Promoting children’s self-esteem seems to be one of the aims of modern childcare
and education. It goes (1) __hand in hand_____ with a culture in which children
are (2) ___enthusiastically____praised for the most minor achievements. While
this promotion of self-esteem is, rightly, a reaction against (3) ___sterner____
times when children weren’t praised enough, it also seems to be (4) ___consequent
upon____ a fear of how failure will affect children: a fear that if they don’t succeed
at a task, they will somehow be damaged.
However, the opposite may well be true. Many scientists spend years experiencing
(5) __continual_____ failure in the lab until they make a breakthrough. They know
that ultimately this process advances scientific knowledge. (6) __In like
manner_____, children need to experience failure to learn and grow. If children
have been praised for everything they’ve done, regardless of how good it is, then
failure in adult life will be all the more painful.
Life is full of (7) __stumbling blocks_____ and there is no point in trying to
protect children from the disappointments that (8) ___hold in store for____ them.
Parents and educators shouldn’t be afraid of picking up on children’s mistakes, as
long as they also praise them when they do well. After all, the heroes children try
to (9) __emulate_____ the pop stars and footballers, have all reached the top (10)
__in the face of_____ruthless competition. Like them, children need to learn how
to cope with failure and turn it to their advantage.
8
A. put great store by
B. lie in wait for
C. hold in store for
D. wait up for
10
A. in the face of
B. in the teeth of
C. irrespective of
D. without regard to
The majority of lottery winners change their lives (1) __but_____ little, and continue on their
settled way happy ever after. A couple of years ago, Mr. David won a million. He had been
struggling to (2) ___make____ a success of his dry cleaning shop for the past 12 months. He
accepted his cheque in a small ceremony (3) __at_____ the premises at 2.30, and by three
o’clock he had reopened for business. The reaction of Mr. Pasquale Consalvo who won $30
million in the New York state lottery was very (4) ___similiar____. He was unhappy not to be
able to fulfill his desire to go to work as (5) __usual_____ on the day he won. He also said that if
the money made him (6) ___unhappy____ he would give it back. In fact, the chances of his life
being made a misery by his new-found wealth are almost (7) ____as___ slim though not quite as
the sixty million-to-one odds he beat to take a jackpot (8) __that_____ had remained unclaimed
through six previous draws. Gambling small amounts (9) __on_____ the lottery is a harmless if
futile hobby. (10) _However______, gambling can become an addition, increasingly so as the
activity becomes socially acceptable.
