If the motorbike driver had slowed down when he turned, the accident could have been _____．

       A．avoided             B．prevented           C．escaped        D．annoyed

Even Intelligent People Can Fail

_________

The unusual things about the innovators (创新者) who succeeded in making our modern world is how often they failed. Turn on a light, take a photograph, watch TV, search the web, jet across the Pacific Ocean, talk on a cell-phone. The innovators who left us these things had to find the way to success through a maze (错综复杂) of wrong turns.

_________

We have just celebrated the 125th anniversary of American innovator Thomas Edison’s success in heating a thin line to white, hot heat for 14 hours in his lab in New Jersey, US. He did that on October 22, 1879, and followed up a month later by keeping a thread of common cardboard alight (点亮着的) in an airless space for 45 hours. Three years later he went on to light up half a square mile of downtown Manhattan, even though only one of the six power plants in his design worked when he turned it on, on September 4, 1882.

________

“Many of life’s failures,” Edison said, “are because that people did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Before that magical moment in October 1879, Edison had worked out no fewer than 3,000 theories about electric light. But in only two cases did his experiments work.

________

No one likes failure, but the smart innovators learn from it. Mark Gumz, the head of a camera maker, attributes some of the company’s successes in technology to understanding failure. His popular phrase is：“You only fail when you quit.”

_________

Over two centuries, the most common quality of the innovators has been persistence (坚忍不拔). That is another way of saying they had the emotional ability to keep on with what they were doing. Walt Disney, the founder of Disneyland, was so penniless after a series of financial failures that he was left shoeless in his office because he could not afford the $1.50 to get his shoes from the repair shop. Pioneering car maker Henry Ford failed with one company and was forced out of another before he developed the Model T Car.

Even Intelligent People Can Fail

1._________

The unusual things about the innovators (创新者) who succeeded in making our modern world is how often they failed. Turn on a light, take a photograph, watch TV, search the web, jet across the Pacific Ocean, talk on a cell-phone. The innovators who left us these things had to find the way to success through a maze (错综复杂) of wrong turns.

2._________

We have just celebrated the 125th anniversary of American innovator Thomas Edison’s success in heating a thin line to white, hot heat for 14 hours in his lab in New Jersey, US. He did that on October 22, 1879, and followed up a month later by keeping a thread of common cardboard alight (点亮着的) in an airless space for 45 hours. Three years later he went on to light up half a square mile of downtown Manhattan, even though only one of the six power plants in his design worked when he turned it on, on September 4, 1882.

3.________

“Many of life’s failures,” Edison said, “are because that people did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Before that magical moment in October 1879, Edison had worked out no fewer than 3,000 theories about electric light. But in only two cases did his experiments work.

4.________

No one likes failure, but the smart innovators learn from it. Mark Gumz, the head of a camera maker, attributes some of the company’s successes in technology to understanding failure. His popular phrase is：“You only fail when you quit.”

5._________

Over two centuries, the most common quality of the innovators has been persistence (坚忍不拔). That is another way of saying they had the emotional ability to keep on with what they were doing. Walt Disney, the founder of Disneyland, was so penniless after a series of financial failures that he was left shoeless in his office because he could not afford the $1.50 to get his shoes from the repair shop. Pioneering car maker Henry Ford failed with one company and was forced out of another before he developed the Model T Car.

第二节：语法填空: 根据短文内容，在空格中填上合适的单词。（共15分，每空1.5分）

In the United States, there were 222 people   81        (report) to be billionaires in 2003. The  82      of these is Bill Gates, worth at least $41 billion, who made his money 83  starting the company Microsoft. Mr Gates was only 21 years old   84     he first helped to set up the company in 1976. He was a billionaire  85     the time he was 31.

86     , there are still some other people who have made lots of money at even 87   (young) ages. Other young people who have struck it rich include Jackie Coogan and Shirley Temple.    88      of these child actors made over a million dollars    89     (act) in movies before they were 14. But    90    youngest billionaire is Albert von Thurn and Taxis of Germany, who, in 2001, inherited a billion dollars when he turned 18.

巩固强化二十三篇

语法填空（每篇共10小题；每小题1.5分，满分15分）

仔细阅读下面的短文，短文中有10个空格。请根据上下文填入适当的词语，

或使用括号中的词语的适当形式完成语法填空，并将答案填写在相应的位置上。

In the United States, there were 222 people __1.______ (report) to be billionaires(亿万富翁) in 2003.  The __2._______ (wealth) of these is Bill Gates, worth at least $ 41 billion, who made his money __3.______ starting the company Microsoft. Mr. Gates was only 21 years old __4._______ he first helped to set up the company in 1976. He was a billionaire __5.______ the time he was 31.

__6._________, there are still some other people who have made lots of money at even __7.__________ (young) ages. Other young people who have struck it rich include Jackie Coogan and Shirley Temple. __8._________ of these child actors made over a million dollars __9.____________ (act) in movies before they were 14. But __10.__________ youngest billionaire is Albert von Thurn und Taxis of Germany, who, in 2001, inherited (继承) a billion dollars when he turned 18 !