I recently heard a story from Stephen Glenn about a famous research scientist who had made several very
important medical breakthroughs. He was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asked him why he
thought he was able to be so much more creative than the average person. What set him so far apart from
others?
     He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he
was about two years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his
grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor-a real sea of milk!
     When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture or punishing him,
she said, "Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle
of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few
minutes before we clean it up?"
     Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, "You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like
this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to
do that? We could use a sponge, a towel or a mop. Which do you prefer?" He chose the sponge and together
they cleaned up the spilled milk.
     His mother then said, "You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a
big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let's go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you
can discover a way to carry it without dropping it." The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the
top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson!
     This famous renowned scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn't need to
be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something
new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment "doesn't work," we
usually learn something valuable from it.

1. The passage is intended to _____.

A. introduce the life story of a famous scientist
B. compare the different ways of family education
C. reveal the secret of the scientist's success
D. inspire the parents to improve their teaching methods

2. From the passage, we can know that Robert _____.

A. was very naughty when he was two
B. was so working hard as to succeed
C. owes a lot to his education from his mother
D. has made some great contributions to physics research

3. On seeing the spoiled milk, what did the mother do firstly?

A. She comforted his son.
B. She cleaned the floor.
C. She taught how to grasp the bottle.
D. She gave the boy a lecture.

4. Which of the following is the best according to the text?

A. It would be great if all the scientists can know the importance of the failed experiment.
B. It would be great if the experiment doesn't work at all.
C. It would be great if all parents would respond the way Robert's mother responded to him.
D. It would be great if we are more creative than the average person.