At the age of 16, Einstein failed in several exams because he often played with some bad kids. One weekend morning, Einstein carried a fishing net and prepared to go fishing with those    16   , his father stopped him and said to him calmly,＂ Einstein, you were spending too much time    17   , so you failed in the exams. I’m    18    about your future with your mother.＂
＂What are you worrying about? Jack and Robert also    19   , but they went fishing as usual.＂
＂My boy, you can’t think so,＂ Looking at Einstein, his father said lovingly, ＂There is a    20    in our hometown. I hope you can listen to it carefully.＂
＂There were two cats playing on the roof.    21   , they fell into the chimney（烟囱）.When they climbed out of the chimney, one cat’s face was dirty    22    the other’s face was clean. Seeing the dirty-faced cat, the clean-faced one thought its own face was also dirty, so it quickly ran to the riverside and washed its    23   . The dirty-faced cat saw the clean-faced one, thinking its own face was clean as well, so it walked happily in the street.＂
＂Einstein,    24    can be your mirror（镜子）. Only you are your own mirror. Some of the kids are not strict with themselves. If you take them to be your mirror, even a    25    person may become stupid.＂ Hearing this, Einstein was ashamed and lay down his fishing rod and returned to his small room. Since then, Einstein’s face turned red. He put down his fishing net and returned to his small room.
After that, Einstein often took himself as a mirror to be    26    with himself and kept telling himself. ＂ I am special, so I needn’t be as common as others.＂ This was why Einstein    27    in his career.
1,000 people have 1,000 kinds of wishes in life. Different wishes will produce different    28    about life. You can learn from other people, but you can    29    follow others completely.
You must see yourself clearly, and know what you want to get. Your future doesn’t    30    how others act, but on what you are going to act.
16. A. adults B. kids C. teachers D. artists
17. A. playing B. working C. reading D. studying
18. A. excited B. curious C. worried D. crazy
19. A. checked B. passed C. dreamed D. failed
20. A. song B. story C. speech D. saying
21. A. Luckily B. Hopefully C. Suddenly D. Naturally
22. A. while B. or C. so D. for
23. A. mouth B. tail C. nose D. face
24. A. somebody B. nobody C. anybody D. everybody
25. A. poor B. rich C. lazy D. clever
26. A. tired B. angry C. strict D. satisfied
27. A. regretted B. graduated C. succeeded D. survived
28. A. ideas B. reasons C. mistakes D. secrets
29. A. sometimes B. often C. always D. never
30. A. try on B. depend on C. live on D. insist on
【文章大意】本文讲述了贪玩的少年爱因斯坦，听了爸爸讲的两只掉进烟囱的猫的故事后，把自己当作一面镜子，严格要求自己，最终走向事业成功的故事，启发我们，不同的愿望会产生不同的人生观，自己的未来并不取决于别人怎么做，而是取决于自己打算怎么做。