Small moments sometimes last a very long time. And a few words—though they mean    1   at the time to the people who say them—can have great power.

    I recently heard a story from Malcolm Dalkoff, who has been a professional   2 for the last twenty-four years, mostly in advertising.

    As a boy, Dalkoff was terribly shy and     3   . He had few friends and no self-confidence. Then one day, his high-school English teacher, Ruth Brauch, asked the class to write their own chapter that would    4     the last chapter of the novel since they had been reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Dalkoff wrote his chapter and turned it in. Today he cannot recall anything special about the chapter he wrote, or what    5   Mrs. Brauch gave him.   6    , what he does remember is the four words in the paper: “This is good writing.” Four words. They 7   his life.

    “Until I read those words, I had no idea of who I was or what I was or what I was going to be,” he said, “After reading her    8    ,I went home and wrote a short story,    9   I had always dreamed of doing but never believed I could do.”

     Over the rest of that year in school, he wrote many short stories and always brought them to Mrs. Brauch for instruction. “She was   10   , helping and honest. She was just what I needed,” Dalkoff said. 

1．A .much                                 B. little                      C. well                      D. ill

2．A. report                                                                B. designer                C. writer      D. teacher

3．A. weak                                 B. independent           C. troublesome          D. helpless

4．A. follow                               B. change                  C. connect                D. explain

5．A. help                                   B. encouragement      C. grade                    D. words

6．A. Therefore                          B. However               C. Meanwhile            D. Besides

7．A. improved                           B. developed              C. changed                D. enriched

8．A. chapter                              B. novel                    C. note                     D. explanation

9．A. everything                          B. something             C. nothing                 D. anything

10．A. encouraging                       B. careful                   C. strict                 D. effective

When I was in the third grade, I was picked to be the princess(公主）in the school play. For weeks my mother had helped me practice my lines. But once on stage, every word disappeared from my head. Then my teacher told me she had written a narrator's（解说者的）part for the play, and asked me to change roles. Though I didn't tell my mother what had happened that day, she sensed my unhappiness and asked if I wanted to take a walk in the yard. 
It was a lovely spring day. We could see dandelions(蒲公英）popping through the grass in bunches, as if a painter had touched our landscape with bits of gold. I watched my mother carelessly bend down by one of the bunches. "I think I am going to dig up all these weeds, "she said. "From now on, we'll have only roses in this garden. "
"But I like dandelions, "I protested. "All flowers are beautiful-even dandelions!"
My mother looked at me seriously. "Yes, every flower gives pleasure in its own way, doesn't it?" she asked thoughtfully. I nodded. "And that is true of people, too, " she added. 
When I realized that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry and told her the truth. 
　　“But you will be a beautiful narrator, ”she said, reminding me of how much I loved to read stories aloud to her. 
Over the next few weeks, with her continuous encouragement, I learned to take pride in the role. The big day finally came. A few minutes before the play, my teacher came over to me. “Your mother asked me to give this to you, ”she said, handing me a dandelion. After the play, I took home the flower, laughing that I was perhaps the only person who would keep such a weed. 
【小题1】The girl did not play the role of the princess mainly because . 

 (06·重庆A篇)

When I was in the third grade, I was picked to be the princess(公主)in the school play. For weeks my mother had helped me practice my lines. But once onstage, every word disappeared from my head. Then my teacher told me she had written a narrator’s(解说者的) part for the play, and asked me to change roles. Though I didn’t tell my mother what had happened that day, she sensed my unhappiness and asked if I wanted to take a walk in the yard.

It was a lovely spring day .We could see dandelions(蒲公英)popping through the grass in bunches, as if a painter had touched our landscape with bits of gold. I watched my mother carelessly bend down by one of the bunches. “I think I am going to dig up all these weeds,” she said. “From now on, we’ll have only roses in this garden.”

“But I like dandelions,” I protested. “All flowers are beautiful—even dandelions!”

My mother looked at me seriously. “ Yes, every flower gives pleasure in its own way, doesn’t it?” she asked thoughtfully. I nodded. “And that is true of people, too,” she added.

When I realized that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry and told her the truth.

 “But you will be a beautiful narrator,” she said, reminding me of how much I loved to read stories aloud to her.

Over the next few weeks, with her continuous encouragement, I learned to take pride in the role. The big day finally came. A few minutes before the play, my teacher came over to me. “Your mother asked me to give this to you,” she said, handing me a dandelion. After the play, I took home the flower, laughing that I was perhaps the only person who would keep such a weed.

56．The girl did not play the role of the princess mainly because                .

      A．she felt nervous on the stage

       B．she lost her interest in that role

       C．she preferred the role of the narrator

       D．she had difficulty memorizing her words

57．Why did the mother suggest a walk in the garden?

       A．To remove the dandelions

       B．To enjoy the garden scene.

       C．To have a talk with her daughter.

       D．To help her daughter with the play.

58．What is the main idea of the story?

       A．Everybody can find his or her own way to success.

       B．Everybody has his or her own value in the world.

       C．Everybody should learn to play different roles.

       D．Everybody has some unforgettable memory.

A new study done by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario （HEQCO） shows that it doesn't make much of a difference that parents reward their children with cash for their better marks.
Many parents have offered cash to their children in the hope that it would improve marks and possibly raise their children's interest in achieving higher marks．
The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Toronto （UT） and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology （MIT） to learn more about the potential for financial encouragement as motivation for improved marks, involved first and second year students receiving financial aid in 2008-2009 at the University of Toronto Scarborough．
The top students participating in the study who said they were "very concerned" about having enough money to complete their degrees were to receive $100 for getting a grade of 70 per cent for each one-semester course, plus $20 for every percentage point beyond that．It was imaginable that a student could earn as much as $700 for achieving 100 percent in a course．
Harvey Weingarten, president and CEO of HEQCO said, "In its efforts to help disadvantaged students by exploring the idea of paying them to attend school, the Toronto District School Board （TDSB） is asking the same question many other districts are asking about how to improve student participation and performance．Our study and others to date indicate that this practice has little effect if any in those situations where it has been tested．"
The authors of the study suggest that ineffective study habits may be a barrier to academic achievement and that the real problem may be more a lack of academic preparation than a lack of effort or motivation．They note that the availability of peer （同伴） advising does not appear to have helped greatly．They conclude that other potential avenues to improving performance, or other approaches of teaching, are needed at the high school and postsecondary levels．
【小题1】If a student gets a grade of 85% in a course, he will get _____．