Question

With excitement we started our small business. No longer were we  _36_  to have a weekly paycheck.. We now were on our own to  _37_  an income to provide us with the money to live. I was a little  _38_  about our ability to do this. But Byron, my wife, believed in our products and believed in our ability to  _39_ .

We invested （投资） heavily in producing a number of products,  _40 _ none of them were popular with customers. The market gave us so heavy a  _41__  that we hardly made enough money to pay our expenses.

We now had our money  _42__  in the booth（货摊） that we had rented for the summer and fall months. We had a lot of money  _43_  up in materials. So we did not have enough money to _ _44__  our monthly bills. We were discouraged, and the thoughts of failure ran through our heads.

As we discussed our  _45__ , I happened to read the words：“If you have made mistakes ... there is always another chance for you ... you may have a ___46__ start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘Failure’ is not falling down, but  _47_  down.”

The words reinforced（增强）my determination and Byron’s  _48__ that we could succeed. We did fall down, but we were  _49_  not to stay down! So, we stepped back and refocused. We came up with new products using remaining  __50___ . We redesigned our booth. We reconsidered our pricing system. And, we started making enough money to pay our __51__ .

If we had done nothing,  if we had allowed ourselves to “stay down”, then we would have  __52__  But we made the choice to learn from our __53__ , and we moved forward  with more determination.  Those words  _54__ a much better idea on failure -- a chance for a fresh start! The most important point here is “choice” because you decide how you  __55__ your failure, you decide if you stay down.

 

36. A. happy	B. dangerous	C. ready	D. safe
37. A. produce	B. receive	C. reduce	D. afford
38. A. excited	B. worried	C. confused	D. confident
39. A. manage	B. survive	C. succeed	D. compete
40. A. unless	B. so	C. but	D. though
41. A. blow	B. drop	C. push	D. surprise
42. A. cost	B. spent	C. wasted	D. paid
43.A.put	B. used	C. taken	D. tied
44. A. cover	B. support	C. discard	D. consider
45. A. plans	B. dreams	C. expectations	D. choices
46. A. good	B. fresh	C. natural	D. sudden
47. A. staying	B. coming	C. keeping	D. going
48. A. belief	B. imagination	C. suggestion	D. requirement
49. A. able	B. supposed	C. prepared	D. determined
50. A. tools	B. machines	C. materials	D. goods
51. A. debts	B. bills	C. costs	D. products
52. A. ended	B. missed	C. fell	D. failed
53. A. performances	B. experiences	C. mistakes	D. promises
54. A. explain	B. create	C. offer	D. prove
55. A. view	B. fear	C. seize	D. discover

Answer 1

 DABCC; ABDAD; BAADC; BDCCA  

36.D 从上文we started our small business 可知作者夫妻二人开办了自己的公司，所以他们不再有每周稳定的（safe）收入了。  

37.A  结合上文可知他们没有了固定的每周收入，再根据下文 an income to provide us with the money to live 可知他们要自己创收维持生计了。produce an income 创收。  

38.B  从下文的But Byron, my wife, believed in our products and believed in our ability 可知，作者的妻子很有信心，而作者本人却有点担心和焦虑。故选worried.  

39.C  结合上文的But Byron, my wife, believed in our products 可推知，作者的妻子对他们的产品很有信心，对他们取得成功（succeed）的能力也有信心。  

40.C  前后两句之间为转折关系，故选C。  

41.A  句意为：市场给了我们如此沉重的一击（blow）。  

42.B  此处表示他们把钱花在了夏季和秋季租用的摊位上，所以选B。  

43.D  结合下文的So we did not have enough money to … 可知，此处意思是他们的钱都投资在生产各种产品的材料上。tie up 本意是“捆绑”，这里形象地说明钱被占用。  

44.A  句意为：因此我们没有足够的钱来付账单。cover 在此意为“足以支付，够付”。  

45.D  结合上文the thoughts of failure ran through our heads 可知，他们认为自己要失败了，所以这里表示他们商讨自己的选择（choices），是放弃还继续。  

46.B  由最后一段的a chance for a fresh start 可知此处选B。  

47.A  从下文的if we had allowed ourselves to“stay down” 中的stay 可知选A。  

48.A  指上面的话增强了他的决心和妻子的信心，所以选A。  

49.D  这里表示他们的确摔倒了，但是他们决心（determined） 不放弃，不会呆在地上不起来的。  

50.C  结合第三段的We had a lot of money tied up in materials 可知，他们利用剩余的材料（materials）  

51.B  根据第三段的 So we did not have enough money to  49 our monthly bills,可知这里表示他们又有钱了，可以付账单了（bills）。  

52.D  句意为：如果我们什么也不做，停滞不前，那么我们肯定会失败（failed）。  

53.C  此处表示作者从他们自己的失误（mistakes）中学习，终于取得了成功。  

54.C  指作者看到的那些话给人们提供（offer）了一些关于什么是失败的新的注解。  

55.A  作者认为失败取决于你怎样看待失败，最重要的是你自己抉择是否采取行动。view 看待，认为。