Some fifty years ago , I was studying in a middle school in New York . One day , Mrs. O’Neil gave a maths test to our class . When the papers were marked , she found that twelve boys had made exactly the same mistakes in the test .
There is nothing new about cheating in exams . Perhaps that was why Mrs. O’Neil didn’t even say one word about it . She only asked the twelve boys to stay after class . I was one of the twelve .
Mrs. O’Neil asked no questions , and she didn’t scold us , either . Instead , she wrote the following words on the blackboard : On your way home you find some money and you’re completely sure that you will never be found out . Later someone comes to ask you if you have found some money he lost . What will you do ?
She then ordered us to write down the question , and asked us to take our whole lives to try to find out our own answer to it .
I don’t know about the other eleven children . Speaking for myself I can say : it was the most important single thing of my life. From then on , I have been asking this question to myself when I have to make a decision .
Because of this , Mrs . O’Neil has become the most unforgettable teacher for me in my whole life . I often think of this : if Mrs . O’Neil had scolded us as many other teachers often did , would I go on cheating every day ?

1. 1.

   Who wrote this story ?

   1. A.
      A student in New York who is not interested in maths
   2. B.
      Mrs. O’Neil from New York who found some money on her way home
   3. C.
      An old maths teacher in a middle school
   4. D.
      An old person who once lived in New York when he was young
2. 2.

   When did the story happen?

   1. A.
      Over sixty years ago
   2. B.
      Over fifty years ago
   3. C.
      Over seventy years ago
   4. D.
      Over eighty years ago
3. 3.

   In the sentence “…she didn’t scold us either” , what does “scold” maybe mean ?

   1. A.
      表扬
   2. B.
      批评
   3. C.
      教育
   4. D.
      原谅
4. 4.

   When Mrs. O’Neil found twelve boys made exactly the same mistakes in the test , she                      

   1. A.
      became very , very angry and shouted at the children for an hour
   2. B.
      thought maybe she made some mistakes in her teaching
   3. C.
      tried to find out who made the mistakes first
   4. D.
      wanted to teach the twelve boys to stop cheating
5. 5.

   Why did the writer think Mrs. O’Neil unforgettable ?

   1. A.
      Because Mrs. O’Neil often gave her student maths tests
   2. B.
      Because Mrs. O’Neil taught maths very well
   3. C.
      Because Mrs. O’Neil loved her students as she loved her own children
   4. D.
      Because Mrs. O’Neil taught a very important lesson to the writer

How would you like to study at an American university in China?

36  the news that New York University (NYU) is opening a campus on Chinese mainland, the possibility of getting an American education is coming closer to a 37    .

But how will Chinese students deal with a very different style of teaching? 38    that encourages debate, discussion and critical thinking?

You know how kids constantly ask questions? They have so much to learn and simply 39  

information. Asking questions 40____ they are curious.

   So 41____ does that natural 42    become weaker? Not at kindergarten, nor at primary school. But perhaps with puberty(青春期) 43    self-consciousness and a reluctance to draw attention to yourself by asking the teacher questions.

  44   , that’s a pity, because asking your teachers questions should be encouraged. After all, they’ve been educated, 45    a lot more experience than you and perhaps possess a little wisdom.

  When I taught journalism at college in Scotland I 46    answering students’ questions. Some of them asked difficult ones. I didn’t always know the answers. If I didn’t, I’d admit47   and try to find out later.

  At university we were encouraged to challenge our peers and tutors. A student would prepare a paper on a subject and other students would 48       it. It was a way of 49____  critical and logical thinking.

  You can learn to think logically, 50   some of the more difficult problems would probably require advanced math. Having a logical mind    can help develop critical thinking.

  My wife doesn’t have a logical mind, but she does have emotional intelligence. An ability to empathize(有同感) with people, relate to them and 51    their personalities is also important to critical thinking.

   I can’t claim to have 52    like her emotional intelligence, but I’d like to think some of it has influenced me. If you can’t 53     try to put yourself in someone else’s 54    , how can you understand their situation and their problems?

   So try to develop your powers of critical thinking. 55    books, films, music and newspapers. And don’t believe everything you read or see. Think for yourself.