What is it about maths, anyway? Why is it that a 1 who would rather die than 2 they found reading difficult at school will happily say he is brain-dead when it 3 to numbers?
“I was 4 at maths at school,” they say. “still am. Can’t 5 up to save my life. My little girl takes after6. Thinks take-aways are something to do with fish and chips. Ha-ha!” Oh, how we all laugh.
But how many of us remember it being 7 at the time? How many of us remember the blind panic of the Monday morning maths test when the 8 we could hope for was a miracle(奇迹) to make the numbers we 9 without thinking as answers somehow 10 the questions?
On the face of it, today’s children can 11 be considered happier and more satisfied. They have a daily numeracy lesson 12 to improving their maths skills. But if that sounds like hell to you, you may 13 find that your child surprises you by actually quite 14 it.
One of the 15 is that over the last ten years or so, there has been a 16 in the way maths is taught. And many of those who teach it feel it’s been a 17 for the better. There’s generally much more emphasis now on 18 arithmetic, getting children used to doing calculations without forever having a pen in one hand and a calculator in the other. Often the first question a teacher will ask is: can you do this in your19? And if they can, they do.
The whole approach is more20, the goal to get children understanding numbers, not just putting them through the uninteresting process of learning something by repeating it until they remember it.

1. 1.
   1. A.
      teacher
   2. B.
      parent
   3. C.
      pupil
   4. D.
      teenager
2. 2.
   1. A.
      understand
   2. B.
      admit
   3. C.
      observe
   4. D.
      pretend
3. 3.
   1. A.
      add
   2. B.
      relate
   3. C.
      comes
   4. D.
      reject
4. 4.
   1. A.
      good
   2. B.
      expert
   3. C.
      special
   4. D.
      rubbish
5. 5.
   1. A.
      add
   2. B.
      make
   3. C.
      look
   4. D.
      pick
6. 6.
   1. A.
      stranger
   2. B.
      me
   3. C.
      herself
   4. D.
      somebody
7. 7.
   1. A.
      funny
   2. B.
      easy
   3. C.
      attractive
   4. D.
      remote
8. 8.
   1. A.
      worst
   2. B.
      prize
   3. C.
      best
   4. D.
      surprising
9. 9.
   1. A.
      missed
   2. B.
      lost
   3. C.
      found
   4. D.
      chose
10. 10.
    1. A.
       get
    2. B.
       foresee
    3. C.
       fit
    4. D.
       evaluate
11. 11.
    1. A.
       however
    2. B.
       frequently
    3. C.
       mostly
    4. D.
       hardly
12. 12.
    1. A.
       suggested
    2. B.
       devoted
    3. C.
       intended
    4. D.
       adapted
13. 13.
    1. A.
       well
    2. B.
       sometimes
    3. C.
       seldom
    4. D.
       extremely
14. 14.
    1. A.
       enjoying
    2. B.
       hating
    3. C.
       objecting
    4. D.
       mastering
15. 15.
    1. A.
       consequences
    2. B.
       reasons
    3. C.
       findings
    4. D.
       incidents
16. 16.
    1. A.
       mistake
    2. B.
       program
    3. C.
       policy
    4. D.
       revolution
17. 17.
    1. A.
       preparation
    2. B.
       reputation
    3. C.
       requirement
    4. D.
       change
18. 18.
    1. A.
       difficult
    2. B.
       general
    3. C.
       mental
    4. D.
       basic
19. 19.
    1. A.
       class
    2. B.
       head
    3. C.
       textbook
    4. D.
       own
20. 20.
    1. A.
       logical
    2. B.
       unbelievable
    3. C.
       direct
    4. D.
       conservative

A student went to college(大学) after 36__ all his school examinations. There he put his name down for world geography, 37_ after the first day, he did not go to 38_ any more. The teacher noticed that this student was 39_ absent (缺课) and thought that he had changed to 40 class. He was very 41_ when he saw the boy's name on the list(名单) of students 42_ wanted to take the geography examination 43_ the end of the year.

The teacher had prepared a difficult examination paper, which covered 44 he had taught, and he was eager(急切) to see 45 this student answered the questions. He expected that his answer would be very 46_; but when he examined his paper carefully, he found only one small mistake in them.47_ this surprised him very much, he went through the paper 48_, but was still not able to find 49 one mistake, so he sent 50 the student to question him about his work..

When the student had 51 the room, the teacher said to him, “I know that you came to my class only once on the first day and that you have been absent from all the others. Yet I have found only one small mistake in your paper. 52_ is that?”

“Oh, I'm sorry about that mistake, sir,”answered the student. “After the examination, I realized 53 I ought to have written. I would not have made that mistake 54 I had not been confused(弄糊涂) by your 55_ lecture.”

Have you ever tried to draw a straight line, only to find it turns out all wrong? Or, wanted to show   36  at a party but the song you’d practised so many times suddenly   37  more difficult?
I've had both these   38 .As a Senior 3 student, I have to   39  many exams. Each time I enter one thinking “I   40  fail this time.” , I get a low mark.
But don't be surprised --- it's not   41  we don't try, or do enough preparation, or take it   42 . On the contrary, it is because we put ourselves under too much   43 . It is thinking ‘I must…’ that makes us taste the terrible flavor of   44 .
We often   45  to our friends, “Don't be too hard   46  yourself!”. But when we   47  our own goals, we may not listen to our own advice.
In doing so, we are making our path to success increasingly difficult.
So why not   48  this crazy pursuit(追求) to get the best? Just face the problem   49  before you with a calm mind, enjoy the hard work and you will succeed.
In my opinion,   50  a calm state of mind is a skill for life. For people who want to succeed,   51  this is a very important lesson.
So   52  time when you're trying to draw a straight line or   53  a performance, tell yourself, “If I can just do it better than last time, it's a   54 . ”
Keep a calm state of mind, and you will be happy   55  you succeed or fail.