Growingupinoneofthepoorest,mostcrime-ridden(犯罪猖獗的)...

來源：國語幫 3W

問題詳情：

Growing up in one of the poorest, most crime-ridden(犯罪猖獗的) communities on the south side of Atlanta, US, being raised by a single mother who didn't finish 3rd grade, living each day on food stamps(食物票券) and attending what the media called "the most dysfunctional(功能失常的) public school district," not many people expected much of me, so I had to expect something of myself.

On my 13th birthday, I bought a poster of Harvard to hang in my room. Being at Harvard became what I dreamt about: I saw myself attending class in Sanders Theater, studying in Widener Library and eating in Annenberg Hall. Even when my electricity was

cut off and I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to pitch blackness, I knew that my poster of Harvard was still hanging only two feet away from me. I'd begin my day by asking myself these two questions, "What do I want in my life?" and "Are the things I am doing today going to get me closer to that life?"

Reminding myself of my goal each day made it easy to say no to the same choices I saw my peers making, because those paths wouldn't have gotten me closer to my goal. I found that even poverty could not take away my power to decide what I choose to do with

my day. Asking myself those questions gave me the courage to cold email about 50 Harvard students so I could ask for feedback(反饋） on my application essays; it gave me the energy to study just one more hour on my SATs when my friends were asleep; and it gave me the determination to submit(提交) just one more scholarship application when 180 0thers had already turned me down.

On March 3 lst, 2011, an email arrived from Harvard. The first word was "Congratulations! "A month later, Harvard flew me up to visit the campus where for the first time I got to see inside Sanders Theater, tour Widener Library and eat dinner in Annenberg Hall.

Who you are today is the result of the decisions you made yesterday, and who you will be tomorrow will be the result of the choices you make today. Who do you want to be tomorrow?

24. The purpose of the first paragraph is mainly to _ .

A. describe the author's early living conditions

B. prove that the author once lived an unhappy life

C. show how many people treated the author badly

D. tell the reader why the author would be able to go to Harvard in the future

25. What's the author's attitude towards "poverty"?

A. Disappointed. B. Objective. C. Thankful. D. Sad.

26. How did motivating(激勵) himself affect the author?

A. It focused him on improving his application essays.

B. It helped him with decision-making and got him to put in extra effort where necessary.

C. It allowed him to measure how effectively he was moving towards achieving the goals.

D. It helped him better communicate with others in his application for colleges and scholarships.