Question

Is there a “success personality”? Some winning combination of qualities that leads almost naturally to achievement? If so, exactly what is that secret success formula, and can anyone develop it?

At the Gallup Organization we recently focused in depth on success, examining the attitudes of 1,500 successful people selected casually from Who’s Who in America. Our research finds out a number of qualities that occur regularly among top achievers. Here is one of the most important, that is, common sense.

Common sense is the most outstanding quality possessed by our respondents.79% award themselves a top score in this quality. And 61% say that common sense was very important in contributing to their success.

To most, common sense means the ability to present sound, practical judgments on everyday affairs. To do this, one has to sweep aside extra ideas and get right to the core(核心) of what matters. A Texas oil and gas businessman puts it this way,“ The key ability for success is simplifying. In meeting arrangement and industrial management, reducing a complex problem to the simplest term is highly important.”

Is common sense a quality a person is born with, or can you do something to increase it? The oil man’s answer is that common sense can definitely be developed. He attributes his to learning how to debate in school. Another way to increase your store of common sense is to observe it in others, learning from their and your own mistakes.

Besides common sense, there are many other factors that influence success: knowing your field, self-reliance, intelligence, the ability to get things done, leadership, creativity, relationships with others, and of course, luck. But common sense stands out. If you develop these qualities, you’ll succeed. And you might even find yourself listed in Who’s Who someday.

1. From our common sense we know Who’s Who is ________.

   A. a collection of books and magazines  

   B. a book containing people with fame and great achievements

   C. a list of characters of films and novels  

   D. a list of names of common people

2. It can be learned that common sense         .

    A. is something that common people like best

    B. is a popular quality a person is born with

    C. is something that enables one to form correct opinions

    D. is a quality that is possessed by common people

3. According to the passage, when trying to solve a problem, we had better         .

    A. get experience through practice

    B. pay attention to the most important part of it

    C. keep on learning as much as possible

    D. rely on ourselves as well as luck

4. The passage is mainly concerned with         .

    A. organizational ability and good working habits

    B. the way to gain big profits and achieve fame and success

    C. knowledge and interest which are primary to success

    D. what successful people have in common

5. According to the oil businessman, how can a person develop his / her common sense?

    A. Become a businessman.      B. Learn how to debate and learn from mistakes.

    C. Become famous.            D. Simplify things.

Answer 1

BCBDB