Anne Battle's "Do We Over-educate Our Children" reminded me that the German author Gunter Grass once said that failing his school leaving exams was a blessing （福气） without which he would never have achieved the position he now holds． I wonder how many other great men and women owe their success to having failed in their academic careers．

I was a college student in the 1960s the time when it was believed that the future wealth of the country depended on the education of the young: money was plentiful, new universities sprang up and great myths evolved to attract young people into the academic life．

Three years later, I got a first-class degree in mathematics． For some months there had been pressure to try for a further degree-the more post-graduate students there are, the mere financial benefits exist for us． My fellow postgraduates and I knew nothing of the outside world, and happily believed that academic life for another three years would uplift us in the eyes of future employers: and so I went to London and began work for a doctor's degree．

Here, for the first time, I came across  "mature students" -people who had left school at 16 and, years later, taken A-levels at technical colleges and come to university． Having chosen their subject with great care, and being more mature, they found a joy in their courses unknown to most of us．

I have been working now for several years: life has been very different from what I had been led to expect． However, it is too late Lo change: the state of understanding will not pay to reeducate people  completely． As I think back, I regret that I did not fail my A-levels．

47．What can we infer from Gunter Grass' words?

       A． He's ashamed of failing school leaving exams．

       B． He's satisfied with his present position．

       C． He's regarded as a great man.

       D． He's achieved a lot in career.

48．When the author was at college in the 1960s, the youth             .

       A． were linked up with the society

       B． were attracted by school

      C． were hopeless about life

       D． were quite wealthy

49．What makes the author feel regretful?

       A． Post-graduate students increased fast．

       B． She had had a hard time in academic life．

       C． The reality was different from what expected．

       D． She missed being a "mature student" in academe．

50．Which agrees with the author's idea?

       A． The society couldn't provide enough jobs for the youth

       B． Universities have done a lot for the society today．

       C． The youth shouldn't be at school for so long．

    D． Many great persons failed exams at school．

It is commonly believed among many Chinese that Westerners who take “Yes’，and “No” by their facial expressions are more straightforward than Chinese. Normally Westerners don * t have to adopt Chinese ways like sweeping the floor or constantly checking the clock to indicate to a guest that it’ s time to leave. They don’ t have to hesitate in saying “No” when they are not able to, or don’ t want to, offer help to a friend in need. There is no embarrassment attached to this behavior. But it is too simple to conclude that Westerners are more direct speakers than the Chinese.

There are many occasions when the way Westerners express themselves makes Chinese look more straightforward and honest. When I was a fresh international student，the director of our program once asked students in an e-mail what we thought about a young professor. I simply said ’ “She seems to know a lot but doesn* t know how to teach. ” And the director replied with “Thank you for being honest. ”

Only years later when I better understood the new culture，I realized why I had gone too far. If that question were asked now，the reply would have three paragraphs devoted to the qualities of the professor before the last line came out — ” There are some gaps in her teaching method. ” Still tough, but at least it wouldn't be considered rude.

Indeed, the reserved social norms and the deeply - rooted “face issue" make honest speaking risky in China ； Americans have their own ways of being polite. This results partly from political correctness. It also results from several generations of people who have been told they have done well even when they have failed. It may not be unfair to suggest that many Americans are oversensitive and obsessed with a perfect self image.

So，the next time you hear about indirect Chinese，it would be worth challenging the source and pointing out that the cultural comparisons are much more complex. But maybe you should do it in a roundabout way，to be polite.

1.The passage mainly aims to    •

A.  tell us something about culture distinctions

B.  remind us of the conflicts between cultures

C.  ask us to take positive attitudes to Chinese cultures

D.  keep us informed of the various communications

2.According to the passage, the young professor lacked  .

A.  confidence in her job

B.  teaching experience

C.  interaction with her students

m D. responsibility for her students

3.  The underlined words “obsessed with" (para.4) probably means   .

A. satisfied with   B. proud of C. addicted to  D. stuck in

4.  It can be inferred from the passage that    .

A.  the writer has a good knowledge of American culture

B.  Americans are much more straightforward than Chinese

C.  the new professor was very angry with the writer' s comments

D.  different culture backgrounds make cultures comparison complicated

It is too early in the _____ to expect many visitors to the city.

　 A. time 　 B. hour    C. season 　 D. term

Last year, my mom found out that she had stomach cancer. I thought she’d be fine after she got 　36 as she was diagnosed(诊断)early. She had an operation to 37 a third of her stomach to stop the cancer from spreading. And for two months she went back and forth to the 　38 . But I never visited her because I was 　39 with school abroad and didn’t fully know what was 　40 . After her treatment, she 　41 working because of her poor health and ate a(n) 　42 diet. I visited her in the summer holiday. She seemed better, so I forgot that there was a possibility of cancer 　43 .

　When school 　44 , I said goodbye to my family. My mom called me from home every day. 　45 in early November, my dad called instead. He sounded 46 .

　 “What’s wrong? How come Mom’s not calling me today?” I asked. After a few seconds, he said my mom’s cancer had returned and spread throughout her 　47 . Her survival rate was less than 30%.

　 After I put down the phone, I 　48 . Tears kept coming out. I didn’t want to 　49 it. I couldn’t accept the 　50 that my mom might not have much time left. I cried and cried and at last, I stopped crying. I thought I should stop acting like a 　51 and pull myself together.

　 Looking back to when my mom first got cancer, I 　52 how stupid I was for not appreciating her. I feel bad that I didn’t visit her in the hospital. I should have cared. She’s my mom. 　53 , it’s not too late. She recovered. I’ll try to spend more time with my mom 　54 . I hope you will do the same for your mom. Spend some time with your loved ones 　55 it is too late.

36. A. medicine　　　　　　 B. attention　　　　　 C. care　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. treatment

37. A. remove　　　　　　　 B. rescue　　　　　　　 C. check　　　　　　　 D. protect

38. A. school　　　　　　　 B. house　　　　　　　 C. hospital　　　　　　　　　 D. office

39. A. content　　　　　　　 B. careful　　　　　　　　　　 C. popular　　　　　　　　　 D. busy

40. A. going up　　　　　　 B. going on　　　　　 C. taking on　　　　　 D. showing up

41. A. continued　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. hated

C. considered　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. stopped

42. A. special　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. delicious

C. normal　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. interesting

43. A. changing　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. returning

C. destroying　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. appearing

44. A. ended　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. required

C. responded　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. started

45. A. Since　　　　　　　　 B. Although　　　　　 C. But　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. So

46. A. bored　　　　　　　　 B. sad　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. excited　　　　　　　　　　 D. angry

47. A. back　　　　　　　　　 B. skin　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. body　　　　　　　　 D. head

48. A. went through　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. looked down

C. broke up　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. broke down

49. A. say　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. answer　　　　　　　　　　 C. believe　　　　　　　　　　 D. remember

50. A. report　　　　　　　　 B. fact　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. message　　　　　 D. lie

51. A. stranger　　　　　　　　　　 B. doctor　　　　　　　 C. man　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. child

52. A. realize　　　　　　　　 B. pretend　　　　　　　　　　 C. imagine　　　　　　　　　 D. ask

53. A. Luckily　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Unfortunately

C. Surprisingly　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Strangely

54. A. in the past　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. from now on

C. at times　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. in the future

55. A. if　　　　　　　　　　　 B. as　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. before　　　　　　　 D. when

    Every year more people recognize that it is wrong to kill wildlife for “sport.” Progress in this direction is slow because shooting is not a sport for watching, and only those few who take part realize the cruelty and destruction.

   The number of gunners, however, grows rapidly. Children too young to develop proper judgments through independent thought are led along way away by their gunning parents. They are subjected to advertisements of gun producers who describe shooting as good for their health and gun carrying as a way of putting redder blood in the veins （血管）. They are persuaded by gunner magazines with stories honoring the chase and the kill. In school they view motion pictures which are supposedly meant to teach them how to deal with arms safely but which are actually designed to stimulate （刺激） a desire to own a gun. Wildlife is disappearing because of shooting and because of the loss of wild land habitat （栖息地）. Habitat loss will continue with our increasing population, but can we slow the loss of wildlife caused by shooting? There doesn't seem to be any chance if the serious condition of our birds is not improved.

     Wildlife belongs to everyone and not to the gunners alone. Although most people do not shoot, they seem to forgive shooting for sport because they know little or nothing about it. The only answer, then, is to bring the truth about sport shooting to the great majority of people.

     Now, it is time to realize that animals have the same right to life as we do and that there is nothing fair or right about a person with a gun shooting the harmless and beautiful creatures. The gunners like to describe what they do as character-building, but we know that to wound an animal and watch it go through the agony of dying can make nobody happy. If, as they would have you believe, gun-carrying and killing improve human-character, then perhaps we should encourage war.

72. According to the text, most people do not seem to be against hunting because___________.

       A. they have little knowledge of it               B. it helps to build human character

       C. it is too costly to stop killing wildlife   D. they want to keep wildlife under control

73. The underlined word "agony" in the last paragraph probably means______________.

      A. form               B. Condition        C. pain         D. sadness

74. According to the text, the films children watch at school actually__________.

      A. teach them how to deal with guns safely        B. praise hunting as character-building

     C. describe hunting as an exercise            D. encourage them to have guns of their own                                                                                                                                          75. It can be inferred from the text that the author seems to_____________.

       A. blame the majority of people        B. worry about the existence of wildlife

       C. be in favour of war               D. be in support of character-building