It’s good to make mistakes, and here is why.
First of all, mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things. It’s always good to try new things because when you are trying new things you are growing. If you never try anything new, how can you improve? How can you make yourself stronger? The simple answer is “You can’t.” Look around you. With very few exceptions(例外), either everything you see in your world or every single detail of every single thing is the result of someone trying something new．
Another good thing about mistakes is this: When you are making mistakes, you are learning．Consider this: Edison failed 10,000 times before he perfected the light bulb. When asked how it felt to fail that many times, he said that he hadn’t failed 10,000 times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn’t work．
Finally, when you make a mistake you are much closer to success. Why? Because when all is said and done, you will have tried some numbers of things before you succeed．Every time you make a mistake, you eliminate one of those things and are one step closer. But this all doesn’t mean that you should go ahead without considering the consequences(后果) of a mistake. However, when you try something new you have to be willing to set some reasonable limits（限度） so that in the event that it doesn’t work out the way you want it to, you will be in a normal place to try again．
We all have limited time and money so don’t blow them all on one problem. Realize that it probably won’t be perfect the first time and deal with these resources(资源) properly so you can learn, make corrections, and try it again．If you accept and use your mistakes in this way ,you can make great progress in your business and your career．
There is an old saying that goes, “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.”
So go ahead and make mistakes. And learn. And grow. And succeed．
【小题1】From the second paragraph, we can know that _______．

My father woke me up early one summer morning when I was fourteen and announced: “Get up, you're going with me to cut the grass in the garden. ”

　　The idea that my father thought I was old enough to help him in his business made me feel proud and excited. From sunup to sundown, my father, my younger brother and I worked in the large garden. By the end of the day I was too tired to say a word but I felt good. This was my first time to help my father in his business. I got $ 6 for my work that day.

　　One day my father found some leaves I had missed and pulled me aside. “Take away these leaves! ”he said, “and don't make me have to tell you to do it again.” The message was clear. Today I value(珍视)the importance of doing a job well the first time. It will never fail to impress(给……留下印象） the person you are working for.

　　After two years, my father told me and my brother that he felt we were old enough to cut the grass by ourselves. Every Saturday during my last two years of high school, we set off early in the morning with the same strong wish we had gained while working under our father.

　　Looking after the garden was neither exciting nor high paying, but that didn't matter. It taught me that any job was a good job and that whatever I was paid was more than I had before.

　　A newspaper reporter once asked me how someone could possibly live with hard work and low pay. “If you're only thinking about hard work and money, you probably don't want to do any better than you are doing.” I answered. In every job, from cutting the grass to washing dishes, I've learned much. I've learned something that helps me in my next job.

　　If you work hard enough, you can learn from any job you do.

46. The writer felt proud and excited when he was asked to cut the grass because he thought______.

　　 A. he could cut the grass himself

　　 B. he could make much money

　　 C. he could enjoy sunup and sundown

　　 D. he could help his family

47. The underlined word "message" in the passage probably refers to_____.

　　 A. not leaving leaves behind

　　 B. giving no excuse for your mistakes

　　 C. doing a good job at the very beginning

　　 D. missing things which can be found out

48. When the writer finished high school, maybe he was _____ years old.

　　 A. fourteen     B. eighteen        C. twenty　　      D. twenty-two

49. Which of the following does the writer probably think is the most important?

　　 A. Keeping learning from any job you had.

　　 B. Asking no money for work.

　　 C. Finishing work as quickly as possible.

　　 D. Keeping looking for different jobs.

50. The writer probably thinks his father is_____.

　　 A. lazy　　      B. helpful　　    C. careless        D.interesting

A

It is very important to be able to control yourself. Losing control may bring things that would never want to see. We can learn something from the following story.

Once a boy often made trouble. His mother gave him many nails （钉子）. She told him to hammer （锤，钉） one in the garden fence （栅栏）, every time he lost his patience （耐心） and fought with someone. The first day he hammered 27 nails. In the following weeks he learned how to control himself better and the number of the nails he hammered became smaller and smaller. He learned it was easier to control himself than to hammer nails.

The day finally came when he didn’t hammer any nails. He went to tell his mother about it. Then his mother told him to pull off a nail from the fence each time he didn’t lose his patience. After some days he told his mother that all the nails had been pulled off. Thus, she took him to the fence and said to him, “You’ve behaved（表现） well, but look at all the holes in the fence. The fence will never be again like it was before. When you fight with someone, you leave wounds（伤口） in him like these. The trouble may be over, but the wounds will always be there.”

So, learn to control yourself before you hammer the nails in the fence. Try not to leave any holes in your past.

（   ） 1. Losing control may bring you ________.

A. good luck         B. trouble             C. nails                   D. a hammer

（   ） 2. The boy used to _______.

A. be polite           B. do wrong         C. be careless          D. be friendly to others

（   ） 3. Why did the mother give her son nails?

A. To put the garden fence right.        B. To put them away.

C. To help him understand something. D. To make him lose patience.

（   ） 4. In what condition （条件） could the boy pull off a nail?

A. He could control himself.              B. He fought with others.

C. He wanted to do so.                      D. His mother asked him to do so.

（   ） 5. The writer wants us to ______.

A. praise the clever mother                B. correct our mistakes

C. learn to control ourselves              D. know hammering nails is useful

B

    A man once had a dream about the Black Forest In Germany. In his dream he was walking in the forest when two men ran out and tried to throw him to the ground. He ran off as fast as he could, but they followed him. He reached a place where he saw two roads in front of him, one to the right and the other to the left. Which road should he take? He heard the two men behind him, getting nearer, and at the same time he heard a voice in his ear. It told him to go to the right, and he did so. He ran on and soon came to a small hotel. He was received there kindly and given a room, and he was saved from the two men. That was the dream.

    Twenty years later he was really in the Black Forest and, as happened in the dream long ago, two men ran out and tried to throw him down. He ran off, and came to a place with two roads, like in the dream. He remembered the dream and took the road to the right. He soon reached a small hotel, was taken in, and so was safe. His dream of twenty years before had saved him.

（    ） 6. The Black Forest is ______.

         A. a place in Germany                          B. not a real place

         C. invented by the writer                       D. a place in Britain

（    ） 7. When he was walking in the forest, _______ ran after him.

         A. two dogs           B. two tigers           C. two men             D. two women

（    ） 8. At last he came to _______.

         A. a forest              B. another road        C. another dream      D. a small hotel

（    ） 9. It was ______ that saved the man’s life 20 years later.

         A. a voice     B the dream     C. someone else    D. God

（    ） 10. The story tells us that ______.

A. a dream may come true some time later

B. a dream is always a dream

C. people should not believe their dreams

D. people should always believe their dreams