2018年英语四级美文：Problems and Opportunities

 1.Problems and Opportunities

　　2.We live in an unusual time with corporate downsizing, restructuring,

　　3.and the increase in global competition.

　　4.Some view these times as problematic;

　　5.others see the incredible opportunities created by such change.

　　6.In the last decade there has been a huge growth

　　7.in home-based and service-industry businesses.

　　8.These businesses have been started by individuals

　　9.with the courage to pursue their dreams.

　　10.Yet, for every idea that is implemented,

　　11.thousands of ideas never get beyond the conceptual stage -

　　12.from the imagination to a plan of action.

　　13.What holds people back from pursuing their dreams and acting on their great ideas?

　　14.I believe it's fear of failure.

　　15.Someone once said "there are a lot of ways to become a failure,

　　16.but never taking a chance is the most successful way."

　　17.I've also heard it said that

　　18."people don't plan to fail...they fail to plan."

　　19.Companies these days must be willing and able to change constantly.

　　20.Sometimes companies change course to survive,

　　21.and sometimes they do so because an opportunity is too good to resist.

　　22.I know of a small company that provided a messenger service several years ago.

　　23.A sudden major increase in corporate use of fax machines

　　24.nearly put this small company out of business.

　　25.Fortunately,

　　26.the owner of the company was astute enough to realize other global corporate trends

　　27.happening at the same time.

　　28.The owner shifted gears from offering a messenger service

　　29.to providing an offsite records storage service,

　　30.and soon business was booming once again.

　　31.It all comes down to perspective.

　　32.When there was a downturn in the economy,

　　33.some people could say "This is terrible!

　　34.With the downturn in the economy,

　　35.nobody will have a budget for my service."

　　36.Or others thought "This is great!

　　37.With the tightening of budgets and the loss of support staff,

　　38.there's an even greater need for professionals to be effective,

　　39.which is precisely what I'm here to help them do!"