E
An old sea captain was often seen opening a small locked box, and looking inside. The crew’s curiosity grew and, on the day he retired, they rushed to cut the lock. There they found a sheet of paper that read, “Left—port(左舷). Right--- starboard(右舷).”
Are you afraid to make a mistake? If you made mistakes recently, maybe you need to hear about Roy Riegels.
The story is told about Roy and the 1929 Rose Bowl championship football game between Georgia Tech and the university of California. Shortly before halftime, Roy Riegels made a huge mistake. He got the ball for California and somehow became confused and started running in the wrong direction! One of his teammates tackled(抢断) him after he had run 656 yards, just before he would have scored for the opposing team. Of course, Georgia Tech gained a distinct(明显的) advantage through the error.
After the first half was over, Riegels sat in a corner, put his face in his hands and wept.
Coach Nibbs Price struggled with what to do with Roy. He finally looked at the team and said simply, “Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second.”
All the players except Roy went to the field. Though the coach looked back and called to him again, he remained seated in the corner. Coach Price went to him and said, “Roy, didn’t you hear me?”
“Coach,” he said, “I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you; I’ve ruined the school; I’ve ruined myself.”
But the coach Price put his hand on Riegels’ shoulder and said,” Roy, get up and go on back; the game is only half over.”
Roy Riegels went back and those Tech men will tell you that they have never seen a man play football as well as Roy Riegels played that second half.
The next time you make a mistake, it might be good to remember the ABC method.
A—Acknowledge(admit) your error and accept responsibility for it. Don’t try to fix the blame on other people or circumstances(客观环境). When you fix the blame, you never fix the problem.
B—Be gentle with yourself. The game is only half over. This is not the first mistake you ever made, nor will it be the last. You are still a good and caring person. Besides, later you may laugh at the mistake, so try to lighten up a bit now.
C—Correct it and move on. Correcting mistakes may also mean to amends(弥补过错），if necessary.
Now, go make your mistakes. And if you practice the ABC method, you’ll live to laugh about many of them.
67. The old captain kept a sheet of paper to_____.
A. give his men a lesson
B. arouse his crew’s curiosity
C. prove he was a good captain
D. tell “port” and “starboard” apart
68. From the passage we learn Coach Price______.
A. insisted on replacing Roy
B. decided to punish Roy after the match
C. criticized Roy for his serious mistake
D. encouraged Roy to finish the match
69. How was Riegels’ performance in the second half?
A. Very disappointing B. Rather excellent C. Fairly ordinary D. Quite bad
70. The ABC method_____.
A. advised you to try to forget mistakes
B. helps you deal with mistakes
C. helps find out the causes of mistakes
D. advised you to be strict with yourself.