Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned 12, a white gardenia was delivered _ to me at my house. No card or note came with it. Calls to the florist were always in vain ---- it was a cash purchase. After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender's identity. But I never stopped imagining who the anonymous sender might be. My mother often contributed to these imaginings. She'd ask me if there was someone for whom I had done a special kindness who might be showing appreciation. Perhaps the neighbor I'd help when she was unloading a car full of groceries. Or maybe it was the old man across the street whose mail I retrieved during the winter so he wouldn't have to venture down his icy steps. When I was 17, a boy broke my heart. The night he called for me the last time, I cried myself to sleep. When I awoke in the morning, there was a message scribbled on my mirror in red lipstick: "Heartily know, when half-gods go, the gods arrive." I thought about that quotation from Emerson for a long time, and I left it where my mother had written it. When I finally went to get the glass cleaner, my mother knew everything was all right again. I don't remember ever slamming my door in anger at her and shouting, "You just don't understand!" because she did understand. One month before my high-school graduation, my father died suddenly of a heart attack. My feelings ranged from grief to abandonment, fear and over-whelming anger that my dad was missing some of the most important events in my life. I became completely uninterested in my upcoming graduation, the senior-class play and the prom-events that I had worked on and looked forward to. But my mother, in the midst of her own grief, would not hear of my missing out any of those things. The day before my father died, she and I had gone shopping for a prom dress and found a spectacular one. Wearing it made me feel like a princess, but it was the wrong size, and when my father died the next day, I forgot all about the dress. My mother didn't. The... We can infer from the passage that _ . A) the gardenia sender kept sending flowers to the author for 22 years. B) the author showed little interest in her graduation prom C) after the author's father died, Mother bought her a dress to the prom D) Mother care how her child felt and gave her the ability to see beauty even in the face of adversity
D
(Question)
It was my first day of high school, and I was late. My next class, Spanish, scared me. I just could not speak that language. As the bell rang, I ran to the classroom. At the door, a hand reached out and shook mine firmly. I looked up. A man with large glasses smiled. He introduced himself as Profe, which means teacher in Spanish. Right away, his warm smile and welcoming words eased my fears. That year, I enjoyed his classes a great deal because I learned more than just Spanish. I admit I only speak a little Spanish. But I try to live out the life lessons I learned from Profe. Every day Profe stood outside his classroom before and after class to give his "hand hug". After school his room was always filled with students and he would talk to and chat with them--even those not in his class. He taught me that every person is worth your time. One time, I was rejected by my friends, Profe told me, "Linda, life gives you ashes. But learning its lessons will turn those ashes to jewels." Therefore, I learned to look at my troubles differently and not to fear any difficulty. In my senior year, I became president of one of the school's clubs, so I was very busy. Many times I didn't even have time to buy lunch. He served me by giving me his food as well as advice. He lived out what he taught us to do: serve others. The author William Arther Ward wrote: "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." Thank you , Profe, for inspiring me. What would be the best title for the passage? A) Learning Spanish B) A great teacher C) My first day of high school D) Teaching method
(Answer)
B
Ques: 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 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... 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
Ans:
A