Unit 2 Mistakes to Success

Spilt Milk

① Have you heard of the story about split milk? (1)Well, we all know there is no use crying over split milk. But this story is different. I would hope all parents would respond in this manner.

② I recently heard a story about a famous research scientist(研究科學家，高級研究員) who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. (2)He was interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asked him why he was so much more creative than the average person; what set him so far apart from others?

③ He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he was about two years old. (3)He had been trying to riove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor - a veritable sea of milk!

④ When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said,quot; (4)Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?quot;

⑤ Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said，quot;You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you prefer?quot; he chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilt milk.

⑥ His mother then said, quot;You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let#39;s go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it.quot; (5)The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson! (承上總結句)

⑦ (6)The renowned scientist riarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn#39;t need to be afraid to make mistakes. (7)Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment quot;doesn#39;t work,quot; we usually learn something valuable from it.

⑧ (8)Wouldn#39;t it be great if all parents would respond the way Robert#39;s mother responded to him?

本文重點及難點：

1. Well, we all know there is no use crying over split milk.

There / It is no use crying over spilt milk. 覆水難收。

2. He was interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asked him why he was so much more creative than the average person; what set him so far apart from others?

(1) who asked why hellip; from others定語從句，修飾先行詞a newspaper reporter。

(2) why he was so much more creative than the average person和what set him so far apart from others都是ask的直接賓語。

(3) the average person 普通人

(4) set him so far apart from others 使他特別有別于他人，使他和別人有很大不同。far在這里是副詞，加強程度。

注意區分：so far迄今為止，到目前為止。相當于by now, up to now, as yet。

So far he has mastered five foreign languages.

3. He had been trying to riove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor - a veritable sea of milk! 他試圖從冰箱里取出一瓶牛奶，卻沒有抓住光滑的瓶子，瓶子掉了，牛奶灑得廚房滿地都是--白花花的一片。

4. Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! 感嘆句。

注意what和how的區別：

What a slower walker he is!

How slowly he is walking!

5. The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it.

(1) graspthe bottle at the top

v.+sb./sth.+介詞+the +身體部位/衣服

(2) without dropping it作狀語。再如：

Tom left without saying good-bye.

He ran out (without) saying a good.

6. The renowned scientist riarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn#39;t need to be afraid to make mistakes.

賓語從句是強調結構it washellip;thathellip;。注意區分強調結構和it作形式主語或普通代詞的結構。例如：

It was in this park that they first met each other.

It was this park where/in which they first met each other.

It is important that we learn a foreign language well.

7. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. 相反，他認識到錯誤正是學習新東西的機會，畢竟任何科學實驗都是如 此。

8. Wouldn#39;t it be great if all parents would respond the way Robert#39;s mother responded to him?

該句是個反問句，相當于語氣很強烈的肯定句。

(1) the way Robert#39;s mother responded to him作狀語，相當于in the way hellip;。再如：

He learned money was not everything the hard way.

(2) the way sb. does/did sth.某人做某事的方式

I like the way she dresses herself.

People don#39;t the way he talks.

III. 部分練習講解

P128 Bridging the Gap

Directions: Fill in the blanks with a word or a phrase that best completes the passage. You may choose a suitable one from the list given.

解題方法：把詞分類

動詞 　　名詞 　　形容詞　　　副詞 　　　介詞 　　　連詞

fear 　　fear 　unavoidable 　wisely 　　without 　so that

reach 　success 　　　　　　　　　　　　 under 　 as long as

reach 　　　　　　　　　　　　 　between

Lots of people don#39;t dare to make mistakes. They 1 fearthat they will be ridiculed or blamed by others. They fear that they will lose their money and belongings or be 2 undera lot of stress. But risks are 3 unavoidableand they do pave the way you must tread(踩，踏) upon towards 4 succcess. Have you ever heard of someone who achieves success 5 withoutmaking any mistakes before?

So it is only natural that making mistakes in your effort to 6 reachyour dreams is considered a must, and you shouldn#39;t worry about that as you may get a lot of advantages out of your mistakes. By making mistakes at least you then can distinguish 7 betweenthe correct and the incorrect portions of what you did. Anthony D#39;Angelo said: quot;In order to succeed you must fail, 8 so thatyou know what to do the next timequot;, and Robert Louis Stevenson even went to the extreme as to say: quot;Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits(精神抖擻，情緒高昂).quot;

You needn#39;t worry about anything 9 as long asyou keep on going by 10 wiselylearning from your mistakes and trying even harder.