Passenger pigeons once flew over much of the United States in unbelievable numbers. Written accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries described flocks so large that they darkened the sky for hours. It was calculated that when its population reached its highest point, there were more than 3 billion passenger pigeons--a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the total bird population in the United States, making it perhaps the most abundant bird in the world. Even as late as 1870 when their numbers had already become smaller, a flock believed to be 1 mile wide and 320 miles (about 515 kilometers) long was seen near Cincinnati. Sadly, the abundance of passenger pigeons may have been their _ . Where the birds were most abundant, people believed there was an ever-lasting supply and killed them by the thousands. Commercial hunters attracted them to small clearings with grain, waited until pigeons had settled to feed, then threw large nets over them, taking hundreds at a time. The birds were shipped to large cities and sold in restaurants. By the closing decades of the 19th century, the hardwood forests where passenger pigeons nested had been damaged by Americans' need for wood, which scattered the flocks and forced the birds to go farther north, where cold temperatures and spring storms contributed to their decline. Soon the great flocks were gone, never to be seen again. In 1897, the state of Michigan passed a law prohibiting the killing of passenger pigeons, but by then, no sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10 years. The last confirmed wild pigeon in the United States was shot by a boy in Pike County, Ohio, in 1900. For a time, a few birds survived under human care. The last of them, known affectionately as Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden on September 1, 1914. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, passenger pigeons _ . A) were the largest bird population in the Us B) lived mainly in the south of America C) did great harm to the natural environment D) were the biggest bird in the world
A
(Question)
"Super Dan", as top-seeded Lin Dan of China is better known in the badminton world, had his Olympic dream come true after claiming the men's singles gold by beating Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia on August 17 in the Beijing Olympics. His father, Lin Jianbin, said "Super Dan"has waited for four years to get this championship and he felt very proud of his son, as well as his prospective daughter-in-law Xie Xingfang, who is also a badminton player and won silver in women's singles at the Beijing Games. An SMS: The beginning of a love story Lin was born in Shanghang County, Longyan in Fujian Province. He first met Xie Xingfang when he was 14-years-old. 16-year-old Xie was attending a national youth team badminton training camp in Jinjiang, Fujian and Lin was also there. Tall and beautiful, Xie became the Snow White in the heart of Lin Dan, and he tried to please her and get chances to chat with her after the training sessions. He did not go beyond that. Before the Spring Festival in 2004, Lin finally mustered(,) the courage and sent Xie Xingfang a text message - I LOVE YOU. In fact, Xie Xingfang had already realized Lin Dan was fond of her. And covertly , she began to pay attention to Lin's movement and performance on the court. "He is very interesting, got a lot of ideas, and is a lovely boy." Two Kisses In May 2004 at the Thomas Cup in Jakarta, their love relationship was first known to the public. Xie sat with her teammates and watched the men's team playing. When Lin Dan won the match, he rushed to the bench and kissed Xie, a move that Xie did not expect Lin to do in public. A photographer captured this moment. At the All England Open in 2007, Lin kissed her again in public, making Xie feel like the happiest woman in the world. After Lin won his third title at the Open, he did not stay to watch Xie play. Xie defeated her opponent and won the championship. When she was called to accept the trophy(,) , Lin suddenly emerged at the central venue, holding red roses and gave her the flowers, and a passionate... What did Lin Dan give Xie Xingfang as a gift for the Valentinge's Day in 2006? A) A Chanel perfume B) A Dior wallet C) An LV handbag D) A Tiffany ring
(Answer)
B
Ques: We live in a culture that sends out very mixed messages about mistakes: We're told we learn by making them, but we work hard to avoid them. So the result is that most of us know that we are going to make mistakes, but deep down, we feel we shouldn't. Experiments with schoolchildren who did well on a given test show that those who were praised for being smart and then offered a more challenging or less challenging task afterward usually chose the easier one. On the other hand, children praised for trying hard-- rather than being smart--far more often selected the more difficult task. If we try hard to avoid mistakes, we aren't open to getting the information we need in order to do better. In a writing study, experiments showed that those who are so scared to make mistakes perform worse in writing tasks than those who aren't as worried about being perfect. They fear receiving any kind of negative feedback, so they don't learn where they went wrong and how to get better. We don't just learn more when we're open to mistakes, we learn deeper. Research tells us that if we're only concerned about getting the right answer, we don't always learn the underlying concepts that help us truly understand whatever we're trying to figure out. Mistakes need to be seen not as a failure to learn, but as a guide to what still needs to be learned. As Thomas Edison said, "I am not discouraged, because every abandoned wrong attempt is another step forward." Furthermore, we often make mistakes because we try new things--we wander away from accepted paths. Teflon, penicillin--these are examples of great discoveries made by mistake. Take a page from Albert Einstein, who said, "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. " Which of the following statements is NOT acceptable according to the passage? A) The more mistakes we make, the more we learn. B) Mistakes can be used as a positive factor for success. C) Being open to mistakes help you understand the truth. D) A step forward may come from mistakes you've made.
Ans:
A