While success is surely sweeter than failure, it seems failure is a far better teacher, and organizations that fail spectacularly often flourish more in the long run, according to a new study by Vinit Desai, assistant professor of management at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. Researchers have found that people missing their goals perform much better in the long run. That is because they gain more knowledge from their failures than their successes and the lessons are more likely to stay longer in their minds.
“We found that the knowledge gained from success was often fleeting while knowledge from failure stuck around for years,” said professor Desai, who led the study. “But companies often ignore failure. Managers may fire people or turn over the whole workforce while they should treat the failure as a learning opportunity.”
Prof Desai compared the flights of the space shuttle Atlantis and the Challenger. During the 2002 Atlantis flight, a piece of insulation (绝缘体) broke off and damaged the left solid rocket booster (助推火箭) but didn’t influence the program. There was little investigation. The Challenger was launched next and another piece of insulation broke off. This time the shuttle and its seven–person crew were destroyed. The disaster led to a major investigation resulting in 29 changes to prevent future disasters.
The difference in response in the two cases came down to this: Atlantis was considered a success and the Challenger a failure.
“Despite crowded skies, airlines are extremely reliable,” he said. “The number of failures is extremely small. And past researches have shown that older airlines, those with more experience in failure, have a lower number of accidents.”
Prof Desai doesn’t recommend finding out failure in order to learn. Instead, he advises organizations to analyze small failures to collect useful information rather than wait for major failures.
【小题1】Why did experts pay little attention to the problem of Atlantis?

A．Because it worked perfectly.

B．Because the right booster was still OK.

C．Because nothing serious happened then.

D．Because fewer people died in the flight.

【小题2】Fewer accidents happen to older airlines in that _____.

A．their planes couldn’t fly high in the sky

B．they gained much from experience in failure

C．their planes were often checked by the experts

D．they were unpopular among passengers

【小题3】The passage is written mainly to _____.

A．show failure is a better teacher than success

B．explain why Challenger failed

C．introduce something about Prof Desai

D．tell managers how to achieve success

【小题4】Which writing strategy is NOT used in developing the passage?

A．Giving definitions.	B．Making comparisons.
C．Analyzing causes.	D．Providing different examples.

Betty and Harold have been married for years .But one thing still puzzles (困扰) old Harold .How is it that he can leave Betty and her friend Joan sitting on the sofa ,talking ,go out to a ballgame ,come back three and a half hours later ,and they’re still sitting on the sofa ? Talking ?

What in the world ,Harold wonders ,do they have to talk about ?

Betty shrugs .Talk ? We’re friends .

Researching this matter called friendship ,psychologist Lillian Rubin spent two years interviewing more than two hundred women and men .No matter what their age ,their job ,their sex ,the results were completely clear :women have more friendships than men ,and the difference in the content and the quality of those friendships is “marked and unmistakable .”

More than two –thirds of the single men Rubin interviewed could not name a best friend. Those who could were likely to name a woman .Yet three-quarters of the single women had no problem naming a best friend ,and almost always it was a woman .More married men than women named their wife/husband as a best friend ,most trusted person ,or the one they would turn to in time of emotional distress （感情危机）.“Most women ,”says Rubin ,“identified （认定） at least one ,usually more ,trusted friends to whom they could turn in a troubled moment ,and they spoke openly about the importance of these relationships in their lives .”

“In general,”writes Rubin in her new book ,“women’s friendships with each other rest on shared emotions and support ,but men’s relationships are marked by shared activities.” For the most part ,Rubin says ,interactions （交往）between men are emotionally controlled –a good fit with the social requirements of “manly behavior .”

“Even when a man is said to be a best friend ,”Rubin writes ,“the two share little about their innermost feelings .Whereas a woman’s closest female friend might be the first to tell her to leave a failing marriage ,it wasn’t unusual to hear a man say he didn’t know his friend’s marriage was in serious trouble until he appeared one night asking if he could sleep on the sofa .”

1.What old Harold cannot understand or explain is the fact that     .

A．he is treated as an outsider rather than a husband

B．women have so much to share

C．women show little interest in ballgames

D．he finds his wife difficult to talk to

2.Rubin’s study shows that for emotional support a married woman is more likely to turn to     .

A．a male friend

B．a female friend

C．her parents

D．her husband

3.Which of the following statements is best supported by the last paragraph ?

A．Men keep their innermost feelings to themselves.

B．Women are more serious than men about marriage.

C．Men often take sudden action to end their marriage.

D．Women depend on others in making decisions.

4.The research done by psychologist Rubin centers around________ .

A．happy and successful marriages

B．friendships of men and women

C．emotional problems in marriage

D．interactions between men and women .

 

Drinking a lot of water does not do any good to the body, according to two experts in the United States. In fact, they warn, drinking too much water could be, in certain Cases, harmful.

In a study, Dr Stanly Goldfarb and Dr Dan Negoianu, both of the Renal, Electrolyte and Hypertension Division at the University of Pennsylvania, the United States, have denied the popular belief that drinking a lot of water clears body toxins (毒素) better, improves skin, and helps reduce weight.

Dr Goldfarb and Dr Negoianu say that they found little proof to support the public opinion that drinking 8 glasses of water every day benefits health. At the same time, they found little proof of harm in drinking 8 glasses of water every day.

It is widely believed that in some cases — such as athletes, people who live in hot, dry  environments, and those with certain medical conditions — drinking a lot of water indeed helps,  but no studies have been done to prove the benefits of this practice in average, healthy people, the  website medheadlines. com reports.

The study at the University of Pennsylvania also examined reports that some people experienced increased headaches when their consumption of water was low. In one small study, which the doctors reviewed, the group drinking the most water reported fewer headaches than the control group, “but the difference in the number of headaches was so small between the two groups as to be considered unimportant.”

The researchers concluded that there is no scientific proof to support that average, healthy people need to drink at least 8 glasses of water each day.

The website medheadlines. com says that, according to an Indian doctor, drinking too much water is harmful. If water enters the body more quickly than it can be removed, problems can occur.

1. What’s the key message delivered in the passage?

A. Drinking too much water might bring harm.

B. Whether to drink enough water makes no difference.

C. Drinking too much water may cause headaches.

D. Average, healthy people should drink more water.

2. We can learn from the passage that 8 glasses of water every day ________.

A. proves good for the body             B. has scientific proof of harm

C. is sure to reduce headaches            D. is generally considered necessary

3. Who may agree that drinking lots of water helps to lose weight?

A. Two experts.                     B. General public.

C. An Indian doctor.                  D. A website.

4. According to the passage, we know that ________.

A. the website medheadlines. com is developed by an Indian doctor

B. the study was carried out by two experts with an Indian doctor

C. the two experts performed the study at the University of Pennsylvania

D. drinking 8 glasses of water every day can cure certain diseases

 

Are some people born clever and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experiences? Strangely enough, the answer to both questions is yes.To some extent our intelligence is given to us at birth, and no amount of special education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This view, now held by most experts, can be supported in a number of ways.

    It is easy to show that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random (随意地) from the population, it is likely that their degrees of intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that integigence depends on birth.

    Imagine now that we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates (表明) that environment as well as birth plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who lives in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.

1. Which of the following best describes the writer’s point in Paragraph One?

    A. To some extent, intelligence is given at birth.

    B. Intelligence is developed by the environment.

    C. Some people are born clever and others born stupid.

    D. Intelligence is fixed at birth, but is developed by the environment.

2.In the first paragraph,“no amount of special education can make a genius out of a child born with low intelligence” suggests that       .

A. no environment can change the least able into the most able

    B. the difference in men’s intelligence depends on the amount of their education

    C. if a person is born clever, he is certain to be a genius

    D. if a person is born stupid, nothing can change him into an educated person

3.The last paragraph mainly shows       .

    A. the importance of education

    B. the relationship between environment and birth

    C. the writer’s final conclusion

    D. the relationship between intelligence and environment

4. The best title for this passage would be       .

    A. Dependence on Education          B. Intelligence

    C. Surroundings                     D. Effect of Education

5. Which statement about the passage is true?

    A. All twins have similar degrees of intelligence.

     B. A man who is educated in university must make greater achievements than a man who works in a boring factory.

    C. Proper education can change one’s intelligence at some degree.

    D. Education can’t make a child born with low intelligence cleverer.

 

Dear Sirs，
Your shipment(装运)of twelve thousand“Smart”watches was received by our company this morning．However，we wish to make a number of complaints concerning the serious delay in delivery and your failure to carry out our instructions．   
It was stressed from the beginning that the delivery date had to be less than six weeks. While we appreciate that delays in production are occasionally unavoidable．We must point out that the major reason why the order was placed with your company was that we were assured by you that your existing stocks ensure immediate shipment．Late delivery of the goods has caused us to disappoint several of our most valued customers．and is sure to have a negative effect on future orders．
The second complaint concerns the difference in colour．Only half the watches in the delivery received are of the colours we ordered．Our Hong Kong agent assures us that she stressed to you the importance of following our instructions．Since we consider there to be only a limited market in this country for watches of other colours．Any watches that are not of the specified colours will , of course, be returned to you．   
We are also somewhat concerned about the rather poor quality of the goods received．since it is obvious that the watches that finally arrived have been produced from inferior materials and have been made to a lower standard than those in the sample．We have also found that a number of the watches do not appear to be functioning．We should like to point out that we feel this matter to be entirely your responsibility．
As a result of the above problems，therefore，we feel that the most suitable course of action is to return to you unpaid any of the goods considered unsatisfactory，and to deduct(扣除)any costs from our final settlement．We shall also be forced to reconsider whether any further orders should be placed with your company.
We look forward to your immediate reply．
Yours sincerely，
John Smith
【小题1】How many complaints does John Smith make with the“Smart”watch producer?

A．Five．

B．Four．

C．Three．

D．Two．

【小题2】The producer of“Smart”watches were given the order because_________

A．they produced the best watches of its kind in the world

B．the watches would be easy to make and the designs were already prepared

C．they promised they could produce enough stocks quite quickly

D．they claimed the order would be easy since the watches were already in stock

【小题3】Receiving watches in the wrong colours is a problem because_______ 

A．the Hong Kong agent stressed the need to fulfill the order exactly

B．these watches will be difficult to sell．

C． these watches will not be able to get into the limited market

D．people will not buy the watches at present