Reading
Read the text and do the activities.
Failure: the first step towards success?
What is the meaning of success? Can we measure it? What about failure? For
some people, failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of it.
Rodrigo, Argentina: I’ve always loved Japanese comics, They’re called
Manga. That was the reason why I wanted to learn that language. So I took up
Japanese but I found it incredibly difficult and gave up after two years. I think
oriental languages, which have symbols instead of words, are extremely hard to
learn for people who ____(1). Besides, my teacher was a Japanese man who
didn’t speak Spanish very well. That didn’t help at all! He was a very charming
and patient man, but he was a bit disappointed with us, and you could see that
he thought that we ____ (2) learn. However, one day he invited us for lunch and
gave us some delicious traditional Japanese food, and since then, I often go to
Japanese restaurants. So I learnt to love the food, if not to speak the language!
Jim, Scotland: I’ve always wanted ____ (3) salsa, and when I was working in
Costa Rica there were free classes, so I joined. But the art of salsa is to keep
your arms still and move your hips, and I just couldn’t do it. When I hear music
my arms start moving, but my hips don’t. After about 12 hours of classes I ____
(4) the basic steps, but I was dancing like a robot! I didn’t give up, but soon
everyone in the class was dancing and I was just moving slowly from side to
side and counting out loud “one, two, three, four”. It was a bit embarrassing. I
was sure that one day I ____ (5) do it – but that never happened! I can still
remember the first two steps and I still try to dance when I hear a salsa tune –
as long as nobody is watching.
Lisa, Canada: I really wanted to learn how to scuba-dive. Maybe it was
because of the scene in one of the very first James Bond films, where a
beautiful actress comes out of the sea looking fabulous, with oxygen bottles on
her back- I could see myself looking just like her. So, three years ago, I booked
a holiday which included a week’s intensive course. On the first day of the
course I was incredibly excited. First we had two hours of theory, and then we
went into the sea to put it into practice. But as soon as I went into the water, I
discovered that I suffered from claustrophobia. I just ____ (6) it. After about half
an hour, I gave up. Every evening for the rest of my holidays I had to listen to
my scuba-diving classmates talking about all the wonderful things they had
seen that day on their diving excursions. Not ____ (7) join the conversation was
very frustrating. I still love swimming and snorkelling, but I think I have to accept
that I ___ (8) to scuba-dive.
As Jack Canfield said: “Don’t worry about failures. Worry about the chances you
miss when you don’t even try.”
Adapted from English File Intermediate 3rd ed, Student’s book Unit 4A
A- Read the text and fill in the blanks with the phrases below. There’s an
extra one.
a- to be able to dance
b- have never been able
c- was able to do
d- wasn’t able to do
e- will never be able
f- are more used to Roman letters
g- being able to
h- ’d suddenly be able to
i- would never be able to
B- Read the text again and find the word/expression that means...
1- (n) the fact that you have achieved something that you want and have been
trying to do or get ___________________
2- (n) magazines that tells stories through pictures _________________
3- (v) learnt or started to do something, especially for pleasure
_______________
4- (adv) extremely ___________________
5- (v) stopped trying to do something __________________
6- (adj) upset because something you hoped for has not happened or been as
good, successful, etc. as you expected _______________
7- (adj) not moving _________________
8- (adj) making you feel shy, uncomfortable or ashamed __________________
9- (n) a series of musical notes that are sung or played in a particular order to
form a piece of music ____________
10- (n) special breathing equipment consisting of a container of air which you
carry on your back and a tube through which you breathe the air
_______________
11- (adj) feeling or showing happiness and enthusiasm ____________
12- (adv) extremely good ________________
13- (n) a short journey made for pleasure, especially one that has been
organized for a group of people ____________________
14- (adj) causing you to feel annoyed and impatient because you cannot do or
achieve what you want _____________________
