Why are so many people so afraid to fail? Quite simply because no one tells us how to fail so that failure (失败) becomes an experience that means 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 preventing failure or protecting their children from the knowledge that they have failed. One way is to lower standards(标准). When a child finishes making a table, the mother describes it as “perfect” even though it doesn’t stand still. Another way is to blame (责怪) others. If John fails in science, his teacher is unfair or stupid.
There’s a problem with the two ways. It makes a child unprepared 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 honour list on the baseball team, feels terrible, of course. But parents should not offer a quick consolations (安慰), prize or say, “It doesn’t matter.” Because it does. The young should be allowed to experience failure and be helped to come out of it.
Failure never gives people pleasure. It hurts both grown-ups and children. But it can be really good to your life when you learn to use it. You must learn to ask “Why did I fail?” Don’t blame anyone else. Ask yourself what you did wrong and how you can improve. If someone else can help, don’t be shy about asking them.
【小题1】How do most parents prevent their children from failure?

All living things on the earth need other living things to live with. Nothing lives  1 . Sometimes one living thing kills    2  . Each kind of life eats another kind of life     3   live, and together they form a food chain(食物链). Some food chains are simple, while others are not. But    4    food chains begin with the sun, and all food chains become    5   if one of the links disappears.

All life needs sunlight to live on. But only plants can use    6   directly(直接地). They make food from sunlight, water, air and so on. Animals can only use the sun’s energy    7    it has been changed into food by plants. Some animals feed directly on plants. Others eat smaller animals. Meat-eating animals are only   8 plants indirectly.

What about human beings? We are members of many food chains. We eat wheat, rice, vegetables, fruits and so on. We also eat meat and drink milk. But   9     often break up the food chains. They kill wild animals. They also make rivers, lakes and seas dirty. When these rivers, lakes and seas are polluted, the fish in them    10   be eaten. If people eat the fish, they will get strange diseases.

Each form of life is linked to all the others. Breaking the links puts all life in danger.

1.                A．alone          B．lonely          C．together  D．happily

2.                A．other          B．the other       C．another  D．the others

3.                A．for            B．so that          C．and  D．in order to

4.                A．any            B．all             C．some D．most

5.                A．better          B．broken         C．stronger  D．nicer

6.                A．moonlight       B．laser light       C．sunlight   D．bright light

7.                A．after           B．before         C．until D．by the time

8.                A．making         B．catching        C．eating    D．feeding

9.                A．sunlight        B．animals         C．plants    D．people

10.               A．can            B．cannot         C．must  D．needn’t

Are you carrying too much on your back at school? You’re not alone. Back experts(专家) in the USA are worried about that young students are having back and neck problems because they are carrying too much in their backpacks .
“It hurts my back when I run,” said Ebelin Reyes, a student in Virginia. “It’s hard to get up the stairs with my backpack because it’s too heavy.” Students have to carry heavy backpacks on their backs for a whole week’s study. Ebelin is one of them. They have   regular(固定的)backpacks with two straps(带子) to carry them, but a number of students with heavy loads(负担) have switched to rolling backpacks. The backpacks have wheels and can roll on the ground. Shirley Park’s backpack weighs 10 kilos, and she said, “I’ll change to a rolling backpack because I am starting to have back pain.”
How much is too much? Experts say that students should carry no more than 10% to 15% of their own body weight. A few students have had a good idea to lighten(减轻) the load: less homework.
Doctor’s suggestions:
Lighten the load. Take home only the books the students need that day.
(2) Wide straps are better. They can send out weight over your shoulders (肩)and be sure to wear backpacks with two straps.
(3) The heaviest things should be packed closest to the back.
(4) Bend(弯曲) both knees when you pick up the pack, don’t just bend over the waist(腰).
【小题1】The main idea of the passage is about _______.

All living things on the earth need other living things to live. Nothing lives alone. Most animals must live in a group, and even a plant grows close together with others of the same kind. Sometimes one living thing kills another, one eats and the other is eaten. Each kind of life eats another kind of life in order to live, and together they form a food chain(食物链).Some food chains are simple, while others are not. But all food chains begin with the sun, and all food chains become broken up if one of the links disappears.
All life needs sunlight to live on. But only plants can use sunlight directly. Plants are“factories”.They make food from sunlight, water and things in the soil and air.
Plants feed all other living things. Animals can only use the sun’s energy after it has been changed into food by plants. Some animals feed directly on plants, others eat smaller animals. Meat-eating animals are only eating plants indirectly.
What about human beings? We are members of many food chains. We eat wheat, rice, vegetables, fruits and so on. We also eat meat and drink milk. But men often break up the food chains. They kill wild animals. They also make rivers, lakes and seas dirty. When these rivers, lakes and seas are polluted, the fish in them cannot be eaten. If men eat the fish, they will get strange diseases.
Each form of life is linked to all others. Breaking the links puts all life in danger. 
【小题1】How does every living thing on the earth live?
A. Each plant can live alone.
B. Each animal can live alone.
C. Every living thing on the earth cannot live without others.
【小题2】Which living things can use the sun’s energy directly?
A. Animals      B. Plants         C. All living things
【小题3】Who often break up the food chains?
A. Human beings
B. Animals
C. Plant and animals
【小题4】 Which of the following do you think is the best title of this passage?
A. Animals         B. Plants       C. Food Chains    
【小题5】Where can you probably find this passage?
A. In a news report.
B. In your textbook.
C. In a business magazine.