No one likes to make mistakes. But a new study says organizations learn more from their failures than from their successes, and keep that knowledge longer.
One of the researchers was Vinit Desai, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. He worked with Peter Madsen from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in Utah.
They did not find much long-term "organizational learning" from success. It is possible, they say. But Professor Desai says they found that knowledge gained from failure lasts for years. He says organizations should treat failures as a learning opportunity and not try to ignore them.
The study looked at companies and organizations that launch satellites--and other space vehicles. Professor Desai compared two shuttle flights.
In two thousand two, a piece of insulating(隔热的) material broke off during launch and damaged a rocket on the Atlantis. Still, the flight was considered a success.
Then, in early two thousand three, a piece of insulation struck the Columbia during launch. This time, the shuttle broke apart on re-entry and the seven crew members died. NASA officials suspended all flights and an investigation led to suggested changes.
Professor Desai says the search for solutions after a failure can make leaders more open-minded. He points to airlines as an example of an industry that has learned from failures in the past.
He advises organizations to look for useful information in small failures and failures they avoided. He also urges leaders to encourage the open sharing of information. The study appeared in the Academy of Management Journal.
The mistakes we learn from do not have to be our own. We recently asked people on our Facebook page to tell us a time they had done something really silly.
Fabricio Cmino wrote: Not long ago I wanted to watch TV, but it wouldn't turn on, so I did everything I could to start it. Thirty minutes later my mum showed up and, passing by, said to me "Did you try plugging it'? I’m just dusting, Mum!”So she wouldn't notice how dumb I am sometimes!
Bruno Kanieski da Silva told about a time he looked everywhere for his key. It was in his pocket. He wrote: I always promise I will never do it again, but after-a few weeks,where is my wallet? For sure it will be in a very logical place.From the passage, we can infer that________.
| A．The insulating material problem in 2002 didn't arouse enough attention |
| B．There were no astronauts on Columbia |
| C．In spite of the problem, Atlantis was considered a success |
| D．Columbia exploded during its launch time |
The writer gives the last two paragraphs to show that________.
| A．many people make mistakes in the world |
| B．mistakes were a very embarrassing thing when found by others |
| C．we can also draw a lesson from others' mistakes |
| D．making mistakes was a necessity |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Only organizations can learn from mistakes |
| B．We can also learn from failures that have been avoided. |
| C．Lessons from the shuttle flights are more important. |
| D．Leaders often lack an open mind and seldom share information. |
Researchers questioned nearly 9,800 people over the age of 50 about their lives and found women were happier than men and enjoy life more in old age.
Dr Elizabeth Breeze, one of the researchers, said that women could become happier as they get older as they no longer have to worry about looking after their families.
She said:“There is a difference between the way men and women view their quality of life and they are influenced by slightly different things. Women are affected negatively by caring for someone else or if they are not in employment but if they see their children and family more they are positively affected.”
“A strange thing happens to male actors, especially movie stars, in my experience,” said Helen Mirren, a 62-year-old Hollywood actress.“A young male actor feels that all the girls want him-he’s a star. As actors get older they bad-tempered for they have lost that sense of being in control of their destiny(命运).”
Wealth also helps you live longer with the poorest people more than twice as likely to die earlier than the richest, researchers at University College London discovered. In some age groups. the difference was even greater. The poorest women between 60 and 74 are six times more likely to have died than the richest women of the same age.
According to the study, you have more chances of living longer if you are married, educated to certain degree or a professional. single people are twice as likely to die early as those who are married or living with a partner.What may be the best title of the passage ?
| A．Why Women Are Happier Than Men in Old Age . |
| B．How to Live Longer. |
| C．Women Happier Than Men in Old Age. |
| D．The Difference between Women and Men in Old Age |
What can we know from the passage？
| A．Men should not worry about looking after their family any more in old age |
| B．Male actors, especially movie stars are easy to get bad—tempered when they get older and older. |
| C．The poorest women about the age of 50 can’t live longer than the richest women at the same age. |
| D．Education has nothing to do with happy life in people’s old age. |
What may be talked about if there is another paragraph as the ending ?
| A．Things that the old should do to be happier. |
| B．The disadvantage of being actors. |
| C．We should earn money as much as we can. |
| D．How to become a professional. |
It was New Year’s Night. An aged man was standing at a window. He raised his mournful eyes towards the deep blue sky, where the stars were floating like white lilies on the surface of a clear calm lake. Then he cast them on the earth, where few more hopeless people than himself now moved towards their certain goal --- the tomb. He had already passed sixty of the stages leading to it, and he had brought from his journey nothing but errors and remorse. Now his health was poor, his mind vacant, his heart sorrowful, and his old age short of comforts.
The days of his youth appeared like dreams before him, and he recalled the serious moment when his father placed him at the entrance of the two roads --- one leading to a peaceful, sunny place, covered with flowers, fruits and filled with soft, sweet songs; the other leading to a deep, dark cave, which was endless, where poison flowed instead of water and where devils and poisonous snakes hissed and crawled.
He looked towards the sky and cried painfully, “O youth, return! O my father, place me once more at the entrance to life, and I’ll choose the better way!” But both his father and the days of his youth had passed away.
He saw the lights flowing away in the darkness. These were the days of his wasted life; he saw a star fall down from the sky and disappeared, and this was the symbol of himself. His regret, which was like a sharp arrow, struck deeply into his heart. Then he remembered his friends in his childhood, who entered on life together with him. But they had made their way to success and were now honored and happy on this New Year’s Night.
The clock in the high church tower struck and the sound made him remember his parents’ early love for him. They had taught him and prayed to God for his good. But he chose the wrong way. With shame and grief he dared no longer look towards that heaven where his father lived. His darkened eyes were full of tears, and with a despairing effort, he burst out a cry: “Come back, my early days! Come back!”
And his youth did return, for all this was only a dream which he had on New Year’s Night. He was still young though his faults were real; he had not yet entered the deep, dark cave, and he was still free to walk on the road which leads to the peaceful and sunny land.
Those who still wander on the entrance of life, hesitating to choose the bright road, remember that when years are passed and your feet stumble on the dark mountains, you will cry bitterly, but in vain: “O youth, return! Oh give me back my early days!”We can learn from the passage that ____.
| A．the man returned from a long journey and regretted what he had done |
| B．the man didn’t enter the deep, dark cave when he was young |
| C．the man was deserted by his parents when he was only a child |
| D．the man found it no use crying over the spilt milk |
Why does the author set his story on New Year’s Night?
| A．He wants to tell people it’s time to recall the past |
| B．he suggests the aged man will have a bright future |
| C．He tries to stress the man’s sad feeling |
| D．He expects people to share the man’s emotion |
The aged man in the passage can be described as ________.
| A．sorrowful, fearful and regretful | B．hopeful, cheerful and peaceful |
| C．regretful, painful and disappointed | D．disappointed, regretful and hopeful |
The author writes the passage mainly to ________.
| A．encourage young people to take the right road | B．help the old man to pick up his confidence |
| C．describe the old man’s unsuccessful experience | D．show his compassion for the aged man |
When Mary Moore began her high school in 1951, her mother told her, "Be sure and take a typing course（课程） so when this show business thing doesn't work out, you'll have something to rely on." Mary responded in typical teenage fashion. From that moment on, "the very last thing I ever thought about doing was taking a typing course," she recalls.
The show business thing worked out, of course. In her career, Mary won many awards. Only recently, when she began to write Growing Up Again, did she regret ignoring her mom," I don't know how to use a computer," she admits.
Unlike her 1995 autobiography（自传）, After All, her second book is less about life as an award-winning actress and more about living with diabetes (糖尿病). All the money from the book is intended for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), an organization she serves as international chairman. "I felt there was a need for a book like this," she says." I didn't want to lecture, but I wanted other diabetics to know that things get better when we're self-controlled and do our part in managing the disease."
But she hasn't always practiced what she teaches. In her book, she describes that awful day, almost 40 years ago, when she received two pieces of life-changing news. First, she had lost the baby she was carrying, and second, tests showed that she had diabetes. In a childlike act, she left the hospital and treated herself to a box of doughnuts (甜甜圈). Years would pass before she realized she had to grow up —again—and take control of her diabetes, not let it control her. Only then did she kick her three-pack-a-day cigarette habit, overcome her addiction to alcohol, and begin to follow a balanced diet.
Although her disease has affected her eyesight, she refuses to fall into self-pity. "Everybody on earth can ask, 'why me?' about something or other," she insists. "It doesn't do any good. No one is immune (免疫的) to heartache, pain, and disappointments. Sometimes we can make things better by helping others. I've come to realize the importance of that as I've grown up this second time. I want to speak out and be as helpful as I can be."Why did Mary feel regretful?
| A．She didn't achieve her ambition. | B．She didn't take care of her mother. |
| C．She didn't complete her high school. | D．She didn't follow her mother's advice. |
We can know that before 1995 Mary
| A．had two books published | B．received many career awards |
| C．knew how to use a computer | D．supported the JDRF by writing |
Mary's second book Growing Up Again is mainly about her
| A．living with diabetes | B．successful show business |
| C．service for an organization | D．remembrance of her mother |
When Mary received the life-changing news, she
| A．lost control of herself | B．began a balanced diet |
| C．tried to get a treatment | D．behaved in an adult way |
Every few years, two groups carry out a study of how many Americans wash their hands after using the toilet. These groups are the American Society for Microbiology and the American Cleaning Institute, formerly the Soap and Detergent Association.
There was good news in the latest study. Researchers found that eighty-five percent of adults washed their hands in public restrooms last month. That was the most since the studies began in 1996.
Researchers visited restrooms at a baseball park in Atlanta and a science museum and aquarium(水族馆) in Chicago. They also visited two train stations in New York City and a large farmers’ market in San Francisco. In all, they observed about six thousand adults, with females and males equal in number.
The researchers found that seventy-seven percent of men and ninety-three percent of women washed their hands. That was up from sixty-six percent of men and eighty-eight percent of women in the last study three years ago.
The lowest rate of hand washing among men was at Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves baseball team. Only sixty-five percent of men washed their hands, compared to all but two percent of women.
Chicago and San Francisco had the most hand washers—eighty-nine percent of adults. Atlanta followed at eighty-two percent. New York had the lowest rate, at seventy-nine percent of the adults observed at Grand Central Station and Penn Station.
The findings of the observational study conflicted(不一致) with the findings of a separate telephone survey of about one thousand people. Ninety-six percent of them said they always washed their hands after using public restrooms.
Almost nine out of ten also said they always washed after using the bathroom at home.
Hand washing can help prevent the spread of many different infections.
To clean your hands well, wet them first and rub in soap for at least twenty seconds, including between the fingers and under the nails. Then wash under running water. In a public restroom, if you dry your hands with a paper towel, you should also use the towel to shut off the water and open the door.
Hand washing is also important when preparing food and after changing a baby’s diaper(尿布). You should also wash if you cough or sneeze into your hands.According to the latest study, about ____ women washed their hands after using public bathroom.
| A．1,980 | B．2,310 | C．2,640 | D．2,790 |
Which of the following shows the right order of washing hands correctly?
a. Wash your hands under running water.
b. Rub your hands in soap for not less than twenty seconds.
c. Wet your hands.
d. Dry your hands with a paper towel.
e. Open the door, using a paper towel.
f. Shut off the water with a paper towel.
| A．cbdaef | B．cdabfe | C．cbadfe | D．cdabef |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Hand washing is up in public restrooms in the US |
| B．Americans like washing their hands so much |
| C．Adults have their hands washed in public restrooms |
| D．Why hand washing never enjoys popularity in the US |
While I was on a trip to Papua New Guinea to take underwater photographs, I asked a local dive guide to help me find a pygmy sea horse(侏儒海马). I wanted to take a picture of it. These sea horses can be red or yellow-and-orange. The red pygmy sea horse lives on only one type of coral, a red sea fan that grows at depths below ninety feet.
This depth made the job even tougher. As the pressure on my body increased, I had to breathe harder, which used my air supply faster. So the deeper I dived, the shorter my time underwater.
I had a lot to do. First, I had to find the pygmy sea horse’s special type of fan .Then I had to look over the whole fan with my magnifying glass(放大镜) to see if a sea horse lived on it. If not, I had to find another fan—all the while keeping an eye on my oxygen supply. The second fan rewarded me with a find. The dive guide held the magnifying glass so I could have my first look at the tiny fish.
My next challenge was to focus my camera on such a small subject. The dive guide pointed at the tiny creature. I looked through the viewfinder(取景物) on my large underwater camera housing(相架), found the guide’s finger, and followed it to the sea horse.
It was hard to hold ourselves steady because both of us were floating in mid-water, but our system worked. I could hardly contain my excitement as I focused on the eyes of the cutest sea horse imaginable.What do we learn about the red pygmy sea horse?
| A．It lives on red sea fans only. | B．It swims very quickly. |
| C．It lives nine feet deep. | D．It usually floats in mid-water. |
From Paragraph 3 we learn .
| A．how the author swam under water | B．how the author found a sea horse |
| C．why the author dived with a guide | D．why the author used a magnifying glass |
While the author was taking pictures of the sea horse, .
| A．she felt extremely nervous | B．her camera didn’t work well |
| C．the guide helped focus the camera | D．the sea horse was swimming away |
Why did the author write the passage?
| A．To study the natural habitat of sea animals. |
| B．To explain why sea horses are endangered. |
| C．To tell us how to be an underwater photographer. |
| D．To show us how she took pictures of a sea horse. |