Notes on the text
课文注释
1 dos and don'ts，要做的事和不要做的事。
2 year in year out，年复一年。
3 a thousand and one，许许多多。
4 beyond attainment，做不到的、达不到的。
5 carry out ，实行，照办、执行。
6 slip back into our bad old ways，滑回到那些坏的老习惯上去。
7 keep…to oneself，
作“将……秘而这宣”，“保密”讲。
8 of an evening= in the evenings。
9 apply oneself to，全力以矗赴地干。
10 It was this that betrayed me.
这是强调句型，被强调的部分this指sat down…in an exhausted condition。
11 fend off，挡回，避开。
12 doze off，打瞌睡。
参考译文
新年是下决心的时候，至少在大多数人的心里会编排出一份“应做什么”和“不应做什么”的令人生畏的单子。相同的决心以单调的规律年复一年地出现。我们决心每天早晨起得早些；吃得少些；多花点时间与孩子们一起做游戏；做大量的家务；对不喜欢的人友善一些；小心驾车；每天都要带着狗散步；等等。以往的经验告诉我们有些事是办不到的。如果我们烟瘾大，戒不掉，那是因为屡戒屡败，失去了信心。我们大多数人想自我完善却遭到失败，这是因为我们的规划过于宏大，而又根本没有时间去实施。我们还犯有一个根本性的错误，即把我们的决心向大家宣布。这样一旦滑回到那些环的老习惯上去，我们在别人眼里会显得更加难堪。我深知这些问题，于是，今年我对自己的计划要严加保密，只给自己定下两项适中的任务：每天早上锻炼身体，每天晚上多看点书。新年除夕举办的一次通宵晚会，使我理直气壮地在新年头一天免去了这两项任务。不过，新年第二天，我全力以赴地照着去做了。
早锻炼一共只有11分钟，我打算在别人起床之前进行。这就要求我比平日早11分钟把自己从床上拽起来，这种自我约束是很艰苦的。不过开头两天我还是成功地蹑手蹑脚地来到楼下起居室，被谁也没发现。我在地毯上跳过来蹦过去，扭曲身子，摆出各种姿势，弄得浑身不舒服，然后坐到桌边吃早饭，一副筋疲力尽的样子。正是这副模样泄露了我的秘密。第二天早晨全家人结队来到起居室看我表演。这真叫人不好意思，但我心平气和地顶住了全家人的嘲笑和奚落。不久，大家对我习以为常了，而这时我的热情却减退了。我花在锻炼上的时间逐渐减少，慢慢地从11分钟减到了零。到了1月10日，我恢复了原来的作息时间。我辩解说，早晨少耗费精力锻炼，晚上下班回家看书时头脑更清醒些。有几天晚上，我极力摆脱了电视的诱惑，坐在自己房间里，两眼盯在书上。可是，有一天夜里，我感到又冷又孤单，便来到楼下坐在电视机前假装看书。这下我可完了，因为不一会儿，我就恢复了以前的坏习惯，在屏幕前打起瞌睡来。但我还没有放弃多看些书的决心。事实上，我刚买来一本叫《一分钟读一千字的诀窍》的书。也许这本书能解决我的问题，但我一直还没时间去看这本书！
Multiple choice questions
多项选择题
Choose the correct answers to the following questions.
Comprehension 理解
1 In making his New Year resolutions, the writer ______ .
a．decided against choosing any of his old favourites
b．did not tell his family of them in case they announced them in public
c．was careful to choose two which he thought were within his scope
d．underestimated the time it would take him to get up in the mornings
2 The family realized what one of his resolutions was when they ______ .
a．noticed how tired he looked when he came to breakfast
b．heard him jumping about on the carpet in the living room
c．came down earlier than usual and saw him doing his exercises
d．saw him reading instead of looking at television
3 The writer's efforts to read more have so failed because ______ .
a．he is not able to read quickly enough in the time he has available
b．he enjoys watching television more than he does reading
c．his room is too cold for comfort and he misses his family
d．he has not been able to resist the hypnotic effects of television