Why are so many people so afraid of failure? Quite simply because no one tells us how to fail so that failure becomes an experience that will lead to 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 either preventing failure or protecting their children from the knowledge that they have failed. One way is to lower standards. A mother describes her child's hurriedly-made table as “perfect”!Even though it couldn't stand on uneven (not same in height) legs. Another way is to shift blame. If John fails in science, his teacher is unfair or stupid.?

The trouble with failure—prevention methods is that they leave a child unequipped 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 honor roll or the baseball team feels terrible, of course. But parents should not offer a quick comfort prize or say “It doesn't matter”,because it does. The young should be allowed to experience disappointment and be helped to master it.

Failure is never pleasurable. It hurts grown-ups and children exactly alike. But it can make a positive contribution to your life once you learn to use it. Step one is to ask “Why did I fail?”. Control the natural impulse(冲动) to blame someone else. Ask yourself what you did wrong, how you can improve. If someone else can help, don't be shy about asking them.?

This passage mainly tells us about _______.?

A. the reasons why people fail

B. how to fail?

C. the ways to prevent failures

D. the importance of facing failures?

When the writer says “every person has the right to fail”, he means to say _______.

A. the world is full of failures 　　　　　　 

B. no one is perfect?

C. failures are quite common in our lives　　　　　

D. no one can grow up mentally without failures?

By “protecting their children from the knowledge that they have failed”, the writer means that most parents try their best _______.?

A. to let their children know that they won't fail?

B. not to teach their children about knowledge of failure?

C. to provide their children for the knowledge against failure?

D. to keep their children from realizing that they failed?

According to the writer, _______.

A. parents should tell their children to think nothing of not being chosen into a football team?

B. children should be encouraged to get rid of disappointment all by themselves

C. parents should judge what their children have done as it is?

D. children should learn to enjoy a game that they won't win??

The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”

“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”

“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”

I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all your people do?”

“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”

“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”

“That’s good, sir.”

“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.

“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”

After the girl told me they had no backup computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”

“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”

“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.

“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”

“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”

“I wouldn’t know, ” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘It’ can’t tell me.”

By this time there were quite a few people standing in line. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.

1.The best title for the article is _______.

A. When the Computer Is Down       B. The Most Frightening Words

C. The Computer of the Airport     D. Asking the Computer

2. What does the underlined words“ backup computer” probably mean?

A. A computer that will be brought back soon.  

B.A second-hand computer that is still in use.

C. An advanced computer that never breaks down..   

D. A computer ready for use when the main one does not work.

3. The last paragraph implies that _______.

A. a modern computer won’t be down.　　　　

B. computers can take the place of humans

C. sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people

D. there will be great changes in computers

　　　difficulties we’ll meet,we must finish the work in time.

A.However　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　B.Whatever

C.Whichever 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　D.Wherever

B

It is natural that children are curious about the world around them. For example, they want to know how their hearts beat. They want to know why the ocean water tastes salty.

　　As children grow up, they become curious about different kinds of things. When they are babies, they are interested in the parts of their bodies and in the smiles of their mothers. They become interested in the physical world around them: the plants, the animals, the sky. Later, they become interested in the things that people have made: wheels, bicycles, cars. And when they are adults, their curiosity continues. Sometimes this curiosity leads to a career (生涯、职业) in science.

　　Scientists spend their lives trying to find out about the world．Those who work with the earth sciences study the earth, the oceans, and the skies. Other scientists who study living things work with the biological sciences. A third group of scientists study the physical sciences, e. g. physics, chemistry .

　　These scientists have already discovered a lot about our world．For example, they tell us why your heart beats fast when you run. They say that when you are quiet, your heart normally beats sixty-five or seventy-five times a minute. Your heart is a pump (泵) that pumps blood to all parts of the body. The blood carries oxygen and nutrition. When you run, your muscles work very hard and use the nutrition that the blood carries to them. The muscles need oxygen, too . So your brain sends a signal to the heart. The signal means that the muscles need more nutrition and oxygen. Then the heart beats fast and sends blood quickly to the muscles. It may beat 90 to 140 times a minute.

　　Of course, scientists cannot answer all of our questions. If we ask, “Why does the ocean water taste salty” scientists will say that the salt comes from rocks. When a rock gets very hot or very cold, it cracks. Rain falls into cracks. The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers. The rivers carry the salt into the ocean. But then we ask , “What happens to the salt in the ocean? The ocean does not get saltier every year.” Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question.

　　We know a lot about our world, but there are still many answers that we do not have, and we are curious.

45．According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

　  A．People are curious in the same way.

　  B．People in different countries are interested in different things.

　  C．Men and women are curious about different things.

　  D．People of different ages are interested in different things

46．Scientists who work with the biological sciences study____.

A．the earth , the oceans and the sky          B．man-made things

C．plants and animals                               D．ocean water

47．When you run, your muscles need ____.

A．more nutrition and oxygen    B．more signals    C．more salt   D．water

48．A rock cracks _____.

A．in wet regions                                     B．in dry regions

C．at very high or very low temperatures               D．when salty water falls in

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
You get all sorts of demands, and the mark of a good hotel is to supply whatever is asked for without sounding surprise. If a guest asks for rubber gloves. You don't ask why. You say, “No problem. What colour do you want？”
　　There have been some demands which, much as I would have liked to fill, I couldn't. A Japanese businessman， for example， thought the manager of a hotel was like the captain of a ship so he asked me to marry him and the woman he loved. There was one time, however, we did help out. A young man thought that if he asked his girlfriend to marry him at the Ritz she would say yes. He asked us to put the ring in a cake, and she accepted.
　　Top hotels are used more and more to impress. They are used for doing business. If you've got something to sell, take your clients(客户) to the best hotel where the surroundings are quite helpful. A friend of mine working at Savoy Hotel tells story about a man who gave him 5 pounds to say “Good morning, Mr. Smith” when he walked through the door with two other men. This he did， and could hear Mr. Smith saying, “I do wish they would leave me alone at this place.”
　　According to Julian Payne， the most powerful people in any hotel are the porters， who carry bags for hotel guests. “Porters can do almost anything. They can get you tables at the best restaurants or tickets for a popular concert. Don't ask me how they do it or what their deal is because I don't know. Most of them have been there for years. They know more about the history of the hotel and the guests than anyone else. They are invaluable. A head porter will come in even on his day off so he can say hello to someone he remembers visiting the hotel years ago.”
56．When guests ask for something strange，the manager of a good hotel would think ______.
　　A．how he can meet their needs
　　B．why they have such demands
　　C．what problems the hotel has
　　D．who is the best person to go to
57．Which of the following examples explains “we did help out？”
　　A．The hotel bought a ring for a young lady.
　　B．A Japanese married the woman he loved.
　　C．The manager once acted as a captain.
　　D．A young lady agreed to marry her boyfriend.
58．Which of the following statements is true about the porters in expensive hotels?
A．They sell tickets for concerts.
B．They know how to make a good deal.
C．They know a lot about the hotels and the guests.
D．The come to work even on their days off.
59．By saying “I do wish they would leave me alone at this place”， Mr. Smith ______.
　　A．showed that he disliked such people at the hotel
　　B．gave the impression that he was a constant guest
　　C．tried to make his clients feel sorry for him
　　D．sounded as if he was tired of such greetings