One of the most inspiring quotes I ever heard was by Brian Tracy. He said: “The difference between s

24. D    25. A    26. C    27. B
【解析】
本文是一篇记叙文。作者在文章中回忆了自己在成功之前，所经历的困难，一对中年夫妻给作者提供了继续前进的动力，也从中诠释了那句名言“成功者和失败者的区别是，成功者比失败者要经历更多的失败”的意义。
【24题详解】
推理判断题。根据文章第一段“He said: “The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people fail many more times than unsuccessful people.” I personally experienced its wisdom right after my first book was published.(他说：“成功者和失败者的区别是，成功者比失败者要经历更多的失败。”就在我的第一本书出版之后，我亲身体验到了这种智慧。)”以及下文讲述中年夫妻给作者提供了继续写作的动力可推断，作者引用布莱恩·特雷西的名言是为了强调坚持的重要性。故选D。
【25题详解】
词义猜测题。根据文章第二段“As each minute passed, I became increasingly anxious.(随着时间的流逝，我变得越来越焦虑。)”和前句“After 90 minutes of long waiting”可知，作者又经过90分钟的长时间等待，仍然没有顾客来。可以猜测作者完全心烦意乱。所以distraught为“心烦意乱”之意。故选A。
【26题详解】
推理判断题。根据文章第四段“I had felt a sense of mission and purpose like never before in my life. Working a full 8-hour day in my clinic. I had to get into bed by 9:30 pm every day, so I could wake up at 5:30 in the morning and have two hours of writing before heading into my clinic. (我有一种前所未有的使命感和目标感。在我的诊所工作8个小时，我每天必须在晚上9:30上床睡觉，这样我就可以在早上5:30起床，在去诊所之前有两个小时的写作时间。)”可推断，写作是在极大的自律和努力下完成的。故选C。
【27题详解】
推理判断题。根据文章第四段““We’re buying it,” she said hesitantly, "because we lost our son two years ago. Maybe your story will help us get over it.” (“我们买下它，”她犹豫地说，“因为两年前我们失去了儿子。也许你的故事能帮助我们克服这一困难。”)可推断，作者说他四年的写作也达到了它的目的，是因为他的书触及了某人的生活。故选B。