Last week, my granddaughter started kindergarten(幼儿园), and certainly I wished her success. I was saying something that is not true. What I actually wish for her is failure. I believe in the importance of failure.
Success is boring. Success is proving that you can do something that you already know you can do, or do something correctly the first time, which can often be a problem for the future. First-time success is usually a fluke(侥幸). First-time failure, in fact, is the natural order of things.
Failure means how we learn. I have been told of an African phrase(短语) describing a good cook as “she who has broken many bowls”. If you’ve spent enough time in the kitchen and have broken a lot of bowls, probably you know a lot about cooking. I once had a dinner with a group of cooks, and they spent time comparing knife wounds and burn scars. They knew how much their failures gave them.
My younger daughter is a dancer. She spent three years getting ready for an act. She did it successfully for years. There was no reason for her to change the act—but she did anyway. She said she was no longer learning anything new and she was bored; and if she was bored, she couldn’t play well. So she changed the act. She risked failure in order to feed her heart.
My granddaughter is a perfectionist. But I will also, I hope, remind her of what she learned, and how she can do whatever it is better next time. I probably won’t tell her that failure is a good thing, because that’s not a lesson you can learn when you’re five. I hope I can tell her, though, that it’s not the end of the world. Indeed, with luck, it is the beginning.
1.What did the writer really wish for her granddaughter in the kindergarten?
A. Success. B. Failure. C. Kindness. D. Care.
2.The third paragraph mainly tells us .
A. what “a good cook” means B. a cook should often cook
C. a cook must break many bowls D. failure means how we learn
3. Why did the younger daughter change the act?
A. Because she didn’t do well in it.
B. Because she was asked to change it.
C. Because she wanted to feed her heart.
D. Because she wanted to try a failure.
4.What does the writer hope to tell the granddaughter?
A. Failure is a good thing.
B. She can’t fail any more.
C. Failure is not the end of the world.
D. Success is the end of the world.
An old gentleman who lives a few doors away from me can always be seen with a bag. He goes out by himself and picks up plastic bottles, plastic bags and pieces of paper everywhere. He does it all carefully and never complains.
The children in the nearby school are probably responsible for some of that litter. “There will come a time when they know better,” he said. “It’s just not yet. So, I’ll do it for them.”
Well, this morning I was out walking my neighbor’s dog when I saw another neighbor, a much younger man, out doing the same thing! He had his two little sons with him and they were having good fun trying to pick up the litter.
“What a good job you are doing”, I said to him. “Well, an older fellow in our street does this”, said he. “And my friend and I thought it wasn’t fair that he had to do it all the time, so now we take turns.”
Not only was he taking a turn, not only did he have a friend join in as well, but he was passing on the lesson to the next generation(一代)!
By the time I had returned the dog to my neighbor, I looked again and his children’s friends had joined in!
This man was teaching a whole group of young children to keep their own street clean. An older man had set an example for him and now he was passing it on—the next generation is doing what he did and the generation to come after that!
1.The old gentleman picks up the litter .
A. to make money B. to help the cleaners
C. to have a good fun D. to keep the environment clean
2.The younger man did the same thing as the old gentleman because .
A. it was his turn
B. it was interesting for him
C. he was the old gentleman’s good friend
D. he wanted to share the job with the old gentleman
3.When the writer returned the dog, joined in picking up the litter.
A. the writer B. the old gentleman
C. the children’s friends D. the younger man’s friend
4.What can we learn from the text?
A. The power of example is endless. B. Like father, like son .
C. Two heads are better than one. D. No pains, no gains.
Take a look at our library! Our library is open to everyone and the library card is free.
Books | ● books in 36 languages ● information about the world ● all kinds of stories ● picture books for children ● novels You can enjoy newspapers and magazines in the reading room. You can borrow two books at a time and keep them for three weeks. |
Videos | ● all kinds of video films ● music videos ● TV plays You can enjoy yourself and watch your favorite videos at home. You can rent(租) a video at two yuan for a week. |
Audios (音频) | ● music for everyone ● language cassettes; 42 world languages Special rooms for you to enjoy listening. CDs and cassettes can be borrowed — FREE. You can borrow one CD or one cassette at a time and keep it for one week. |
E-books | ● many different kinds of e-books ● e-newspapers and e-magazines You can browse(浏览) all the e-books in the computer room — FREE |
1.How many books can you borrow at a time?
A. One. B. Two. C. Three. D. Four.
2.How much should you pay if you rent a video for a week?
A. Two yuan. B. Three yuan.
C. Four yuan. D. Free.
3.What can you do in the computer room?
A. Enjoy e-books. B. Borrow some books.
C. Enjoy music videos. D. Borrow some CDs.
Parents can be a great example for their children. A man always stands out on different corners of our city. He holds a sign that “Will work for food for my family”. I don’t have too much money to help him. Many times my mom is with me and she makes me pull over(停车) and she will him some money.
Tonight, I was on my way to the store to get when I saw the man. My daughter and her friend were waiting in the car. We all felt so that this man was standing out in the cold, wet weather. Many people say that he should be able to work. Either way, I don’t feel it is my place to . As I was sharing that feeling with my daughter and her friend, I decided that I needed to this man. For one I wanted to show the girls the importance of helping others, and not worrying whether they were trying hard or not.
I believe that if he is standing out on different corners all day and night, the weather is, he must really need the help.
So, when we pulled over to give him some money, I said, “God bless you,” and he said it back to us. We got him a hot chocolate and a hamburger because we were worried about him being . He was so sweet and very thankful.
All of us left with smiles, especially me! Because, as we were pulling away, the girls were talking about ways they could money to help him and others like him. It was the best trip I had ever made to get milk!
1.A. writes B. notices C. reads D. calls
2.A. Normally B. Gradually C. Curiously D. Luckily
3.A. lend B. hand C. promise D. allow
4.A. chocolate B. hamburger C. bread D. milk
5.A. comfortable B. dangerous C. awful D. strange
6.A. park B. live C. sit D. judge
7.A. leave B. help C. refuse D. teach
8.A. whatever B. however C. wherever D. whenever
9.A. helpless B. eager C. tired D. cold
10.A. raise B. borrow C. lose D. waste
— Do you know ?
— Next Friday.
A. when will he come back
B. when he came back
C. when did he come back
D. when he will come back
This famous tower more than 300 years ago.
A. build B. builds
C. built D. was built