Chapter 2 A Gathering:Chicago

    One sunny Sunday in Chicago, several former classmates gathered for lunch, having attended theirhigh school reunion the night before. They wanted to hear more about what was happening in eachother's lives. After a good deal of kidding, and a good mean, they settled¹ into an interesting conversation.

　　Angela, who had been one of the most popular people in the class, said, "Life sure turned outdifferently than I thought it would when we were in school. A lot has changed.""It certainly has," Nathan echoed². They knew he had gone into his family's business, which hadoperated pretty much the same and had been a part of the local community for as long as they couldremember. So, they were surprised when he seemed concerned. He asked, "But, have younoticed how we don't want to change when things change?"Carlos said, "I guess we resist³ changing because we're afraid of change.""Carlos, you were Captain of the football team," Jessica said. "I never thought I'd hear you sayanything about being afraid!"They all laughed as they realized that although they had gone off in different directions - fromworking at home to managing companies - they were experiencing similar feelings.

　　Everyone was trying to cope⁴ with the unexpected⁵ changes that were happening to them in recentyears. And more admitted that they did not know a good way to handle them.

　　Then Michael said, "I used to be afraid of change. When a big change came along in business, wedidn't know what to do. So we didn't do anything differently and we almost lost it.

　　"That is," he continued, "until I heard a funny little story that changed everything.""How so?" Nathan asked.

　　"Well, the story altered⁶ the way I looked at change, and after that, things quickly improved for me -at work and in my life.

　　"Then, I passed the story on to some people in our company and they passed it on to others, andsoon our business did much better. And like me, many people said it helped them in their personallives.""What's the story?" Angela asked.

　　 "It's called, 'Who Moved My Cheese?'"The group laughed. "I think I like it already," Carlos said. "Would you tell us the story?""Sure," Michael replied. "I'd be happy to - it doesn't take long." And so he began the story.

1 settled   

a.固定的；稳定的

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled without acrimony. 没有唇枪舌剑，这场纠纷就解决了。
• a settled way of life 安定的生活方式

2 echoed   

重复，随声附和( echo的过去式和过去分词 )； 类似； 发射（声音等）； 发出回声

参考例句：

• Their shouts re-echoed through the darkness. 他们的喊声回荡在黑暗中。
• Their footsteps echoed in the silence. 他们的脚步声在一片寂静中回荡着。

3 resist   

vt.抵抗，反抗，抗，忍得住

参考例句：

• It is vain to resist.抵抗是没用的。
• I couldn't resist telling him the secret.我忍不住把那个秘密告诉了他。

4 cope   

v.(with)竞争，对抗；对付，妥善处理

参考例句：

• He had a lot of work,but he was able to cope.他的活虽多，但还能应付得来。
• They have to cope with a mountain of problems.他们得应付成堆的问题。

5 unexpected   

adj.想不到的，意外的

参考例句：

• I always keep some good wine in for unexpected guests.我总保存些好酒，用来招待不速之客。
• His promotion was unexpected.他的升迁出人意料。

6 altered   

adj.[医]改变的v.改变，更改( alter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bright boy altered it to a circular form. 这个聪明的男孩把它改成了圆形。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ship has altered its course. 这艘船改变了航线。 来自《简明英汉词典》