24. A. manage　 B. survive　　　 C. succeed D. compete

23. A. excited　　 B. worried　　 C. confused　　　 D. confident

22. A. produce　 B. receive　　 C. reduce　　 D. afford

21. A. happy　　　 B. dangerous　　　 C. ready　　　 D. safe

20. A. true　　 B. good 　　　 C. often 　　　 D. all right

B

With excitement we started our small business. No longer were we　 _21_　 to have a weekly paycheck.. We now were on our own to　 _22_　 an income to provide us with the money to live. I was a little　 _23_　 about our ability to do this. But Byron, my wife, believed in our products and believed in our ability to　 _24 .

We invested (投资) heavily in producing a number of products,　 _25 _ none of them were popular with customers. The market gave us so heavy a　 _26__　 that we hardly made enough money to pay our expenses.

We now had our money　 _27__　 in the booth(货摊) that we had rented for the summer and fall months. We had a lot of money　 _28_　 up in materials. So we did not have enough money to _ _29__　 our monthly bills. We were discouraged, and the thoughts of failure ran through our heads.

As we discussed our　 _30__ , I happened to read the words：“If you have made mistakes ... there is always another chance for you ... you may have a ___31__ start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘Failure’ is not falling down, but　 _32_　 down.”

The words reinforced(增强)my determination and Byron’s　 _33__ that we could succeed. We did fall down, but we were _34_ not to stay down! So, we stepped back and refocused. We came up with new products using remaining __35___. We redesigned our booth. We reconsidered our pricing system. And, we started making enough money to pay our __36__.

If we had done nothing, if we had allowed ourselves to “stay down”, then we would have __37__ But we made the choice to learn from our __38__, and we moved forward with more determination.　 Those words _39__ a much better idea on failure -- a chance for a fresh start! The most important point here is “choice” because you decide how you __40.__ your failure, you decide if you stay down.

19. A. robbed　 B. stolen　　　 C. lost　　 D. there

18. A. hateness B. reason 　　 C. lateness　 D. car

17. A. chance　 B. luck C. thing　 　　 D. experience

16. A. bags B. money　　 C. keys　 　　　 D. card

15. A. with　　 B. behind　 C. after D. in