“You speak very good English”

The other day I heard an American say to a Chinese student of English. “You  41  very good English.” But the student answered, “ No, my English is very poor.” The foreigner was quite

  42  at the answer. Thinking he had not made himself  43  or the student had not heard him clearly, he said, “Yes, indeed, you speak it very well.” But the Chinese student still  44  saying  “No”.  45  the foreigner gave up and didn’t know what to say.

What’s wrong with the student’s answer? It is because he didn’t accept a compliment as the American people  46  . He should have said “Thank you” instead of “No”. He actually understood what the American had said. But he thought he should be modest. If someone says to a woman, “ You look  47  beautiful with the new clothes  48  .” she should be very happy and answer, “Thank you.” In our country we think  49  modest is a virtue and showing off is a bad behavior. But in the West, if you are modest and say, “ No,   50  I can’t do it well,” then the others will take it for granted (理所当然)that you  51  can not do it. If you often say,“No”, you will certainly be looked down upon by  52  . When  53  for a job, if one says something like “Yes, I can certainly do it” instead of “ Let me have a try on the job”, he or she can expect to get it. So in the West, one should always be confident.  54  self-confidence, he can’t go anywhere. Confidence is of great  55  to one in a country where competition is quite keen.(激烈)

1.A. say     B. talk        C. speak    D. tell

2.A. surprising  B. surprised       C. laughed         D. laughing

3.A. understood        B. understand   C. to understand        D. understanding

4.A. keep  B. keeping         C. keeps    D. kept

5.A. At first        B. By the way    C. In the end     D. First of all

6.A. did     B. done     C. to do     D. do

7.A. such  B. such a   C. so D. so a

8.A. for     B. on          C. in  D. into

9.A. being B. be          C. having   D. have

10.A. I’m afraid B. I’m not sure  C. I don’t mind  D. I don’t know

11.A. hardly      B. really    C. badly     D. luckily

12.A. another   B. other    C. the other       D. others

13.A. asking       B. ask         C. provide          D. providing

14.A. With         B. Without         C. by D. under

15.A. importantly      B. unimportant C. important      D. importance

In America, seldom do you go anywhere without hearing a principle called WIN-WIN. It sounds strange to me at first because throughout my childhood, I have always been taught to try everything possible to win an upper-hand, rather than to help other people win. However, as time goes by, I have gradually understood the essence (真谛) of WIN-WIN principle—it is the way of winning on both sides.
When I was little, I used to play Chinese checkers (跳棋) which includes two basic tactics (战术): One is to create paths for yourself; the other is to prevent your rival﹙对手﹚ moving. Players may use these two totally different ways in the game, but the key for the player to win is to continuously create paths for him even if his rival may take advantage of it. Finally he can always reach the goal a few steps ahead of the other player.
In the 1990s, a strategy﹙战略﹚ called WIN-WIN became widespread in the western world. Its aim is to achieve your success while giving other people some advantages, so there is no real loser. One example of using the WIN-WIN principle is the voluntary system in the US. Most Americans support the spirit of voluntary contribution. In the US, schools and children organizations usually encourage and support kids to take part in community activities so that the voluntary spirit can be enrooted in their minds from childhood.
In China, it’s quite usual that some people are too selfish and never take people’s interests into consideration, while someone who really has courage to do something for the public is often called “foolish” or “silly”. Actually helping other people can be of great delight for the helper, for he can also learn something useful for his life such as sympathy, care, devotion, etc. So only if you take other people’s interests into consideration , you can make sure to win what you want.
【小题1】The purpose of the author in writing the passage is _______.

  “I don’t like my parents.They always tell me this should be done and that should not be done.It sometimes makes me __51__.”said Zhang Hua,a middle school student in Guangzhou.Do you have the same problem?Why does it __52__ that some parents are not so friendly in their children’s eyes?

 Your parents __53__everything about you,from the time you were born.They do a lot for you,__54__ something would make you angry,because they care about you and worry about you.They tell you the __55__ of making friends.They ask you to concentrate on your lessons __56__ computer games.They also worry about how much sleep you get and tell you it’s bad for your health to __57__.They want you to grow up healthily and happily.

So how can you make things easier on yourself? It’s easier than you think. Just make your parents __58__ what you’re doing. Call them if you stay somewhere else later than usual. Say sorry to them when you make __59__ .Talk about your ideas with them. They may talk about theirs with you.

Someday when you become a parent, you may be able to know __60__ to get on with your children.

51.  A.happy       B.sorry                C. angry       D.excited

52.  A. taste       B. smell        C. sound       D. seem

53.  A. read about   B.worry about   C. tell about    D. look for

54.  A since        B. so           C.though      D.or

55.  A. trouble      B. difference    C.importance   D. opportunity

56.  A. besides      B. with        C.except       D. instead of

57.  A.give up      B.end up       C.look up      D.stay up

58.  A. see         B.know        C. hear        D. feel

59.  A. success     B. faces         C.friends      D. mistakes

60.  A. what       B. which        C. how        D. where