He insisted that he _____ the best, so he insisted that he _____ the work all by himself.

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??

As prices and building costs keep rising, the do-it-yourself (DIY) trend (趋势) in the U.S. continues to grow.

   “We needed furniture (家具) for our living room,” says John Ross, “And we just didn't have enough money to buy it. So we decide to try making a few tables and chairs.” John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Rosses took a 2-week course for $280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.

    Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died. He has a full-time job at home as well as in a shoe making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for $420. “I was deeply upset about it. Now I've finished a car repair course, I should be able to fix the car by myself.”

    John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a “do-it -yourselfer”, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don't have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.

1.We can learn from the text that many newly married people _______.

A. find it hard to pay for what they need

B. have to learn to make their own furniture

C. take DIY courses run by the government

D. seldom go to a department store to buy things

2.John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to _______.

A. run a DIY shop   

B. make it repair things

C. save time and money  

D. improve the quality of life

3.When the writer says that Jim has a full-time at home, he means Jim _______.

A. makes shoes in his home

B. does extra work at night

C. does his own car and home repairs

D. keeps house and looks after his children

4.Jim Hatfield decided to become a do-it-yourselfer when _______.

A. his car repairs cost too much

B. the car repair class was not helpful

C. he could not possibly do two jobs

D. he had to raise the children all by himself

5.What would be the best title for the text?

A. The Joy of DIY.                       

B. You Can Do It too!

C. Welcome to Our DIY course!            

D. Ross and Hatfield: Believe in DIY.

For 52 years my father got up every morning at 5:30 am, except Sunday, and went to work. He returned home at 5:30 pm, for dinner at 6:00 pm. I never remember my father having a night out with his children. All he asked from me as a daughter was to hold his hammer while he repaired something, just so we could have some time to talk to each other.

For 22 years, after I left home for college, my father called me every Sunday. Nine years ago, my father, 67 years old, spent three days painting my house. He asked me to hold the paint brush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy and I could not take the time to hold the paint brush, or talk to my father.

Five years ago, my father spent five hours making a swing（秋千）for my daughter. Again, all he asked me to do was to give him a glass of tea, and talk to him. But again, I had some clothes to wash, and the house to clean.

On January 16, 1996, my father telephoned me as usual, this time from my sister’s home in Florida. I had to get to church, and I cut the conversation short.

The call came at 4:40 pm. That day, my father was in hospital in Florida. I got on an airplane immediately, and on the way, I made up my mind that when I arrived, I would make up for the lost time, and have a nice long talk with him.

I arrived in Florida at 1:00 am, but my father had passed away at 9:12 pm. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me.

1.

When the author was young, her father ______.

A. was busy with his work               B. disliked his children 

C. often talked to his children         D. never cared about his children

2.

 How old was the author’s father when he made a swing for his granddaughter?

A. 45.   　　　　　　B. 67.   　　　C. 71.    　　　　　　　D. 76.

3.

When painting the house, the father asked the author to hold a paint brush because ______.

A. he wanted to make his work easy        

B. he was too old to work all by himself

C. he just wanted his daughter to help him

D. he wanted to have a talk with his daughter

4.

The underlined phrase “passed away” in the last paragraph probably means “______”.

A. arrived   　　　　B. lost    　　　C. left    　　　　D. died

(2013·高考四川卷，B)On a sunny day last August，Tim heard some shouting.Looking out to the sea carefully，he saw a couple of kids in a rowboat were being pulled out to sea.

Two 12?year?old boys，Christian and Jack，rowed out a boat to search for a football.Once they’d rowed beyond the calm waters，a beach umbrella tied to the boat caught the wind and pulled the boat into open water.The pair panicked and tried to row back to shore.But they were no match for it and the boat was out of control.

Tim knew it would soon be swallowed by the waves.

“Everything went quiet in my head，”Tim recalls(回忆)．“I was trying to figure out how to swim to the boys in a straight line.”

Tim took off his clothes and jumped into the water.Every 500 yards or so，he raised his head to judge his progress.“At one point，I considered turning back，” he says.“I wondered if I was putting my life at risk.”After 30 minutes of struggling，he was close enough to yell to the boys，“Take down the umbrella！”

Christian made much effort to take down the umbrella.Then Tim was able to catch up and climb aboard the boat.He took over rowing，but the waves were almost too strong for him.

“Let’s aim for the pier(码头)，”Jack said.Tim turned the boat toward it.Soon afterward，waves crashed over the boat，and it began to sink.“Can you guys swim？”he cried.“A little bit，”the boys said.

Once they were in the water，Tim decided it would be safer and faster for him to pull the boys toward the pier.Christian and Jack were wearing life jackets and floated on their backs.Tim swam toward land as water washed over the boys’faces.

“Are we almost there？”they asked again and again.“Yes，”Tim told them each time.

After 30 minutes，they reached the pier.

1.Why did the two boys go to the sea?

A．To go boat rowing.

B．To get back their football.

C．To swim in the open water.

D．To test the umbrella as a sail.

2.What does “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．The beach. B．The water.

C．The boat. D．The wind.

3.Why did Tim raise his head regularly?

A．To take in enough fresh air.

B．To consider turning back or not.

C．To check his distance from the boys.

D．To ask the boys to take down the umbrella.

4.How did the two boys finally reach the pier?

A．They were dragged to the pier by Tim.

B．They swam to the pier all by themselves.

C．They were washed to the pier by the waves.

D．They were carried to the pier by Tim on his back.