Question

No one likes to make mistakes. But a new study says organizations learn more from their failures than from their successes, and keep that knowledge longer.

One of the researchers was Vinit Desai, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. He worked with Peter Madsen from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in Utah.

They did not find much long-term "organizational learning" from success. It is possible, they say. But Professor Desai says they found that knowledge gained from failure lasts for years. He says organizations should treat failures as a learning opportunity and not try to ignore them.

The study looked at companies and organizations that launch satellites and other space vehicles. Professor Desai compared two shuttle flights. In two thousand two, a piece of insulating (隔热的) material broke off during launch and damaged a rocket on the Atlantis. Still the flight was considered a success. Then in early two thousand three, a piece of insulation struck the Columbia during launch. This time, the shuttle broke apart on re-entry and the seven crew members died. NASA officials suspended all flights and an investigation led to suggested changes.

Professor Desai says the search for solutions after a failure can make leaders more open-minded. He points to air-lines as an example of an industry that has learned from failures in the past. He advises organizations to look for useful information in small failures and failures they avoided. He also urges leaders to encourage the open sharing of information. The study appeared in the Academy of management Journal.

The mistakes we learn from do not have to be our own. We recently asked people on our Facebook page to tell us a time they had done something really silly. Fabricio Cmino wrote: Not long ago I wanted to watch TV, but it wouldn't turn on, so I did everything I could to start it. Thirty minutes later my mum showed up and, passing by, said to me "Did you try plugging it?" "I'm just dusting, Mum!" So she wouldn’t notice how dumb I am sometimes!

Bruno Kanieski da Silva told about a time he looked everywhere for his key. It was in his pocket. He wrote: I always promise I will never do it again, but after a few weeks, where is my wallet? For sure it will be in a very logical place.

1.What we get from failure differs from that from success is that ________.

A. what we learn from failure is more powerful

B. what we learn from success does no good to us

C. the knowledge gained from failure is important

D. the knowledge gained from failure lasts longer

2.From the passage, we can infer that ________.

A. the insulating material problem in 2002 didn't arouse enough attention

B. there were no astronauts on Columbia

C. in spite of the problem, Atlantis was considered a success

D. Columbia exploded during its launch time

3.The writer gives the last two paragraphs to show that ________.

A. many people make mistakes in the world

B. mistakes were a very embarrassing thing when found by others

C. we can also draw a lesson from others’ mistakes

D. making mistakes was a necessity

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Only organizations can learn from mistakes.

B. Failure may result from faults that have been ignored.

C. Lessons from the shuttle flights are more important.

D. Leaders often lack an open mind and seldom share information.

Answer

1. D

2. A

3. C

4. B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。没有人喜欢犯错误，但是一项新的研究表明，与成功相比，一个组织机构可以从失败中吸取更多的经验教训，而且这些经验教训能够在更长一段时间里发挥作用。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段第二句But a new study says organizations learn more from their failures than from their successes, and keep that knowledge longer.可知，最新的研究表明，组织从失败中学到的东西比从成功中多，失败中学到的知识比从成功中学到的知识持续时间长，故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据第四段中In two thousand two, a piece of insulating(隔热的) material broke off during launch and damaged a rocket on the Atlantis. Still, the flight was considered a success.可知，发射过程中，隔热材料的脱落使火箭遭到了损坏，但那次航天飞行却被认为是成功的，说明隔热材料存在的问题没有引起人们足够的注意，故选A。

3.推理判断题。根据第六段中The mistakes we learn from do not have to be our own.可知，人们也可以从他人的错误中吸取教训，第六段其他内容和第七段讲的是这样的两个例子，故选C。

4.推理判断题。根据第五段中He advises organizations to look for useful information in small failures and failures they avoided.”可知，Professor Desai建议有关部门从不起眼的小错误或成功避开的错误中寻找有用的信息，说明人们可以从一些未发生的错误中吸取教训，故选B。