Writing：
A statement goes that “only through mistakes can there be discovery or progress”. To what degree do you agree with this statement? Write an essay of about 400 words.
In the first part of your essay you should state clearly your main argument, and in the second part you should support your argument with appropriate details. In the last part you should bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or make a summary.
You should supply an appropriate title for your essay.
Marks will be awarded for content, organization, grammar and appropriateness. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
Sample
Failure Teaches Success
Paul Ehrlich, a chemist, discovered a drug to treat those afflicted with syphilis(梅毒). It was named "Formula 606," because the first 605 tests were mistakes. The lesson we can draw from this story is clear and simple: discovery or progress is born in mistakes.
Making mistakes is a valuable learning experience. A now famous story at IBM involved founder Thomas Watson and one of his vice presidents who took the initiative on the development of a new product. As reported in Fortune, the product was a risky venture that ended up a colossal failure and cost the company $10 million. Watson called the executive into his office saying there was something he wanted to discuss with him. Sure he was about to lose his job; the young man blurted out, "I guess you want my resignation?" Watson replied, "You must be kidding. We've just spent $10 million educating you." Watson's logic is this: anyone making a multi-million-dollar mistake had to learn something that would help him do a better job the next time.
Furthermore, making mistakes gives one an opportunity to try a new approach. China's progress in the past decades is a case in point. After Liberation in 1949, China, under the leadership of Chairman Mao, gradually built up a nationwide state-run economy. This mode of economy was originally intended to ensure both stable economic development and social justice. Unfortunately, what it resulted in was economic stagnation and lasting poverty. Recognizing this fatal mistake in Mao's economic policy, Deng Xiaoping took a new approach—a gradual but dramatic reform. He first introduced some elements of market economy, hoping to juxtapose planned economy and market economy. This approach worked for some years, but then proved ineffective. Finally, after a series of trials and errors, he decided that market economy was China's only choice. Due to this strategic turning, China's economy has now embarked upon a stable and dynamic course. Although Mao's mistakes caused Chinese people painful sacrifice, we are lucky that we have learned our lessons and now we are marching on the road of prosperity.
Admittedly, mistakes will not automatically lead to discovery or progress. We must analyze every failure to find its cause; we must honestly face defeat and never fake success; we must exploit the failure, we must never use failure as an excuse for not trying again. In a word, we must learn how to fail intelligently.
As a saying goes, to err is human. To this I would add: To learn from errors is progress.
暂无解析
California is a land of variety and contrast. Almost every type of physical land feature ， sort of arctic ice fields and tropical jungles can be found within its borders. Sharply contrasting types of land often lie very close to one another. People living in Bakersfield ， for instance，can visit the Pacific Ocean and the coastal plain ， the fertile San Joaquin Valley ， the arid Mojave Desert ， and the high Sierra Nevada， all within a radius of about 100 miles. In other areas it is possible to go snow skiing in the morning and surfing in the evening of the same day ， without having to travel long distance. Contrast abounds in California. The highest point in the United States (outside Alaska ) is in California ， and so is the lowest point (including Alaska )。 Mount Whitney ， 14，494 feet above sea level，is separated from Death Valley ， 282 feet below sea level，by a distance of only 100 miles. The two areas have a difference in altitude of almost three miles. California has deep ， clear mountain lakes like Lake Tahoe ， the deepest in the country， but it also has shallow， salty desert lakes. It has Lake Tulainyo ， 12，020 feet above sea level， and the lowest lake in the country ， the Salton Sea， 236 feet below sea level. Some of its lakes ， like Owens Lake in Death Valley ， are not lakes at all： they are dried up lake beds. In addition to mountains ，lakes， valleys，deserts， and plateaus，California has its Pacific coastline， stretching longer than the coastlines of Oregon and Washington combined.
1. Which of the following is the lowest point in the United States?
A. Lake Tulainyo B. Mojave desert C. Death Valley D. The Salton Sea
2. Where is the highest point in the United States located ?
A. Lake Tahoe.
B. Sierra Nevada. C. Mount Whitney.
D. Alaska.
3. How far away is Death Valley from Mount Whitney?
A. About 3 miles.
D. 14，494 feet.
4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as being within a radius ofabout 100 miles of Bakersfield ?
A. The Pacific Ocean.
B. San Joaquin Valley.
C. Mojave Desert.
D. Oregon andWashington.
5. Which statement best demonstrates that California is a land of variety and contrast ?
A. The highest lake in California is Lake Tulainyo.
B. It is possible to go surfing and snow skiing in some parts of California without having totravel long distance.
C. Sierra Nevada， San Joaquin Valley， Mojave Desert and the Pacific Ocean all lie withina radius of about 100 miles.
D. Owens Lake ， in Death Valley ， is not really a lake at all.
I am ____grateful for the many kindnesses you have shown my son.
The car is _____ expensive _____ he can’t buy it.
Roger Rosenblatt ’s book Black Fiction,in attemptingto apply literaryratherthansociopolitical criteria to its subject, successfully alters the approach taken by mostprevious studies. As Rosenblatt notes, criticism of Black writing has often served as apretextfor expounding on Black history.Addison Gayle’s recent work, for example, judgesthe value of Black fiction by overtly political standards, rating each work according tothe notions of Black identity which it propounds.Although fictionassuredly springs from politicalcircumstances ，its authors react tothose circumstances in ways other than ideological, and talking about novels and storiesprimarilyas instrumentsof ideologycircumvents much of the fictional enterprise.Rosenblatt ’s literaryanalysisdisclosesaffinitiesand connections among works of Blackfiction which solely political studies have overlooked or ignored. Writing acceptable criticism ofBlack fiction, however, presupposes giving satisfactory answers to a number of questions.First of all, is there a sufficient reason, other than the facial identity of the authors, to group together works by Black authorsSecond, how does Black fiction make itself distinct from other modern fiction with which it islargely contemporaneous Rosenblatt shows that Black fiction constitutes a distinct bodyof writingthat has an identifiable， coherent literarytradition.Looking at novels writtenby Black over the last eighty years, he discovers recurringconcerns and designs independentof chronology. These structures are thematic, and they spring, not surprisingly, from thecentralfact that the Black charactersin these novels exist in a predominantlywhite culture,whether they try to conform to that culture or rebel against it.Black Fictiondoes leave some aestheticquestions open. Rosenblatt ’s thematic analysispermits considerable objectivity; he even explicitly states that it is not his intentionto judge the merit of the various works D yet his reluctance seems misplaced, especiallysince an attempt to appraise might have led to interesting results. For instance, some ofthe novels appear to be structurallydiffuse.Is this a defect,or are the authors workingout of, or trying to forge, a different kind of aesthetic In addition, the style of someBlack novels, like JeanToomey’s Cane, verges on expressionism or surrealism; does thistechnique provide a counterpointto the prevalenttheme that portrays the fate against whichBlack heroes are pitted,a theme usuallyconveyed by more naturalisticmodes of expressionIn spite of such omissions, what Rosenblatt does include in his discussion makes foran astute and worthwhile study. Black Fiction surveys a wide variety of novels, bringingto our attention in the process some fascinating and little-known works like James WeldonJohnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. Its argument is tightly constructed, andits forthright, lucid style exemplifies levelheaded and penetrating criticism.
1. The author of the text is primarily concerned with __________.
[A] Evaluating the soundness of a work of criticism.[B] Comparing various critical approaches to a subject.
[C] Discussing the limitations of a particular kind of criticism.
[D] Summarizing the major points made in a work of criticism.
2. The author of the text believes that Black Fiction would have been improved hadRosenblatt __________.
[A] Evaluated more carefully the ideological andhistoricalaspects of Black fiction.
[B] Attempted to be more objective in his approach to novels and stories by Blackauthors.
[C] Explorein greaterdetailthe recurrentthematicconcerns of Black fictionthroughout its history.
[D] Assessed the relative literary merit of the novels he analyzes thematically.
3.author ’s discussion of Black Fiction can be best described as __________.
[A] Pedantic and contentious.
[B] Critical but admiring.
[C] Ironic and deprecating.
[D] Argumentative but unfocused.author of the text employs all of the following in the discussion ofRosenblatt ’s
4.book EXCEPT： __________.
[A] Rhetorical questions.
[B] Specific examples.
[C] Comparison and contrast.
[D] Definition of terms.
5. The author of the text refers to James WeldonJohnson’s Autobiography of anEx-Colored Man most probably in order to __________.
[A] point out affinitiesbetween Rosenblatt ’s method of thematic analysis and earliercriticism.
[B] Clarify the point about expressionistic style made earlier in the passage.
[C] Qualify the assessment ofRosenblatt ’s book made in the first paragraph of thepassage.
[D] give a specific example of one of the accomplishments ofRosenblatt ’s work.