In 1974, after filling out fifty applications, going through four interviews, and winning one offer, I took what I could get ----- a teaching job at what I considered a distant wild area: western New Jersey. My characteristic optimism was alive only when I reminded myself that I would be doing what I had wanted to do since I was fourteen ------- teaching English.

School started, but I felt more and more as if I were in a foreign country. Was this rural area really New Jersey? My students took a week off when hunting season began. I was told they were also frequently absent in late October to help their fathers make hay on the farms. I was a young woman from New York City, who thought that “Make hay while the sun shines” just meant to have a good time.

But, still, I was teaching English. I worked hard, taking time off only to eat and sleep. And then there was my sixth-grade class ---- seventeen boys and five girls who were only six years younger than me. I had a problem long before I knew it. I was struggling in my work as a young idealistic teacher. I wanted to make literature come alive and to promote a love of the written word. The students wanted to throw spitballs and whisper dirty words in the back of the room.

In college I had been taught that a successful educator should ignore bad behavior. So I did, confident that, as the textbook had said, the bad behavior would disappear as I gave my students positive attention. It sounds reasonable, but the text evidently ignored the fact that humans, particularly teenagers, rarely seems reasonable. By the time my boss, who was also my taskmaster, known to be the strictest, most demanding, most quick to fire inexperienced teachers, came into the classroom to observe me, the students exhibited very little good behavior to praise.

My boss sat in the back of the room. The boys in the class were making animal noises, hitting each other while the girls filed their nails or read magazines. I just pretended it all wasn’t happening, and went on lecturing and tried to ask some inspiring questions. My boss, sitting in the back of the classroom, seemed to be growing bigger and bigger. After twenty minutes he left, silently. Visions of unemployment marched before my eyes.

I felt mildly victorious that I got through the rest of class without crying, but at my next free period I had to face him. I wondered if he would let me finish out the day. I walked to his office, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

He was sitting in his chair, and he looked at me long and hard. I said nothing. All I could think of was that I was not an English teacher; I had been lying to myself, pretending that everything was fine.

When he spoke, he said simply, without accusation, “You had nothing to say to them.”

“You had nothing to say to them”. he repeated.” No wonder they are bored. Why not get to the meat of literature and stop talking about symbolism. Talk with them, not at them. And more important, why do you ignore their bad behavior”? We talked. He named my problems and offered solutions. We role-played. He was the bad student, and I was the forceful, yet, warm, teacher

As the year progressed, we spent many hours discussing literature and ideas about human beings and their motivations. He helped me identify my weaknesses and strengths. In short, he made a teacher of me by teaching me the reality of Emerson’s words: “The secret to education lies in respecting the pupil.”

Fifteen years later I still drive that same winding road to the same school. Thanks to the help I received that difficult first year, the school is my home now.

1. It can be inferred from the story that in 1974 ________________.

A．the writer became an optimistic person

B．the writer was very happy about her new job

C．it was rather difficult to get a job in the USA

D．it was easy to get a teaching job in New Jersey

2.According to the passage, which of the following is most probably the writer’s problem as a new teacher?

A．She had blind trust in what she learnt at college.

B．She didn’t ask experienced teachers for advice.

C．She took too much time off to eat and sleep.

D．She didn’t like teaching English literature.

3.What is the writer’s biggest worry after her taskmaster’s observation of her class?

A．She might lose her teaching job.

B．She might lose her students’ respect.

C．She couldn’t teach the same class any more.

D．She couldn’t ignore her students’ bad behavior any more.

4.Which of the following gives the writer a sense of mild victory?

A．Her talk about symbolism sounded convincing.

B．Her students behaved a little better than usual.

C．She managed to finish the class without crying.

D．She was invited for a talk by her boss after class.

5.The students behaved badly in the writer’s classes because

A．They were eager to embarrass her.

B．She didn’t really understand them.

C．They didn’t regard her as a good teacher.

D．She didn’t have a good command of English.

6.The taskmaster’s attitude towards the writer after his observation of her class can be described as________________.

A．cruel but encouraging                    B．fierce but forgiving

C．sincere and supportive                   D．angry and aggressive

There are about fifteen hundred languages in the world．But  1  a few of them are very  2 ．English is one of these．Many, many people use it, not only in England and the USA, but in other parts of the world．About 200 million people speak it as their own language．It is difficult to say how many people are learning it as a  3  language．Millions of people are trying to do so.

Is  4  easy or difficult to learn English? Different people may have different  5 ．Have you ever  6  the ads of this kind in the newspapers or magazines?

“Learning English in six months, or your 7 back…”“Easy and funny? Our records and tapes  8  you master your English in a month． 9  your first day your  10  will be excellent．Just send…”Of course, it never  11  quite like this.

The only language that seems easy to learn is the mother tongue．We should  12  that we all learned our own language well when we were  13  ．If we could learn English in the same way, it would not seem so difficult．Imagine  14  a small child does．He listens to what people say．He tries what he hears．When he is using a language, talking in it, and  15  it all the time, just imagine how much  16  that gets.

So it is  17  to say that learning English is easy, because a good command （掌握； 精通）of English 18  upon a lot of practice．And practice needs great effort and  19  much time．Good teachers, records, tapes, books and dictionaries will work． 20 they cannot do the student’s work for him.

1．A．not               B．quite                C．only            D．very

2．A．difficult           B．important        C．necessary      D．easy

3．A．native             B．foreign          C．useful           D．mother

4．A．this               B．that             C．it             D．which

5．A．questions           B．problems         C．ideas          D．answers

6．A．found             B．watched                                        C．noticed          D．known

7．A．knowledge         B．time             C．money          D．English

8．A．make              B．help             C．let              D．allow

9．A．From              B．On              C．Since           D．After

10．A．spelling           B．grammar         C．English          D．pronunciation

11．A．happened         B．knew            C．seemed        D．felt

12．A．know            B．remember        C．understand       D．think

13．A．students          B．children          C．babies         D．grown-ups

14．A．what            B．which           C．who               D．whose

15．A．using            B．thinking          C．trying           D．practicing

16．A．time            B．money         C．language         D．practice

17．A．hard            B．easy           C．funny           D．silly

18．A．depends         B．tries           C．has             D．takes

19．A．uses            B．takes          C．gets             D．costs

20．A．And             B．But             C．So            D．So

　　完型填空

There are about fifteen hundred languages in the world.

　　But __1__ a few of them are very __2__. English is one of these. Many, many people use it, not only in England and the USA, but in other parts of the world. About 200 million people speak it as their own language. It is difficult to say how many people are learning it as a __3__ language. Many millions are __4__ to do so.

　　Is it easy or difficult to learn English? Different people may have different __5__. Have you ever __6__ the advertisements of this kind in the newspapers or magazines?

　　“Learn English in six months, or your __7__ back...”“Easy and funny. Our records and tapes __8__ you master your English in a month. __9__ the first day your __10__ will be excellent. Just send...”Of course, it never __11__ quite like this.

　　The only language that seems easy to learn is the mother tongue. We should __12__ that we all learned our own language well when we were __13__. If we could learn English in the same way, it would not seem so difficult. __14__ what a small child does. He listens to what people say. He tries what he hears. When he is using the language, talking in it, and __15__ in it all the time, just imagine how much __16__ that gets!

　　So it is __17__ to say that learning English is easy, because a good command of English __18__ upon a lot of practice. And practice needs great effort and __19__ much time. Good teachers, records, tapes, books, and dictionaries will __20__. But they cannot do the student's work for him.

　　完型填空

There are about fifteen hundred languages in the world.

　　But __1__ a few of them are very __2__. English is one of these. Many, many people use it, not only in England and the USA, but in other parts of the world. About 200 million people speak it as their own language. It is difficult to say how many people are learning it as a __3__ language. Many millions are __4__ to do so.

　　Is it easy or difficult to learn English? Different people may have different __5__. Have you ever __6__ the advertisements of this kind in the newspapers or magazines?

　　“Learn English in six months, or your __7__ back...”“Easy and funny. Our records and tapes __8__ you master your English in a month. __9__ the first day your __10__ will be excellent. Just send...”Of course, it never __11__ quite like this.

　　The only language that seems easy to learn is the mother tongue. We should __12__ that we all learned our own language well when we were __13__. If we could learn English in the same way, it would not seem so difficult. __14__ what a small child does. He listens to what people say. He tries what he hears. When he is using the language, talking in it, and __15__ in it all the time, just imagine how much __16__ that gets!

　　So it is __17__ to say that learning English is easy, because a good command of English __18__ upon a lot of practice. And practice needs great effort and __19__ much time. Good teachers, records, tapes, books, and dictionaries will __20__. But they cannot do the student's work for him.

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出适合填入对应空白处的最佳选项。并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。

There are about fifteen hundred languages in the world．But  1a few of them are very  2．English is one of these．Many, many people use it, not only in England and the USA, but in other parts of the world．About 200 million people speak it as their own language．It is difficult to say how many people are learning it as a  3language．Millions of people are trying to do so.

Is  4easy or difficult to learn English? Different people may have different  5．Have you ever  6the ads of this kind in the newspapers or magazines?

“Learning English in six months, or your  7back…”“Easy and funny? Our records and tapes  8you master your English in a month． 9your first day your  10will be excellent．Just send…”Of course, it never  11quite like this.

The only language that seems easy to learn is the mother tongue．We should  12that we all learned our own language well when we were  13．If we could learn English in the same way, it would not seem so difficult．Imagine  14a small child does．He listens to what people say．He tries what he hears．When he is using a language, talking in it, and  15it all the time, just imagine how much  16that gets.

So it is  17to say that learning English is easy, because a good command （掌握； 精通）of English  18upon a lot of practice．And practice needs great effort and  19much time．Good teachers, records, tapes, books and dictionaries will work． 20they cannot do the student’s work for him.

1.A．not                 B．quite                C．only            D．very

2.A．difficult              B．important        C．necessary       D．easy

3.A．native                B．foreign          C．useful           D．mother

4.A．this                  B．that             C．it              D．which

5.A．questions             B．problems         C．ideas           D．answers

6.A．found                B．watched                                        C．noticed          D．known

7.A．knowledge            B．time             C．money          D．English

8.A．make                 B．help             C．let              D．allow

9.A．From                B．On              C．Since           D．After

10.A．spelling             B．grammar         C．English          D．pronunciation

11.A．happened            B．knew            C．seemed        D．felt

12.A．know              B．remember        C．understand       D．think

13.A．students            B．children          C．babies          D．grown-ups

14.A．what               B．which           C．who               D．whose

15.A．using              B．thinking          C．trying           D．practicing

16.A．time               B．money         C．language         D．practice

17.A．hard               B．easy           C．funny           D．silly

18.A．depends            B．tries           C．has             D．takes

19.A．uses               B．takes          C．gets             D．costs

20.A．And               B．But             C．So             D．So