The death of Steve Jobs provides a chance to take some lessons from his amazing life. Steve Jobs had a passion (激情) for education. He may be gone, but we still have a chance to learn from his courage and innovation (革新).

Making Mistakes

I think that the main reason why we can’t find proper ways to improve the education system that no longer serves us well is simply fear. Fear of failure. Fear of getting it wrong. Teachers fear that innovation could endanger their jobs. Steve had the attitude we need in education right now. “Sometimes when you create something, you make mistakes. It is best to admit (承认) them and get on with improving your other innovations.” That’s the kind of spirit that we need to have. 

Motivation (动机) Matters

We’ve concentrated (专注于) so much on results that we don’t always reward good motivations. But these things are very important. In our schools, we’ve cared so much about test results that we’ve lost creativity. We don’t reward students for their hard work, and we punish failure. As a result, we lost imagination and found no motivation to try something that has a chance of ending in failure. 

What Defines (定义) Failure?

The company that Steve Jobs started in 1985 after being forced out of Apple shows us how technology could influence educational innovation. In 1985 he started NeXT. The company was providing computers for educational purposes. NeXT wasn’t really financially (经济上) successful. But it may have been ahead of its time. Today, we see what the technology brings into the classroom.  

Changing Our Model

The company sold around 50,000 computers. But that would be missing the point. It was a NeXTcube workstation that encouraged the first web server. It helped in the development of early Internet technology. Truly, Steve Jobs has taught us that results are not the most important things in life.

54. The article tells us making mistakes       .

A. is always something very bad

B. will help us become better people

C. is a part of making something new

D. will keep us from reaching our dreams

55. We may lose our creativity and imagination if we       .

A. make a lot of mistakes

B. fail to have a right model

C. can’t be financially successful

D. concentrate too much on results

56. Steve Jobs might agree that       .

A. a good motivation can lead to a successful result

B. we shouldn’t be afraid of failure and it can lead to success

C. making money is the only way to judge success

D. having a passion is the most important thing for success

57. According to the article, which word can best describe Steve Jobs’ spirit?

A. Passion.                 B. Motivation.             C. Innovation.          D. Creativity.