Question

    Why are so many people so afraid of failure? Simply because no one tells us how to fail so that failure becomes an experience that will lead to growth. We forget that failure is part of the human condition and that every person has the right to fail.

Most parents work hard at either preventing failure or protecting their children from the knowledge that they have failed. One way is to lower standards. A mother describes her child’s poorly made table as “Perfect!” even though it doesn’t stand still. Another way is to shift (转移) blame. If John fails science, his teacher is unfair or stupid.

The trouble with failure-prevention ways is that they leave a child unequipped for life in the real world. The young need to learn that no one can be best at everything, no one can win all the time and that it’s possible to enjoy a game even when you don’t win. A child who’s not invited to a birthday party, who doesn’t make the honor list on the baseball team, feels terrible, of course. But parents should not offer a quick comfort, prize or say, “It doesn’t matter” because it does. The young should be allowed to experience disappointment — and be helped to master it.

Failure is never pleasurable. It hurts grown-ups and children alike. But it can make a positive contribution to your life once you learn to use it. Step one is to ask “Why did I fail?” Don’t blame someone else. Ask yourself what you did wrong and how you can improve. If someone else can help, don’t be shy about inquiring.

Success, which encourages repetition of old behavior, is not nearly as good a teacher as failure. You can learn from a bad party how to give a good one, from an ill-chosen first house what to look for in a second. Even a failure that seems definitive can create fresh thinking, a change of direction. After 12 years of studying ballet a friend of mine took an interview for a professional company. She was turned down. “Would further training help?” she asked. The ballet master shook his head. “You will never be a dancer,” he said, “You haven’t the body for it.”

In such cases, the way to use failure is to take assessment bravely and ask, “What have I left? What else can I do?” My friend put away her shoes and moved into dance treatment center, a field where she’s both able and useful. Failure frees one to take risks because there’s less to lose. Often there is recovery of energy— a way to find new possibilities.

1. The first paragraph tells us ______.

       A. the reason why so many people are afraid of failure

       B. the reason why we don’t know how to fail

       C. failure is very natural for every person

       D. one should be ready to face failure at any time

2. The second paragraph tells us ______.

       A. how a mother praised her children

       B. two ways of failure prevention most parents used when their children fail

       C. how to shift blame

       D. parents should blame their children at the proper time

3. According to the author, what should a child know in the real world?

       A. Ways to avoid failure.

       B. No one can be best all the time at everything.

       C. No parents should offer quick comforts.

D. He can get pleasure as well as success.

Answer 1

ABB