That morning, I stepped into the classroom, ready to
share my knowledge and experience with seventy-five students who would be my
English Literature class. Having taught in for
seventeen years, I had no about
my ability to hold their attention and to impress
on them my for
the literature of my mother tongue.
As I entered the room, I was when the
monitor shouted: “Stand up!” The entire class rose, and I was somewhat about
how to get them to sit down again. Once that awkwardness was over, I quickly my
calmness and began what I thought was an informed lecture, sure to gain their
respect — perhaps their
admiration. I went back to my office with the rosy glow which came from a sense
of achievement.
I asked my students
to keep as homework. However, as I
read them, the rosy glow was gradually by
a strong sense of sadness. The first diary said, “Our literature teacher didn’t
teach us anything today. her
next lecture will be better.” Greatly surprised, I read diary after diary, each
expressing a theme. “Didn’t I teach them
anything? I described the entire philosophical framework of Western thought and
laid the historical for
all the works we’ll study in class,” I complained. “How they say I didn’t teach
them anything?”
It was a long term, and it became clear that my ideas
about were
not the same as those of my students.
I thought a teacher’s job was to raise questions
and provide enough background so that students could their own conclusions. My
students thought a teacher’s job was to provide information as directly
and clearly as possible. What a difference!
, I benefited a lot, for my experience with my Chinese
students has made me a American
teacher, knowing how to teach in a different culture.
1.A. England B. America C.
China D. Australia
2.A. worry B.
idea C. doubt D.
skill
3.A. profession B. admiration C. explanation D.
expression
4.A. attracted B. embarrassed C.
amused D.
shocked
5.A. puzzled B. sure C.
worried
D. curious
6.A. reminded B.
returned C. regained
D. recovered
7.A. more B. even C. yet D.
still
8.A. discussions B.
notes C. compositions D.
diaries
9.A. replaced B. frightened C.
troubled D. moved
10.A. Later B.
Perhaps C. Somehow D.
Indeed
11.A. common B.
strong C. similar
D. strange
12.A. happenings B. characters C.
development D. background
13.A. should B. need C.
will D.
must
14.A. immediately B. certainly C.
simply D. gradually
15.A. admiration B.
question C. education D.
conclusion
16.A. difficult B. interesting C.
essential D.
general
17.A. draw B.
find C. search D.
offer
18.A. special B.
standard C. exact D.
serious
19.A. Therefore B.
However C. Then D.
Though
20.A. richer B.
happier C. friendlier D.
better
