Question

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. "

1. What will happen to students praised for being smart in face of choosing tasks compared to students praised for working hard?

A. He will ask his teachers for advice.

B. He will hide his mistakes from his teachers.

C. He will work harder to avoid mistakes.

D. He will choose a less challenging task.

2.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.

3. What does the last paragraph want to tell us?

A. One must follow a correct path to avoid mistakes.

B. To become an Einstein, you should make mistakes.

C. Making mistakes is not a disadvantage in a way.

D. You can't make mistakes unless you try new things.

4. What's the main idea of the passage?

A. We can never avoid making mistakes when we work.

B. Success can't be achieved without making mistakes.

C. Try every means to avoid mistakes in our daily life.

D. Mistakes should be treated with a correct attitude.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：本文讲述了错误对我们成长的积极作用，并列举了相关的实验和例子，并建议我们应该用积极地态度对待错误。

1.D 细节理解题。从文中第二段第一句可知“对在测试中取得较好成绩的学生做实验，给他们一个较难的任务和一个较简单的任务，被表扬聪明的同学更倾向于选择简单的任务。”可知答案为D。

2.A 推理判断题。此选项过于绝对，文中说错误可以帮我们找到自身的不足然后加以提高这样才会学到东西，而不是犯越多的错，学的越多。故答案为A。

3.C 主旨大意题。从最后一段可知，我们犯错误是因为我们努力尝试新的东西，所以从某种意义上说犯错误是有积极作用的。故答案为C。

4.D主旨大意题。从文章大意可知本文讲述了错误对于我们成长的积极作用，以及我们应该用积极的态度对待错误。

【名师点睛】

主旨大意题主要考查学生对所读材料(或所读材料片断)中心思想的概括。做这类题时，考生应通读全文，把握文章大意或中心思想，同时注意文章的主题句，因为主题句表达中心思想，其他句子均围绕主题句进行展开。主题句通常位于文章第一段首句、第一段末句或全文末句等地方，但位于段落中间(通常是第一段或最后一段的中间)也是完全可能的。同时，主题词关键词也是非常重要的，有时候可以直接看出答案。主旨大意题的考查形式很多，如概括标题、主题、段意、中心思想等。

【考点】议论文阅读。