In 1974, after filling out fifty applications, going through four interviews, and winning one offer, I look what I could get — a teaching job at what I considered a distant wild area: western New Jersey. My characteristic optimism was alive only when I reminded myself that I would be doing what I had wanted to do since I was fourteen 一 teaching English.

School started, but I felt more and more as if I were in a foreign country. Waa this rural area really New Jersey? My students a week off when hunting season began. I was told they were also frequently absent in late October to help their fathers make hay on the farms. I was a young woman from New York City, who thought that “Make hay while the sun shines” just meant to have a good time.

But, still, I was teaching English. I worked hard, taking lime off only to eat and sleep. And then there was my sixth-grade class 一 seventeen boys and five girls who were only six yean younger than me. I had a problem long before I knew it. I was struggling in my work as a young idealistic teacher. I wanted to make literature come alive and lo promote a love of the written word. The students wanted to throw spitballs and whisper dirty words in the back of the room.

In college I had been taught that a successful educator should ignore bad behavior. So I did, confident that, as the textbook had said, the bad behavior would disappear as I gave ray students positive attention. It sounds reasonable, but the text evidently ignored the fact that humans, particularly teenagers, rarely seem reasonable. By the time ray boss, who was also ray taskmaster known to be the strictest, most demanding, most quick to fire inexperienced teachers, came into the classroom to observe me, the students exhibited very little good behavior to praise.

My boss sat in the back of the room. The boys in the class were making animal noises, hitting each other while the girls filed their nails or read magazines. I just pretended it all wasn’t happening, and went on lecturing and tried to ask some inspiring questions. My boss, sitting in the back of the room, seemed to be growing bigger and bigger. After twenty minutes he left, silently. Visions of unemployment marched before my eyes.

I felt mildly victorious that I got through the rest of class without crying, but at my next free period I had to face him. I wondered if he would let me finish out the day. I walked to his office, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

He was sitting in his chair, and he looked at me long and hard. I said nothing. All I could think of was that I was not an English teacher; I had been lying to myself, pretending that everything was fine.

When he spoke, he said simply, without accusation, “You had nothing to say to them.”

“You had nothing to say to them," he repeated. “No wonder they’re bored. Why not get to the meal of the literature and stop talking about symbolism. Talk with them, not at them. And more important, why do you ignore their bad behavior?” We talked. He named ray problems and offered solutions. We role-played. He was the bad student, and I was the forceful, yet, warm, teacher.

As the year progressed, we spent many hours discussing literature and ideas about human beings and their motivations. He helped me identify my weaknesses and my strengths. In short, he made a teacher of me by teaching me the reality of Emerson's words: “The secret to education lies in respecting the pupil.”

Fifteen years later I still drive that same winding road to the same school. Thanks to the help I received that difficult first year, the school is my home now.

55. It can be inferred from the story that in 1974 ______.

A. the writer became an optimistic person

B. the writer was very happy about her new job

C. it was rather difficult to get a job in the USA

D. it was easy to get a teaching job in New Jersey

56. According to the passage, which of the following is most probably the writer’s problem as a new teacher?

A. She had blind trust in what she learnt at college.

B. She didn’t ask experienced teachers for advice.

C. She took too much time off to eat and sleep.

D. She didn’t like teaching English literature.

57. What is the writer’s biggest worry after her taskmaster's observation of her class?

A. She might lose her teaching job.

B. She might lose her students’ respect.

C. She couldn’t teach the same class any more.

D. She couldn’t ignore her students’ bad behavior any more.

58. Which of the following gives the writer a sense of mild victory?

A. Her talk about symbolism sounded convincing.

B. Her students behaved a little better than usual.

C. She managed to finish the class without crying.

D. She was invited for a talk by her boss after class.

59. The students behaved badly in the writer's classes because ______.

A. they were eager to embarrass her

B. she didn't really understand them

C. they didn't regard her as a good teacher

D. she didn’t have a good command of English

60. The taskmaster’s attitude towards the writer after his observation of her class can be best described as ______.

A. cruel but encouraging                        B. fierce but forgiving

C. sincere and supportive                       D. angry and aggressive

Having left the town, the girl stopped the car at the landing near the entrance of the bay. She stepped into the  __11__  and rowed out silently. The tide was rushing to the entrance and  __12__ to the wild open sea. She had to row across the bay to reach __13__  side. The waves struck against the side of the boat, __14__ and uneven; it became  __15__ difficult to row. If she __16__ for a moment, the tide would push the boat back towards the  __17__.
She wasn’t even halfway,  __18__ she was already tired and her hands  __19__  from pulling on the rough wooden oars (船桨). "I'm never going to  __20__  it”, she thought. She rested the oars on her knees and __21__ her head helplessly, then looked up as she __22__ the boat shift(晃动) against the tide.
The east wind , which had swung(旋转) around from the south-west, __23__ her help and pushed the boat towards the mountains. It was going to be  __24__. Her hands weren't so painful. Her chest didn’t feel as if it was about to burst __25__.
The lights of the town became __26__. one of the oars banged against the side of the boat and she __27__ it with a start. Had she been asleep, or just  __28__? She looked over her shoulder. She was almost on the beach. The girl gave one last __29__ on the oars to ground the boat, and then lay back against the seat. She listened to the waves  __30__ and knew she had come home. Far across the moonlit bay the lights were no more than a sparkling chain.

【小题1】
A.carB.boatC.shipD.mail
【小题2】
A.besideB.beforeC.behindD.beyond
【小题3】
A.anotherB.otherC.eitherD.the other
【小题4】
A.deepB.calmC.gentleD.rough
【小题5】
A.moreB.lessC.asD.least
【小题6】
A.sleptB.continuedC.restedD.rowed
【小题7】
A.homeB.mountainsC.south-westD.entrance
【小题8】
A.ifB.soC.butD.since
【小题9】
A.hurtB.ruinedC.troubledD.broke
【小题10】
A.getB.makeC.keepD.take
【小题11】
A.minedB.droppedC.cockedD.raised
【小题12】
A.sawB.madeC.heardD.felt
【小题13】
A.got toB.came toC.sent forD.reached for
【小题14】
A.difficultB.seriousC.all rightD.certain enough
【小题15】
A.any moreB.still moreC.no moreD.once more
【小题16】
A.brighterB.biggerC.closerD.smaller
【小题17】
A.destroyedB.threwC.repairedD.seized
【小题18】
A.dreamingB.guessingC.inventingD.expecting
【小题19】
A.blowB.hitC.pullD.strike
【小题20】
A.anxiouslyB.happilyC.sadlyD.carefully

Just recently I had been wondering if there was much point in doing little acts of kindness. So often they get   36 , and occasionally they come back to bite you!
Then, just last week, after a long travel, I found myself   37   at a bus station. The bus was four hours late! So, I guess I wasn’t in a good   38 .
That’s when a woman asked me if I had any spare   39   to help her get a bus ticket.
“Oh, sure,” I said sarcastically (挖苦地). “How much would you like?”
As I spoke, I mentally kicked myself for my  40   and reached into my bag for some money. As I handed her five dollars, I heard low sounds from her stomach because of real    41 .
I reached back into my bag and brought out a   42   I had bought earlier. I handed it to her with a(n)   43   that I hoped would make up for my earlier tone of voice. Getting a   44   look at her now, I realized she was extremely tired, like she had had several months of   45   days!
As she took the food, a look of   46   washed over her. In return, she tried to give me a Milwaukee bus ticket! I don’t live in Milwaukee and the ticket will probably   47   be used, but I took it.
A few minutes later she came back over, apologized, and told me she was still  48   of five dollars. I took some singles out of my bag and slipped a twenty in there as well.   49 , the voice in my head told me I was being a fool.
Five minutes later she came back again and tried to   50   my twenty. When I said it was for her so she could get something else to   51 , and that I was completely serious and I wasn’t taking it   52  , she started crying and hugged me.
From now on, when I wonder if it is   53   trying to help someone, I will remember that woman. Maybe I am really making a   54   for someone. So, sure, sometimes my efforts might not be noticed, and sometimes they might come back to bite me, but they might actually   55   another human being!

【小题1】
A.ignoredB.appreciatedC.acknowledgedD.forgiven
【小题2】
A.examined B.trappedC.confusedD.delayed
【小题3】
A.habitB.placeC.moodD.situation
【小题4】
A.change B.timeC.handD.energy
【小题5】
A.appearanceB.attitudeC.selfishness D.experience
【小题6】
A.painB.anxietyC.hungerD.fear
【小题7】
A.souvenirB.ticketC.giftD.cake
【小题8】
A.shoutB.smileC.apologyD.praise
【小题9】
A.quickB.gentleC.goodD.cold
【小题10】
A.darkB.toughC.mysteriousD.special
【小题11】
A.reliefB.regretC.doubtD.anger
【小题12】
A.onceB.often C.sometimes D.never
【小题13】
A.ashamedB.awareC.shortD.proud
【小题14】
A.EventuallyB.HoweverC.ThereforeD.Besides
【小题15】
A.return B.showC.shareD.earn
【小题16】
A.doB.tradeC.addD.eat
【小题17】
A.awayB.outC.backD.over
【小题18】
A.hardB.funC.uselessD.worth
【小题19】
A.differenceB.profitC.decisionD.suggestion
【小题20】
A.exciteB.helpC.educateD.inspire

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