you are really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I found that about half the things were true. I couldn’t change some of them, like being very thin, but more I could and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I got a pretty clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it. “That’s just for you,”he said. “You know better about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears angrily and feel hurt. Don’t close your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth.”
Daddy’ s advice has returned to me at many important moments.In my life,I’ve never had a better piece of advice.
What was Jane like in her “enemy’s”eyes?
A. She was too shy.
B. She felt too good about herself.
C. She was of medium build.
What did the father ask Jane to do?
A. Mark the true things.
B. List the girl’s shortcomings.
C. Pay no attention to the list.
How did Jane feel after she made the list?
A. She felt hurt and wanted to give up.
B. She didn’t lose heart and decided to change.
C. She was happy because she could draw a picture.
What does the sentence “In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.”mean?
A. She didn’t like her father’s advice.
B. Her father gave her better advice after she grew up.
C. Her father gave her the best advice in her life.
What can we learn from this story?
A. It’s always good to have an enemy.
B. Everyone has shortcomings.
C. We can know better about ourselves from others.