高考英语外刊时事命题阅读理解：敢于直面挑战是成长过程中必备的素质Overcoming increasingly harder challenges in life is a part of growing-up..pdf

Overcomingincreasinglyharderchallengesinlifeisapart ofgrowing-up. 敢于直面挑战是成长过程中必备的素质 A couple of weeks ago, my grandfather was explaining his favorite expression, “Nothing is ever easy.” The following day, as I tried to complete my day’s work, I happened to notice a bumblebee (大黄蜂) on the skylight (天窗). The skylight was particularly high up, but I thought removing the bee would take no more than five minutes.An hour later,thebee stillremained.Allthat had changedwasthat the living room was a mess and that I was dizzy (头晕的) from looking up into the sunlight. I did not expect to waste an hour on an insect so tiny, but by doing so, I understood whatmy grandfather meant. It is not only time that we tend to underestimate – we don’t account for unexpected costs.We often imagine what can work in our favor,but we seldom think of all the negative things that could affect us. However, it is important to remember that your day or week or year might not go asplanned, andthat iscompletely normal. It isperfectly acceptable to feel challenged– even at a task you thought was simple– becausethat ispart oflife. If you can accept that nothing will ever be easy, then life might seem slightly more manageable. In middle school, I thought high school might be easier because I could choose the classes I wanted to take. In high school, I thought college might be easier because I could have a schedule (计划) best suited for myself.Yet each time,I wasbothwrong and disappointed.After acceptingthat schoolwouldn’t (and shouldn’t) beeasy,I foundmyselfwith amorepositiveattitudeandimprovedresults. Of course, there should bepreparations made to account for expenses (花费) or time. Doing so can only help you accomplish your goals in a better way. However, there isno need tobeat ourselvesup (过分自责) when something stands in our path. Maybe we cannot see a bee coming our way, but we can always give ourselves the extratimetocatch it.