阅读理解

Questions 41 to 50 are based on the following passage.
【真题来源:2017年6月大学英语四级真题(第一套)Part Ⅲ,Section B,第36-45题】

From Accountant to Yogi: Making a Radical Career Change

A) At some point, almost all of us will experience a period of radical professional change. Some of us will seek it out; for others it will feel like an unwelcome intrusion into otherwise stable careers. Either way, we have choices about how we respond to it when it comes.

B) We recently caught up with yoga entrepreneur Leah Zaccaria, who put herself through the fire of change to completely reinvent herself. In her search to live a life of purpose, Leah left her high-paying accounting job, her husband, and her home. In the process, she built a radically new life and career. Since then, she has founded two yoga studios, met a new life partner, and formed a new community of people. Even if your personal reinvention is less drastic, we think there are lessons from her experience that apply.

C) Where do the seeds of change come from? The Native American Indians have a saying: "Pay attention to the whispers so you won't have to hear the screams." Often the best ideas for big changes come from unexpected places—it's just a matter of tuning in. Great leaders recognize the weak signals or slight signs that point to big changes to come. Leah reflects on a time she listened to the whispers; "About the time my daughter was five years old, I started having a sense that 'this isn't right'. "She then realized that her life no longer matched her vision for it.

D) Up until that point, Leah had followed traditional measures of success. After graduating with a degree in business and accounting, she joined a public accounting firm, married, bought a house, put lots of stuff in it, and had a baby. "I did what everybody else thought looked successful," she says. Leah easily could have fallen into a trap of feeling content; instead, her energy sparked a period of experimentation and renewal.

E) Feeling the need to change, Leah started playing with future possibilities by exploring her interests and developing new capabilities. First trying physical exercise and dieting, she lost some weight and discovered an inner strength. "I felt powerful because I broke through my own limitations," she recalls.

F) However, it was another interest that led Leah to radically reinvent herself. "I remember sitting on a bench with my aunt at a yoga studio," she said, "and having a moment of clarity right then and there; Yoga is saving my life. Yoga is waking me up. I'm not happy and I want to change and I'm done with this. " In that moment of clarity Leah made an important leap, conquering her inner resistance to change and making a firm commitment to take bigger steps.

G) Creating the future you want is a lot easier if you are ready to exploit the opportunities that come your way. When Leah made the commitment to change, she primed herself to new opportunities she may otherwise have overlooked. She recalls:

H) One day a man I worked with, Ryan, who had his office next to mine, said, " Leah, let's go look at this space on Queen Anne. " He knew my love for yoga and had seen a space close to where he lived that he thought might be good to serve as a yoga studio. As soon as I saw the location, I knew this was it. Of course I was scared, yet I had this strong sense of "I have to do this". Only a few months later Leah opened her first yoga studio, but success was not instant.

I) Creating the future takes time. That's why leaders continue to manage the present while building toward the big changes of the future. When it's time to make the leap, they take action and immediately drop what's no longer serving their purpose. Initially Leah stayed with her accounting job while starting up the yoga studio to make it all work.

J) Soon after, she knew she had to make a bold move to fully commit to her new future. Within two years, Leah shed the safety of her accounting job and made the switch complete. Such drastic change is not easy.

K) Steering through change and facing obstacles brings us face to face with our fears. Leah reflects on one incident that triggered her fears, when her investors threatened to shut her down: "I was probably up against the most fear I've ever had," she says. "I had spent two years cultivating this community, and it had become successful very fast, but within six months I was facing the prospect of losing it all."

L) She connected with her sense of purpose and dug deep, cultivating a tremendous sense of strength. " I was feeling so intentional and strong that I wasn't going to let fear just take over. I was thinking, 'OK, guys, if you want to try to shut me down, shut me down. 'And I knew it was a negotiation scheme, so I was able to say to myself, 'This is not real.'"By naming her fears and facing them head-on, Leah gained confidence. For most of us, letting go of the safety and security of the past gives us great fear. Calling out our fears explicitly, as Leah did, can help us act decisively.

M) The cycle of renewal never ends. Leah's growth spurred her to open her second studio—and it wasn't for the money.

N) I have no desire to make millions of dollars. It's not about that; it's about growth for me. Honestly, I didn't need to open a second studio. I was making as much money as I was as an accountant. But I know if you don't grow, you stand still, and that doesn't work for me.

O) Consider the current moment in your own life, your team or your organization. Where are you in the cycle of renewal; Are you actively preserving the present, or selectively forgetting the past, or boldly creating the future? What advice would Leah give you to move you ahead on your journey? Once we're on the path of growth, we can continually move through the seasons of transformation and renewal.

单选题

Readiness to take advantage of new opportunities will make it easier to create one's desired future.

【正确答案】 G
【答案解析】

该段第一句提到“如果能好好利用出现在你身边的机会,创造你想要的未来就容易了很多”,题干是对原文的同义转述,题干中的take advantage of,create one's desired future分别对应原文中的exploit,creating the future you want,故答案为G。

单选题

By conventional standards, Leah was a typical successful woman before she changed her career.

【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】

该段首句提到“在那之前,用传统标准来看,利亚是成功的”。“在那之前”即在利亚职业转变之前,故答案为D。

单选题

Leah gained confidence by laying out her fears and confronting them directly.

【正确答案】 L
【答案解析】

该段倒数第三句提到“通过说出自己的恐惧并直面恐惧,利亚获得了信心”。题干中的laying out是对原文中naming的同义替换,confronting是对原文中facing…head-on的同义替换,故答案为L。

单选题

In search of a meaningful life, Leah gave up what she had and set up her own yoga studios.

【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】

该段第二句提到“为寻求一种有目标的生活,利亚放弃了高薪的会计工作,离开了她的丈夫和家”。第四句提到“此后,她成立了两间瑜伽工作室”。题干是对原文的总结概括,故答案为B。

单选题

Leah's interest in yoga prompted her to make a firm decision to reshape her life.

【正确答案】 F
【答案解析】

该段第一句提到“但是,导致利亚彻底改变自己的是另一个兴趣”。第三、四句提到“瑜伽抓救了我的生命,瑜伽唤醒了我”。最后一句提到“利亚做出了重大的跃进,战胜了自己内心不愿改变的阻力,并坚定承诺要采取更大的措施”。题干是对原文的总结概括,故答案为F。

单选题

Small signs may indicate great changes to come and therefore merit attention.

【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】

该段第二、三、四句提到“美洲土著印第安人有一句话:‘注意低语,这样你就不必听到尖叫声’。做出重大改变的最佳想法往往来自意想不到的地方——这只是一个调整的问题。伟大的领导人能够认识到能带来重大改变的微弱信号或微小迹象”,题干是对原文的总结概括,故答案为C。

单选题

Leah's first yoga studio was by no means an immediate success.

【正确答案】 H
【答案解析】

该段最后一句提到“才几个月后,利亚开了她的第一间瑜伽工作室,但没有立即成功” 题干中的immediate是对原文中instant的同义替换,故答案为H。

单选题

Some people regard professional change as an unpleasant experience that disturbs their stable careers.

【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】

该段前两句提到“我们每个人几乎都会经历一段职业发生彻底转变的时期;有些人寻求这种改变,但另一些人会觉得这是令人不快的入侵,因为它打破了稳定的职业生涯”。题干是对原文的同义转述,故答案为A。

单选题

The worst fear Leah ever had was the prospect of losing her yoga business.

【正确答案】 K
【答案解析】

该段最后两句提到“利亚回想起一件让她感到恐惧的事情,那时她的投资者威胁着要关闭她的工作室,她说:“我可能面临着曾经有过的最大的恐惧,我花了两年的时间建立了这个社交群,而且非常快速地取得了成功,但是不到6个月的时间,我可能要失去一切”。题干是对原文的总结概括,故答案为K。

单选题

As she explored new interests and developed new potentials, Leah felt powerful internally.

【正确答案】 E
【答案解析】

该段前两句提到“在意识到需要改变后,利亚开始探索自己的兴趣并培养新的能力,以争取未来更大的可能性。她首先尝试了体育锻炼和节食,她减掉了一些体重,并发现了自己内在的力量”。题干中的potentials是对原文中capabilities的同义替换,internally是对原文中inner的同义替换,故答案为E。