I waited until my Ph. D. committee had left the room to break down. I had just failed my dissertation proposal defense(学位论文容辩)— a poor start to my fourth year of grad school(研究生院). My committee members had told me that my experiments were too small-scale, my ideas not deep enough. I realize now that they were pushing me because they believed in me. But at that moment, all I could hear was the voice in my head telling me that I’d failed. For the next 4 months, I lacked focus at work. I no longer double-checked my experiments, and I had trouble finding the energy to even think about re-writing my proposal. Actually, the outcome of my proposal defense wasn’t the only cause of my slump. After some thought, it dawned on me that I had been putting undue pressure on myself throughout grad school. To believe I was making good progress, I needed external validation — an award, positive results, or praise from professors I respected. When I didn’t get those things at every opportunity, I felt I was not on the right track. When I didn’t pass the defense, the failure confirmed my self-doubts. Eventually, as my loss of confidence became a bigger problem, I knew that I had to do something about it. I decided that I needed to set healthier standards for myself. I did not have control over how much praise I received. The only thing I had control over, I realized, was the effort I put forth. I went into my second proposal defense with a much more positive mindset(思维模式)along with grander experiments in my proposal and passed. I’m pleased to report that my new approach has helped me regain confidence in myself — and my work — and I’m more productive as a result. I hope that I can help other students realize that external validation is not always guaranteed, and if they are doing their best, that is good enough. 24. What directly leads to the failure of the author’s first defense? A. Imperfection of his proposal. B. His negative mindset. C. The committee’s lack of confidence. D. The choice of his experiments. 25. What can we learn about the author from paragraph 3? A. He was under a lot of pressure from his parents. B. He made progress with the help of his professor. C. He used to overemphasize the recognition he got. D. Getting positive results helped him get over shyness. 26. Which word can best describe the author? A. Adaptable. B. Ambitious. C. Generous. D. Outgoing. 27. What does the text mainly tell us? A. We should spend more time reflecting. B. We should be thankful for our failures. C. We should focus more on our own effort. D. We should keep calm in the face of failure.
I waited until my Ph. D. committee had left the room to break down. I had just failed my dissertation proposal defense(学位论文容辩)— a poor start to my fourth year of grad school(研究生院). My committee members had told me that my experiments were too small-scale, my ideas not deep enough. I realize now that they were pushing me because they believed in me. But at that moment, all I could hear was the voice in my head telling me that I’d failed. <br>For the next 4 months, I lacked focus at work. I no longer double-checked my experiments, and I had trouble finding the energy to even think about re-writing my proposal. <br>Actually, the outcome of my proposal defense wasn’t the only cause of my slump. After some thought, it dawned on me that I had been putting undue pressure on myself throughout grad school. To believe I was making good progress, I needed external validation — an award, positive results, or praise from professors I respected. When I didn’t get those things at every opportunity, I felt I was not on the right track. When I didn’t pass the defense, the failure confirmed my self-doubts. Eventually, as my loss of confidence became a bigger problem, I knew that I had to do something about it. <br>I decided that I needed to set healthier standards for myself. I did not have control over how much praise I received. The only thing I had control over, I realized, was the effort I put forth. <br>I went into my second proposal defense with a much more positive mindset(思维模式)along with grander experiments in my proposal and passed. I’m pleased to report that my new approach has helped me regain confidence in myself — and my work — and I’m more productive as a result. I hope that I can help other students realize that external validation is not always guaranteed, and if they are doing their best, that is good enough. <br>24. What directly leads to the failure of the author’s first defense? <br>A. Imperfection of his proposal. <br>B. His negative mindset. <br>C. The committee’s lack of confidence. <br>D. The choice of his experiments. <br>25. What can we learn about the author from paragraph 3? <br>A. He was under a lot of pressure from his parents. <br>B. He made progress with the help of his professor. <br>C. He used to overemphasize the recognition he got. <br>D. Getting positive results helped him get over shyness. <br>26. Which word can best describe the author? <br>A. Adaptable. B. Ambitious. <br>C. Generous. D. Outgoing. <br>27. What does the text mainly tell us? <br>A. We should spend more time reflecting. <br>B. We should be thankful for our failures. <br>C. We should focus more on our own effort. <br>D. We should keep calm in the face of failure.
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