Being confident for me as a foreign instructor means calmly asking the student to repeat what he or she has said if I did not get it. Pretending to understand what you actually did not may just bring yourself embarrassment or even disgrace. But the time I most need to be confident is when my students come to my office and bargain about the grades I have given for their speeches. (The course I'm teaching here is Public speaking). Modesty is a trait highly valued in China, but it won't be of much help here if you want to survive and succeed in a good American graduate program.

1.
To compete with American students it's very important to .
1. A.
  be quite confident
2. B.
  be polite and friendly
3. C.
  have more discussions with them
4. D.
  understand what they think about
2.
A professor will have the worst opinion of a student who .
1. A.
  gives a silly or simple answer
2. B.
  tries to seize any chance to speak in class
3. C.
  shows no interest in the course
4. D.
  is considered to have no opinion of his own
3.
The author is most likely to feel embarrassed if .
1. A.
  he asks a student to repeat what he has said
2. B.
  the students bargain with him
3. C.
  he pretends to know what he doesn't
4. D.
  he has to give a speech
4.
We learn from the second paragraph that .
1. A.
  we should also remain modest in America
2. B.
  modesty doesn't help you much in America
3. C.
  Americans also like modest people
4. D.
  modesty can help you through an American graduate program
5.
What can we infer from the passage?
1. A.
  American students are ready to accept the grades from the teacher.
2. B.
  The writer teaches in Europe for a living.
3. C.
  Students are encouraged to present simple questions.
4. D.
  One’s ignorance will give away in time.