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This discovery has been made in the word laboratories of the world. Not by theoretical English professors, but by practical,hard-headed scholars who have been searching for the secrets of success.After a host of experiments and years of testing they have found out:That if your vocabulary is limited your chances of success are limited.

That one of the easiest and quickest ways to get ahead is by consciously building up your knowledge of words.

That the vocabularyl of the average person almost stops growing by the middle twenties.

And that from then on it is necessary to have an intelligent plan if progress is to be made. No haphazard hit-or-miss methodswill do.

It has long since been satisfactorily established that a high executive does not have a large vocabulary merely because ofthe opportunities of his position. That would be putting the cart before the horse. Quite the reverse is true. His skill in wordswas a tremendous help in getting him his job.

Dr.Johnson O';Connor of thee Human Engineering Laboratory of Boston and of the Stevens Institute of Technology inHoboken, New Jersey, gave a vocabulary test to 100 young men who were studying to be industrial executives.

Five years later those who had passed in the upper ten percent all., without exception, had executive positions, while not asingle young man of the lower twenty-five per cent had become an executive.

You see, there are certain factors in success that can be measured as scientifically as the contents of a test-tube, and it hasbeen discovered that the most common characteristic of outstanding success is \"an extensive knowledge of the exactmeaning of English words\".

The extent of your vocabulary indicates the degree of your intelligence. Your brain power will increase as you learn to knowmore words. Here's the proof.

Two classes in a high school were selected for an experiment. Their ages and their environment were the same. Each classrepresented an identical cross-section of the community. One, the control class, took the normal courses. The other classwas given special vocabulary training. At the end of the period the marks of the latter class surpassed those of the controlgroup, not only in English, but in every subject, including mathematics and the sciences.

Similarly it has been found by Professor Lewis M.Terman, of Stanford University, that a vocabulary test is as accurate ameasure of intelligence as any three units of the standard and accepted Stanford-Binet I.Q.tests.

The study of words is not merely something that has to do with literature. Words are your tools of thought. You can't eventhink at all without them. Try it. If you are planning to go down town this afternoon you will find that you are saying toyourself:\"I think I will go down town this afternoon.\" You can't make such a simple decision as this without using words.Without words you could make no decisions and from no judgments whatsoever. A pianist may have the most beautiful tunesin his head, but if he had only five keys on his piano he would never get more than a fraction of these tunes out.

Your words are your keys for your thoughts. And the more words you have at your command the deeper, clearer and moreaccurate will be your thinking.

A command of English will not only improve the. processes of your mind. It will give you assurance; build your self-confidence; lend color to your personality; increase your popularity. Your words are your personality. Your vocabulary is you.Your words are all that we, your friends, have to know and judge you by. You have no other medium for telling us yourthoughts-for convincing us, persuading us, giving us orders.

Words are explosive. Phrases are packed with TNT.A simple word can destroy a friendship, land a large order. The properphrases in the mouths of clerks have quadrupled the proper phrases inthe mouths of clerks have quadrupled the sales of adepartment store. The wrong words used by a campaign orator have lost an election. For instance, on one occasion the fourunfortunate words, \"Rum, Romanism and a Rebellion\" used in a Republican campaign speech threw the Catholic vote andthe presidential victory to Grover Cleveland. Ears are won by words. Soldiers fight for a phrase.\"Make the world safe for

Democracy.\" \"All out for England.\" \"V for Victory.\" The \" Remember the Maine\" of Spanish war days has now been changedto \"Remember Pearl Harbor.\"

Words have changed the direction of history. Words van also change the direction of your life. They have often raised a manfrom mediocrity to success.

If you consciously increase your vocabulary you will unconsciously raise yourself to a more important station in life, and thenew and higher position you have won will, in turn, give you a better opportunity for further enriching your vocabulary. It is abeautiful and successful cycle.

It is because of this intimate connection between words and life itself that we have organized this small volume in a new way.We have not given you mere lists of unrelated words to learn. We have grouped the words around various departments ofyour life.

This book is planned to enlist your active cooperation. The authors wish you to read it with a pencil in your hand, for you willoften be asked to make certain notations,to write answers to particular questions. The more you use your pencil, the moredeeply you will become involved, and the deeper your involvement the more this book will help you. We shall occasionallyask you to use your voice as your pencil-to say things out loud. You see, we really want you to keep up a runningconversation with us.

It's fun. And it's so easy. And we've made it like a game. We have filled these pages with a collection of devices that we hopewill be stimulating. Here are things to challenge you and your friends. Try these tests on your acquaintances. They will enjoythem and it may encourage them to wider explorations in this exciting field of speech. There are entertaining verbalcalisthenics here, colorful facts about language, and many excursions among the words that keep our speech the rich,flexible, lively means of communication that it is.

Come to this book every day. Put the volume by your bedside, if you like. A short time spent on these pages before you turnthe lights out each night is better than an irregular hour now and then. If you can find the time to learn only two or three wordsa day-we will still promise you that at the end of thirty days you will have found a new interest. Give us fifteen minutes a day,and we will guarantee, at the end of a month, when you have turned over the last page of this book, that your words and yourreading and your conversation and your life will all have a new and deeper meaning for you.For words can make you great![参考译⽂]每天只需15分钟

　　你⽼板的词汇量⽐你的词汇量⼤。

　　这是他为什么会成为你⽼板的⼀个重要原因。

　　这⼀发现是在世界各地的语⾔实验室⾥得来的。它不是那些池有理论的英语教授信⼝胡诌的，⽽是那些⼀直以来就在探讨着成功斩秘诀、精明⽽⼜计求实际的学者们发现的。　　在经历了⼤量的试验和多年的验证之后，他们发现：　　如果你的词汇量不⼤，你成功的机会也就不多。

　　最简洁⽽⼜最迅速的改进⽅法之⼀就是有意识地扩⼤你的词汇知识。　　普通⼈的词汇量到了⼆⼗五六岁左右就⼏乎停⽌增长了。

　　从那以后要想继续啬词汇量就必须有⼀个精⼼设计的计划。随意安排的、漫⽆⽬的计划是不起作⽤的。

　　长期以来⼈们就有呈个想当然的看法：⾼级⾏政管理⼈员不会有很⼤的词汇量，因为处不那个位置上，他有的是机会。这未免有点本末倒置了。实际情况恰恰相反。他的⾔语技巧对他获得那个职位有着巨⼤的帮助。

　　约翰逊·欧·康纳博⼠为波⼠顿的⼈才管理实验室和新泽西州霍博肯市的史蒂⽂斯理⼯学院⼯作，他曾对100名学⼯业⾏政管理的年青⼈做过⼀次词汇测试。

　　五年以后那些在考试中名列前⼗位的⼈全部地、⽆⼀例外地跨上了管理岗位，⽽考试中位列后⼆⼗五名的⼈中没有⼀个能当上受理⼈员。

　　你瞧，有⼀些成功的因素是要以像试管⾥的物质那样被精确测量的，⽽⼈们发现，获得杰出成贵州省的⼀个最普遍的要素就是“⼤量⽽准确地掌握英语词汇”。

　　你对词汇的把握程度反映了你的智⼒⽔平，当你通过学习掌握了更多的词汇析时候，偿⼤脑的思维能⼒也会啬。以下事例就可以证明这⼀点。

　　⼀所⾼中的两个班被挑选徕做了⼀个试验。年龄相仿，所处的环境相同。每个班都代表着整个社会的⼀个完全相当的横截⾯。其中⼀个班被作为参照班，只上普通班应上的课程。另⼀个班则附加特别的词汇训练。到试验期结束的时候，后⼀个班的成绩，不⾳是英语成绩，⽽是每⼀科的成绩，包括数学和⾃然学科成绩全都超过了参照班的成绩。

⽆独有偶，斯坦福⼤学的路易斯·M·特曼教授也发现，词汇测试与三套普遍被⼈接受的斯坦福·宾尼特标准智商测试题中的任何⼀套⼀样，可以准确地测定智⼒。

　　词汇学习并⾮只是某种与⽂学有关的事情。词汇是思维的⼯具。滑有了词汇你甚⾄根本⽆法思维。你可以试⼀试。如果你打算今天下午进城，你会发现你在对⾃⼰说：“我候今天下午我要进趟城。”不借助词的话，你就连这样⼀个简单的决定也作不了。

　　没有了词汇佻什么决定也作不了，什么判断也作不成。⼀位钢琴家的脑袋中可能想到了⼀⾸美妙的曲⼦，但是如果他的钢琴上只有五个⾳键的话，他永远也只能演奏出这⾸曲⼦的⼀些破碎的⽚段。

你的⽂科是你思维的关键。你所掌握的词汇越多，你的思想就越深邃、越清晰、越准确。