Why are so many people so afraid of failure?Quite simply because no one tells us

Why are so many people so afraid offailure？Quite simplybecause no one tells us how to fail so that failure becomes an experience thatwill lead to growth．We forget thatfailure is part of the human condition and that every person has the right tofail．

Most parents work hard at eitherpreventing failure or protecting their children from the knowledge that theyhave failed．One way is tolower standards．A mother describesher child's hand-made table as perfect, even though it doesn't stand still．Anotherway is to shift（转移）blame．IfJohn fails science，his teacher isunfair or stupid．

The trouble with failure-preventiondevices is that they leave a child unequipped for life in the real world．Theyoung need to learn that no one can be best at everything，noone can win all the time—and that it's possible to enjoy a game even when theydon't win．A child who's notinvited to a birthday party，who doesn't makethe honor roll on the baseball team，feelsterrible，of course．Butparents should not offer a quick consolation（安慰），prizeor say，“It doesn't matter．becauseit does．The young shouldbe allowed to experience disappointment—and be helped to master it．

Failure is never pleasurable．Ithurts grown-ups and children alike．Butit can make a positive（有益的）contributionto your life once you learn to use it．Stepone is to ask “Why did I fail？”

Don't blame someone else．Askyourself what you did wrong，how you canimprove．If someone elsecan help，don't be shy aboutinquiring（咨询）．Success，whichencourages repetition of old behavior，isnot nearly as good a teacher as failure．Youcan learn from a bad party how to give a good one，froman ill-chosen first house what to look for in a second ．Evena failure that seems definitive can prompt fresh thinking，achange of direction．After 12 years ofstudying ballet a friend of mine auditioned（面试）fora professional company．She was turneddown．“Would further training help？sheasked．The ballet master shook his head．“Youwill never b
e a dancer，” he said，“youhaven't the body for it．”?

In such cases，theway to use failure is to take stock（鉴定）bravelyasking．“What have I left？Whatelse can I do？My friend put awayher shoes and moved into dance treatment center，afield where she's both able and useful．Failurefrees one to take risks because there's less to lose．Oftenthere is recovery（恢复）ofenergy ─ a way to find new possibilities．

1．The second paragraph tells us ____ ．

A．how a mother praised her children

B．two ways of failure prevention most parents used when their childrenfail

C．how to shift（转移）blame

D．parents should blame their children at the proper time．

2．According to the author，what should a child know in the real world？

A．He should be equipped for life．

B．No one can be best all the time at everything．

C．No parents should offer quick consolations．

D．He can get pleasure from failure as well as success．

3．The underlined word “prompt” in the fifth paragraph can be bestreplaced by“____”．?

A．improve B．prevent C．continue D．cause

4．From the passage we know that ____ can affect one's life greatlyonce he learns to use it．

A．success B．disappointment C．failure D．value

试题答案

答案：B;B;D;C