The other day I heard a few local musicians talking,
“I hate all the terrible pianos in this town. I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They can’t even understand a bit of music.”
“I’m never playing in that club again. Too many drunks and nobody listens to us.”
But, one younger musician said, “There are a few clubs that book my band a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also looking to book a few summer festivals this year.”
I’ve heard that you are the average of the five people whom you spend the most time with, or to put it another way, you are who your friends are.
Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive or negative, they’re rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who complain about lack of work and about other musicians, or blame others, and you play the role of victim, chances are you will start to as well. So it’s time to take a look at the people you call “friends”.
This is an easy exercise: Make a list of the people who you hang out with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard.
Keep successful people around you and your own chances for success will be much better. Ask them how they do it. Ask if they will help you get the work you’re looking for, or maybe give you some advice to help you on your career path.
64. The underlined sentence “they’re rubbing off on you” in Paragraph 6 means ______.
A. they’ll push you ahead
B. they’ll influence you
C. they’ll cover your shortcomings
D. they’ll help you achieve your goal
65. The musicians’ words at the beginning are written mainly to show ______.
A. the musicians’ living conditions are quite poor
B. people have poor taste in music
C. people have different attitudes towards the same thing
D. young people have greater chances of succeeding
66. By taking the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 7, you can ______.
A. improve a lot in making more friends
B. come to the right way of making friends
C. develop a better relationship with your friends
D. arrange the time with your friends properly
67. The passage is mainly written for ______.
A. musicians B. managers C. negative people D. people wanting to succeed