The Value of Negative Results
We all avoid failure（失败），and most of us fear it.However，without failure，progress would be impossible.What does success usually come after？Failure.It seems that one cannot exist（存在）without the other.
Accepting failure is not easy for many，though we are often unwilling accept failure because our professional fame depends on success.（1） In the past ten years，for example，some scientific magazines have published reports of failed tests.It is believed that scientists can learn more "negative（负面的）"results and that this can finally lead to positive results.
（2） The ABN AMRO bank started an Institute （机构）of Brilliant Failures to learn more about what works and what doesn't in banking.Eli Lilly and Company had failure parties to study the drugs（药物）that don't work.
In fact，one of the business world's most famous failures became one of its biggest successes，in part because the product's makers learned from their mistakes.（3） The product，though unique（独特的）at the time，was expensive and heavy；besides，some of its most important features（特点）didn't work properly.As a result，Apple's CEO，Steve Jobs，believed in the product and he began to find out ways of improving it.In time，this led to the production of the iPhone and the iPad，two of the company's most successful products.
（4） Not only should we try to learn from it if we want to succeed，we must also be persistent（执着的）.Though Apple stopped selling the Newton in 1998，the first iPhone wasn't available until 2007.It took a lot of research and hard work to go from the Apple Newton to iPhone but in the end，the effort became successful.
All in all，there is a lot we can learn by studying mistakes.Perhaps the most important lesson is that failure and success are two sides of the same coin. （5）
A.One truly cannot exist without the other.
B.We are brave enough to face difficulties.
C.In the early 1990s，Apple created a phone called the Apple Newton.
D.The business world already understands the value of negative results.
E.The Apple Newton has won popularity with people all over the world.
F.However，things are slowly changing，especially in business and science.
G.The story of the Apple Newton can teach us an important lesson about failure.
阅读下面阅读材料，然后从各小题所给的四个选项中选择一个最佳答案。
Henry: I find the Internet is very good for shopping. I use more and more for buying books and CDs, and I even bought some clothes over the Internet. The other thing I can do is to book(预订) travels over the Internet. I booked a cheap flight once. It was very easy, and it was really good.
David: I use the Internet for games. I play chess with people all around the world. Last night I had a game with someone from Japan. I also download (下载)games from the Internet, so I can have any game I want.
Peter: I use the Internet for anything I need to help me with my schoolwork. I use the online dictionaries, encyclopedias(百科全书) and magazines. It’s great because I can download pictures or articles and use them to help my homework. It’s very easy to use and it’s free, so I like it.
Tony: Well, the main thing I use the Internet for is to e-mail. I usually write to my customers(顾客) by e-mail, and my customers answer me by e-mail, too. We probably send and receive four or five hundred e-mails a month. But of course, I also use e-mails to keep in touch(保持联系) with friends and family. My daughter is in Australia and we send e-mails to each other every day.________ prefers to use the Internet to buy things.
| A．Henry | B．David | C．Peter | D．Tony |
David’s hobby is to __________ on the Internet.
| A．read books | B．book flights |
| C．play games | D．download pictures |
Peter can use the Internet to ____________easily.
| A．play chess | B．do schoolwork |
| C．do some shopping | D．talk with his daughter |
From the passage we know that .
| A．Peter is a teacher | B．Tony is a businessman |
| C．David is an engineer | D．Henry is a bookseller |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Henry had an experience of using the Internet to book a cheap flight. |
| B．David had a game with a Japanese over the Internet one night. |
| C．Tony often e-mails to his customers, friends and family. |
| D．Peter needs to pay for what he gets from the Internet. |
Last year when Tom graduated from school, he came to Taibei. He didn't like to work on his father's farm and hoped to find a job in a big city. He went from one company to another but no one wanted him. With little money left, he got to the station, sad and tired. All he wanted to do was go back to his small town. It was very late at night and the station was full of people. They were waiting to buy tickets of the last train. He bought the last ticket, and he was very happy.
At that time, a woman with a crying baby walked to him and asked him to sell her the ticket. He gave her the ticket because he thought they needed it more than he did. After the train left, he sat on the bench and didn't know where to go. Suddenly, an old man came and said, "Young man, I have seen what you did to the woman. I am the owner of a big company. I need a good young man like you. Would you like to work for me?Tom came to the station to _______.
| A．find a job | B．take the train home |
| C．sell the ticket | D．take the train to Taibei |
The woman walked to Tom because _______.
| A．she was Tom's old friend |
| B．her child wanted to talk to Tom |
| C．she needed to take the train |
| D．she had no money to buy a ticket |
Tom didn't take the train because _______.
| A．he didn't take a train ticket |
| B．he missed the train |
| C．he wanted to talk to the old man |
| D．he gave his ticket to the woman |
The old man wanted to _______.
| A．lend Tom some money | B．give Tom a job |
| C．say "Thank you " to Tom | D．sit on the bench with Tom |
What can we learn from this story?
| A．Many people find job in a train station. |
| B．Don't buy the last ticket of the train. |
| C．If we try our best to help others, others will help us. |
| D．We should not give our ticket to others in a train station. |
Have you ever been ill? When you are ill，you must be unhappy because your body becomes hot，and there are pains all over your body. You don't want to work，you stay in bed，feeling very sad.
What makes us ill? It is germs(细菌). Germs are everywhere. They are very small and you can't find them with your eyes，but you can see them with a microscope. They are very small and there could be hundreds of them on a very small thing.
Germs are always found in dirty water. When we look at dirty water under the microscope，we shall see them in it. So your father and mother will not let you drink dirty water.
Germs aren't found only in water. They are found in air and dust. If you cut your finger，if some of the dust from the floor goes into the cut(割开处)，some of the germs would go into your finger. Your finger would become big and red，and you will have much pain in it. Sometimes the germs would go into all of your body，and you would have pain everywhere.Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．If things are very small，they are germs. |
| B．If things can't be seen，they must be germs. |
| C．Germs are only in dirty water. |
| D．Germs are everywhere around us. |
What is a microscope used for?
| A．Making very small things look much bigger. |
| B．Making very big things look much smaller. |
| C．Helping you read some newspapers. |
| D．Helping you if you can't see things clearly. |
Why don't your parents let you drink dirty water?
| A．You haven't looked at it carefully. | B．Water can't be drunk in this way. |
| C．There must be lots of germs in it. | D．Water will make you ill. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Germs can be found both in water and in the air. |
| B．Germs can go into your finger if it is cut. |
| C．If your temperature is not OK，there must be germs in your body. |
| D．If your finger isn't cut，there aren't any germs on it. |
What's the main idea of the passage?
| A．Germs may make us ill. | B．Germs are in dirty water. |
| C．Don't drink dirty water. | D．Take care of your fingers. |
Tom walked into a shop . It had a sign outside : "Second-hand (旧的) clothes bought and sold . "He was carrying an old pair of trousers and asked the owner of the shop, "How much will you give me for these?" The man looked at them and then said: "Two dollars."
"What !" said Tom. "I had guessed they were worth at least five dollars."
"No," said the man, "they aren't worth a cent more than two dollars."
"Well," said Tom, taking two dollars out of his pocket. "Here's your money. These trousers were hanging outside your shop. The list price (标价)of them was six dollars and a half. But I thought that was too much money, so I wanted to find out how much they were really worth."
Then he walked out of the shop with the pair of trousers and disappeared before the shop owner could think of anything to say .At first the owner of the shop thought that Tom __________.
| A．wanted to steal the trousers | B．wanted to sell the trousers |
| C．wanted to fool him | D．wanted to buy the trousers |
The owner of the shop_______ for the old trousers.
| A．would give Tom two dollars |
| B．would pay three dollars |
| C．would pay five dollars |
| D．would give Tom six dollars and a half |
The shop owner insisted（坚持） that the trousers were worth only two dollars because ____.
| A．he wanted to sell them cheaply |
| B．he wanted to buy them cheaply |
| C．he didn't like the trousers |
| D．they were old and dirty |
In fact, the trousers _________.
| A．were hanging inside the shop |
| B．were stolen by Tom from the shop |
| C．had been the shop owner's |
| D．had been Tom's |
From the story we know that _________ cheaper than the list price.
| A．the owner sold the trousers two dollars |
| B．Tom sold the trousers one dollar and a half |
| C．the owner bought the trousers three dollars |
| D．Tom bought the trousers four dollars and a half |
Johnny Smith was a good math student at a high school. He loved his computer. He came home early every day, then he worked with it till midnight. But Johnny was not a good English student, not good at all. He got an F in his English class. One day after school Johnny joined his computer to the computer in his high school office. The school office computer had the grades of all the students: the math grades, the science grades, the grades in arts and music, and the grades in English. He found his English grade. An F! Johnny changed his English grade from an F to A. Johnny' parents looked at his report card. They were very happy.
"An A in English!" said Johnny's Dad. "You're a very clever boy, Johnny."
Johnny is a hacker（黑客）. Hackers know how to take information from other computers and put new information in. Using a modem（调制解调器）, they join their computers to other computers secretly. School headmasters and teachers are worried about hackers. So are the police, for some people even take money from bank computer account（账户） and put it into their own ones. And they never have to leave home to do it! They are called hackers.Johnny changed his English grade with the computer in _______.
| A．the classroom | B．the school office |
| C．a bank near his house | D．his own house |
When Johnny's parents saw the report, they were happy because _______.
| A．Johnny was good at math |
| B．Johnny loved computers |
| C．Johnny could join one computer to another |
| D．they thought Johnny was not poor in English any longer |
Who are worried about hackers in the story? .
| A．Johnny's parents. |
| B．School headmasters, teachers and the police. |
| C．The police. |
| D．School headmasters and teachers. |
What should the hackers know well, do you think, after you read this story? .
| A．Information. | B．Back computer accounts. | C．Computers. | D．Grades. |
The last paragraph is about _______.
| A．Johnny | B．computers | C．hackers | D．modem |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号