《2025年情景导学高中英语选择性必修第四册外研版》

I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be a kind of fairy tale resolution. I had no idea then how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.
So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant stripping away the inessentials. I stopped pretending that I was anything other than what I was, and began to put all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded in anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged to. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.
You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failures in life are inevitable (不可避免的). It is impossible to live without failing in something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all — in which case, you fail by default.
Failure gave me an inner sense of security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learnt in no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had imagined; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above the price of rubies (红宝石).
阅读完以上段落,让我们一起来讨论以下问题吧!
1. What does the author try to show us through this passage?
2. Did you ever encounter any failure that had a critical influence on your life? What have you learnt from it?

答案： 1. The author tries to show us the benefits of failure and its positive impact on personal growth and life reconstruction.
2. Yes, I once failed in a high school English speech contest. I felt very disappointed at first, but this failure made me realize my weaknesses in public speaking and taught me to practice harder and face setbacks with a positive attitude. I also learned that the process of trying is more important than the result.