E
We might be surprised at the progress made in every field of study, but the methods of testing a person’s knowledge and ability remain as primitive as ever they were. It really is extraordinary that after all these years, educationists have still failed to design anything more efficient and reliable than examinations. For the claim that examinations test what you know, it is common knowledge that they more often do the exact opposite. They may be a good means of testing memory, or the knack(窍门) of working rapidly under extreme pressure, but they can tell you nothing about a person’s true ability and attitude.
As anxiety-makers, examinations are second to none. That is because so much depends on them. They are the marks of success or failure in our society. Your whole future may be decided in one fateful day. It doesn’t matter that you weren’t feeling very well, or that your mother died. Little things like that don’t count: the exam goes on. No one can give his best when he is in mortal terror, or after a sleepless night, yet this is precisely what the examination system expects him to do. The moment a child begins school, he enters a world of various competitions where success and failure are clearly defined and measured. Can we wonder at the increasing number of ‘drop-outs’: young people who are written off as failures before they have even started a career? Can we be surprised at the suicide rate among students?
A good education should, among other things, train you to think for yourself. The examination system does anything but that. What has to be learnt is rigidly laid down by a syllabus(教学大纲), so the student is encouraged to memorize. Examinations do not motivate a student to read widely, but to restrict his reading; they do not enable him to seek more and more knowledge, but induce cramming. They lower the standards of teaching, for they deprive(剥夺) the teacher of all freedoms. Teachers themselves are often judged by examination results and instead of teaching their subjects, they are reduced to training their students in exam techniques. The most successful candidates are not always the best educated; they are the best trained in the technique of working under pressure.
The results on which so much depends are often nothing more than a subjective assessment by some anonymous examiner. Examiners are only human. They get tired and hungry; they make mistakes. Yet they have to mark piles of hastily scrawled (潦草的)
scripts in a limited amount of time. They work under the same sort of pressure as the candidates. And their word carries weight. After a judge’s decision you have the right of appeal, but not after an examiner’s. There must surely be many simpler and more effective ways of assessing a person’s true abilities.
56.The main idea of this passage is _______.
A. examinations produce a harmful influence on education
B. examinations are ineffective
C. examinations are important to students’ development
D. examinations are a burden on students
57.The author’s attitude toward examinations is _______.
A. supportive       B. neutral          C. critical         D. indifferent
58.The fate of students is decided by _______.
A. education        B. examiners       C. examinations    D. students themselves
59.According to the author, the most important of a good education is _______.
A. to encourage students to read widely        B. to train students to think on their own
C. to teach students how to deal with exams        D. to master his fate
60.What does the author mean by saying “After a judge’s decision you have the right of appeal, but not after an examiner’s”(Para 4, Line 6) ?
A. Judges are not important.
B. The examiner has the final say concerning the result of the examination.
C. Prisoners are more powerful than students.
D. The court decisions are often inaccurate.

The students at Sandy's high school were badly shaken by the news that a classmate had __36  himself．The suicide note read: “It’s hard to  37  when nobody cares.”
Glen, a teacher, realized this was a  38  moment about the importance of making people feel _39 ． He asked his class to imagine they were about to  _40  and to write a note "telling someone how and why you _ 41 him or her."
Sandy, who had a   42_  relationship with her mother, decided to write her  _43  . Her letter read: "We've had some  44_ times and I haven't always been a very good _ 45  , but I know I'm lucky to have you in my life． You're the _ 46_ person I've ever known．And even when I disagree with you, I never _ 47 _you love me and want what's best for me．Thanks for not   48  up me.”
When her mom read the note, she cried and hugged Sandy   49 but said little．
The next morning, Sandy found a  50 on her mirror:  "Dearest Sandy,  I want you to know being your mother is, by far, the most important thing in my life． 51_ I got your note , I thought I had lost your love and  52 .  I felt like such a failure．I intended to  53 it all last night．Your note saved my  54 .”
Be careful not to underestimate(低估) the  55 of expressed appreciation. It won't always save a life, but it will always make someone's life better．

It’s a nightmare for Huazhong University of Science and Technology （HUST）: within a week，two students committed suicide by jumping off dorm buildings．对于整个华中科技大学来说，这简直就是场噩梦：一周之内，两名学生在宿舍跳楼自杀。

Officials from the university are reluctant to give interviews．校方官员们不愿接受采访。

“We had a hard time calming down students who were shocked at the suicides,” said Zhang Jingyuan，one official of HUST．

“Media coverage may arouse some students’ negative emotions again．Suicide can be contagious,” Zhang said．他说，“媒体的报道将会再次引发学生的消极情绪，自杀是会传染的。”

The university reacted promptly to the first suicide on October 23．对于今年10月23号发生的第一起自杀事件，华中科技大学迅速做出应急措施。

Advisors and class leaders conducted dorm-to-dorm checks to find students suffering depression．Then psychologists offered one-on-one counseling to them．辅导员和班长们走访了每个宿舍，找出遭遇抑郁的学生。然后，心理咨询师会为这些学生提供一对一的心理咨询。

Notice boards publicizing tips for identifying peers’ mental problems and offering help were set up in front of dorm buildings．Leaflets carrying similar information were handed out to each dorm．宿舍楼前竖起一些布告栏，为同学们普及关于如何发现身边人遭遇心理问题并提供帮助的小贴士。印有类似内容的小册子也被分发给每个寝室。

However，the second suicide came seven days later．然而，七天后，第二起自杀事件发生了。

Both students were described as men of few words．Their schoolmates didn’t see anything to indicate suicide．据周围人描述，这两名学生都很少言寡语。他们的同学都没有觉察到任何自杀前的征兆。

Zhang revealed that the two students had been bothered by mental disorders．But the school didn’t know this until the students’ close friends outside school and their parents unveiled the truth after the suicides．章劲元透露，这两名学生曾经饱受心理疾病的困扰。但是学校对此并不知情，他们校外的好友和家长也是在自杀事件发生后才说出实情。

According to Zhang，there are only three full-time counselors working in the university’s counseling center for its 60,000 students．He complained: “It’s unrealistic to rely only on counselors to detect students’ mental problems．”据章劲元说，全校共有六万名学生，但学校的心理咨询中心只有三位全职心理咨询师。他抱怨说：“仅仅依靠心理咨询师来察觉学生的心理问题，这是不现实的。”

Effective prevention comes from long-term education for life instead of temporary intervention to meet an emergency，said Hu Yi’an．Hu delivers a course of lectures on life and death at Guangzhou University．He worries that universities have paid little attention to education for life．有效的预防来自于长期的生命教育，而并非遭遇紧急状况时的临时干预，胡毅安（音译）说。他在广州大学教授以生命和死亡为主题的课程。他为各大高校给予生命教育的关注少之又少而担忧。

“Education for life helps students respect and love life so they won’t resort to ending their lives when they have difficulties,” said Hu．“生命教育可以帮助学生尊重、热爱生命，这样一来，当他们遇到困难的时候就不会选择结束生命了,” 胡毅安说。

According to Hu，the principles can be incorporated into everyday teaching．胡毅安还表示，这些观念可以融入到日常教学中去。

Hu is also concerned that some universities are conveying discriminatory message that will hold back students from seeking help．胡老师也很担心一些大学传递出带有歧视性的信息会使得学生们不愿去寻求帮助。

When HUST conducted the dorm-to-dorm examination，students with poor academic performance were paid special attention．In March，Peking University also released a controversial policy，which required teachers to have a chat with students “with biased thinking”．当华中科技大学校方挨个宿舍进行走访时，学习成绩较差的学生也被给予了特别关照。三月份，北京大学也推行了一项备受争议的政策，该新规要求教师们要找那些学生中的“激进分子”谈话。

However，Hu suggested that students step out of their comfort zone to seek real-life communication．

1.The underlined word “reluctant” in paragraph 2 probably means “       ”．

2.Which measure the university took to the first suicide is incorrect?

3.Which of the following is right according to the text?

4.What’s the main idea of the passage?

It’s a nightmare for Huazhong University of Science and Technology （HUST）: within a week，two students committed suicide by jumping off dorm buildings．对于整个华中科技大学来说，这简直就是场噩梦：一周之内，两名学生在宿舍跳楼自杀。
Officials from the university are reluctant to give interviews．校方官员们不愿接受采访。
“We had a hard time calming down students who were shocked at the suicides,” said Zhang Jingyuan，one official of HUST．
“Media coverage may arouse some students’ negative emotions again．Suicide can be contagious,” Zhang said．他说，“媒体的报道将会再次引发学生的消极情绪，自杀是会传染的。”
The university reacted promptly to the first suicide on October 23．对于今年10月23号发生的第一起自杀事件，华中科技大学迅速做出应急措施。
Advisors and class leaders conducted dorm-to-dorm checks to find students suffering depression．Then psychologists offered one-on-one counseling to them．辅导员和班长们走访了每个宿舍，找出遭遇抑郁的学生。然后，心理咨询师会为这些学生提供一对一的心理咨询。
Notice boards publicizing tips for identifying peers’ mental problems and offering help were set up in front of dorm buildings．Leaflets carrying similar information were handed out to each dorm．宿舍楼前竖起一些布告栏，为同学们普及关于如何发现身边人遭遇心理问题并提供帮助的小贴士。印有类似内容的小册子也被分发给每个寝室。
However，the second suicide came seven days later．然而，七天后，第二起自杀事件发生了。
Both students were described as men of few words．Their schoolmates didn’t see anything to indicate suicide．据周围人描述，这两名学生都很少言寡语。他们的同学都没有觉察到任何自杀前的征兆。
Zhang revealed that the two students had been bothered by mental disorders．But the school didn’t know this until the students’ close friends outside school and their parents unveiled the truth after the suicides．章劲元透露，这两名学生曾经饱受心理疾病的困扰。但是学校对此并不知情，他们校外的好友和家长也是在自杀事件发生后才说出实情。
According to Zhang，there are only three full-time counselors working in the university’s counseling center for its 60,000 students．He complained: “It’s unrealistic to rely only on counselors to detect students’ mental problems．”据章劲元说，全校共有六万名学生，但学校的心理咨询中心只有三位全职心理咨询师。他抱怨说：“仅仅依靠心理咨询师来察觉学生的心理问题，这是不现实的。”
Effective prevention comes from long-term education for life instead of temporary intervention to meet an emergency，said Hu Yi’an．Hu delivers a course of lectures on life and death at Guangzhou University．He worries that universities have paid little attention to education for life．有效的预防来自于长期的生命教育，而并非遭遇紧急状况时的临时干预，胡毅安（音译）说。他在广州大学教授以生命和死亡为主题的课程。他为各大高校给予生命教育的关注少之又少而担忧。
“Education for life helps students respect and love life so they won’t resort to ending their lives when they have difficulties,” said Hu．“生命教育可以帮助学生尊重、热爱生命，这样一来，当他们遇到困难的时候就不会选择结束生命了,” 胡毅安说。
According to Hu，the principles can be incorporated into everyday teaching．胡毅安还表示，这些观念可以融入到日常教学中去。
Hu is also concerned that some universities are conveying discriminatory message that will hold back students from seeking help．胡老师也很担心一些大学传递出带有歧视性的信息会使得学生们不愿去寻求帮助。
When HUST conducted the dorm-to-dorm examination，students with poor academic performance were paid special attention．In March，Peking University also released a controversial policy，which required teachers to have a chat with students “with biased thinking”．当华中科技大学校方挨个宿舍进行走访时，学习成绩较差的学生也被给予了特别关照。三月份，北京大学也推行了一项备受争议的政策，该新规要求教师们要找那些学生中的“激进分子”谈话。
However，Hu suggested that students step out of their comfort zone to seek real-life communication．
【小题1】The underlined word “reluctant” in paragraph 2 probably means “       ”．

The students at Sandy’s high school were badly shaken by the news that a classmate had  36 himself. The suicide note read: “It’s hard to  37 when nobody cares if you die.”

Glen, a teacher, realized this was a  38 moment about the importance of making people feel

39 . He asked his class to imagine they were about to  40  and to write a note “telling someone how and why you  41 him or her.”

Sandy, who had a  42  relationship with her mother, decided to write her  43 . Her letter read: “We’ve had some  44 times and I haven’t always been a very good 45 ,but I know I’m lucky to have you in my life. You’re the  46 person I’ve ever known, And even when I disagree with you, I never  47 you love me and want what’s best for me. Thanks for not  48 up on me”.

When her mom read the note, she cried and hugged Sandy  49 but said little.

The next morning, Sandy found a  50  on her mirror: “Dearest Sandy, I want you to know being your mother is ,by far, the most important thing in my life.  51 I got your note, I thought I had lost your love and  52 . I felt like such a failure. I intended to  53 it all last night. Your note saved my  54 .”

Be careful not to underestimate the  55 of expressed appreciation. It won’t always save a life, but it will always make someone’s life better.

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