Have you ever heard the story of the four-
minute mile? For years people believed that it is impossible for a human being to
1 a mile in less than four minutes until Roger Banister proved it
2 in 1954．Within one year, 37 runners
3 the belief barrier．And the year after that, 300 other runners did the same thing．
What happens if you put an animal in a
4 ? Any animal, big or small, will swim its way through．What happens when someone, who does not know how to swim, falls in deep waters? You
5 ．If an animal who has not learned swimming could
6 by swimming, why not you? Because you believ
e you will drown while the animal does not．
These
7 show the power of beliefs．There is no other more
8 force in directing human behavior than belief．Our beliefs have the power to
9 and to destroy．
In a way it is our beliefs that determine how much we’ll be able to
10 our potential．So pay attention to some of your
11 ．Do you believe you are weak in mathematics? Do you believe that other people dislike you？Do you believe life is full of
12 ？
Belief is not
13 , however．It’s nothing but the generalization of a past incident．As a kid, if a dog bit you, you believed all dogs to be
14 ．To change certain behavior, identify the beliefs associated with it．Change those beliefs and a new pattern is
15 created．
1．A．run B．walk C．swim D．jog
2．A．right B．wrong C．fake D．true
3．A．broke B．built C．faced D．lowered
4．A．cage B．desert C．forest D．pond
5．A．drown B．swim C．float D．sink
6．A．struggle B．escape C．drown D．leave
7．A．samples B．cases C．situations D．periods
8．A．terrible B．reasonable C．considerable D．powerful
9．A．damage B．provide C．create D．withdraw
10．A．discover B．realize C．show D．perform
11．A．problems B．beliefs C．possibilities D．subjects
12．A．surprises B．choices C．problems D．possibilities
13．A．beautiful B．changeable C．strong D．mysterious
14．A．safe B．rude C．merciless D．dangerous
15．A．occasionally B．immediately C．accidentally D．automatically
gone D. dead
lace. It’s perfectly acceptable, for instance, to ask “How do you feel?” if you’re visiting a close friend in the hospital. But if the fellow is walking on both legs, hurrying to make a train, or sitting at his desk working, it’s no time to ask him that silly question. 
n working at his desk
eorge Bernard Shaw’s reply in the passage shows his________.