In the United States, it is important to be on time , or punctual , for an appointment , a class, a meeting, etc. However, this may not be true in all countries. An American professor discovered the difference while teaching a class in a Brazilian（巴西的） university. The two-hour class was scheduled to begin at 10 A.M. and end at 12. On the first day , when the professor arrived on time, no one was in the classroom. Many students came after 10:30 A.M. Two students came after 11 A.M. Although all the students greeted the professor as they arrived, few apologized(道歉)for their lateness．Were these students being rude? He decided to study the students’ behavior.
The professor talked to American and Brazilian students about lateness in both an informal and a formal situation：at a lunch with a friend and in a university class, respectively．He gave them an example and asked them how they would react, If they had a lunch appointment with a friend，the average American student defined lateness as 19 minutes after the agreed time，On the other hand．the average Brazilian student felt the friend was late after 33 minutes．
In an American university, students are expected to arrive at the appointed hour．In contrast, in Brazil，neither the teacher nor the students always arrive at the appointed hour．Classes not only begin at the scheduled time in the United States，but also end at the scheduled time．In the Brazilian class, only a few students left the class at 12：00；many remained past 12：30 to discuss the class and ask more questions．While arriving late may not be very important in Brazil , neither is staying late．
36. The word‘punctual’most probably means________.
A．1eaving soon after class      B．coming early
C．arriving a few minutes late    D．being on time
37. Why did the professor study the Brazilian students’behavior?   
A．He felt puzzled at the students’ being late．  
B．He felt angry at the students' rudeness．
C．He wanted to make the students come on time later．
D．He wanted to collect data for one of his studies．
38.  It can be inferred from the professor’s study of lateness in the informal situation that____．
A．American students will become impatient if their friend is five minutes late
B．neither Brazilian nor American students like being late in social gatherings
C．being late in one culture may not be considered so in another culture
D．Brazilian students will not come thirty-three minutes after the agreed time
39.  From the last paragraph we know that in Brazil____.
A. it is important to arrive at the appointed time
B．it is rude to keep the professor staying after class
C．it is normal for students to leave during lectures
D．it is acceptable for professors to be late for class．  

There are also strange records, like the Englishman who        a small car       159.6 kilogrammes         for thirty three seconds!

The idea of sailing west to reach the riches of the East Indies and the Asian mainland was much in fashion with cultured Europeans during the late fifteenth century. Learned people agreed that the earth was round: their only questions were how long and how dangerous would be a trip to reach the Orient. Christopher Columbus, the son of an unknown weaver, and himself a weaver of ambitious dreams, made his historic voyage to the New World in 1492. He didn't go to school very much, but be learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin. Sailing with a tiny fleet of three ships, the Santa Maria and two smaller ships, the Pinta and the Nina and a crew of ninety sailors, be found the thirty-three-day crossing easier than his nearly-decade-long effort to find royal sponsors willing to support it. The trip drew not only on his own skills as an expert ship's captain, but also on his ability to plan such an expedition, obtain governmental approval and financing, and finally, demonstrate its success so that such explorations could continue. He tried for years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money. Finally they agreed, but he made more demands. He wanted to be made a knight, admiral of the Ocean Sea. He wanted to be the viceroy(总督)and governor general of all lands he would discover. Also he wanted one-tenth of everything he found of value in the new lands. The explorations that followed Columbus-those of Cabot, Verrazano, Cartier, and many others-benefited from a new maritime technology borrowed from Arab sailors and from a variety of new vessels (船，舰) such as the light-weight caravels employed by Columbus. Sailors also perfected sails and various types of riggings that gave ships added stability and greater maneuverability(可操作性)on the open seas. And when leaving sight of the coast, new navigational aids-charts, compasses, and astrolabes-permitted them to determine their position with some, though not perfect, accuracy. Columbus himself made a total of four voyages to the New World but he did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis(关)． Columbus not only discovered a New World, but led the way for other explorers.
【小题1】What was the dream destination of Europeans in the late fifteenth century?

Our listener question this week comes from Abdullahi Farah, who wants to know about the life and work of Doctor Benjamin Carson.

Doctor Carson is an internationally recognized doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He has been the director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the hospital for twenty-five years. At the age of thirty-three, he became one of the youngest doctors in the United States to hold that position. And he was the first African-American to have that position at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Ben Carson is known for his work as a brain surgeon for children. For example, in nineteen eighty-seven, he led a team of seventy doctors and nurses in an operation to separate two babies joined at the head. Earlier attempts by other surgeons on other babies had failed. Doctor Carson successfully performed the operation. Both babies were able to survive independently.

Doctor Carson has written four books. His first book, "Gifted Hands," tells the story of his life. Benjamin Carson was born in nineteen fifty-one in Detroit, Michigan.

As a boy, Ben was not a good student. In fact, he was the worst in his class. When his mother learned of his failing grades she asked her sons to read two library books every week. She limited the amount of time they watched television. And she told them to respect every person.

Ben Carson soon became the top student in his class. He went on to study at Yale University, one of the best universities in the country, and later to medical school at the University of Michigan.

Doctor Carson has received many awards and honors. Last year he received the nation's highest civilian honor. Former President George W. Bush presented Benjamin Carson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a ceremony at the White House.

The passage is probably taken from _____.

A. a radio      B. a magazine       C. TV       D. a paper

What does the word “surgeons” in paragraph 3 mean?

A. nurses       B. doctors      C. hospitals    D. points

Benjamin Carson’s change in study was largely because of ______

A. his hard work        B. his teacher

C. his mother           D. his father

What’s the aim to write the passage?

A. To call on us to learn from Benjamin Carson.

B. To praise Benjamin Carson for his achievements.

C. To show us how Benjamin Carson succeeded

D. To introduce Benjamin Carson’s life and work

This is my third story．When I was seventeen, I   36  a quote （引文） that went something like, " If you live each day  37  it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right．" Since then, for the past thirty-three years, I've looked  38  the mirror every morning and asked myself, "If today were the last day of my life, what would I do ?" And when there was no answer for too many days in a   39 , I know I need to change something．
About a year ago I  40  from cancer．The doctors told me it was incurable, and that I should 41  to live no longer than three to six months．They advised me to get my   42  in order, which is doctors' code （代名词） for "prepare to  43  "．Later when the doctors  44  the cells taken from my pancreas （胰腺） under a microscope, they found it turned out to be a very rare form of cancer that is   45  with surgery．I had the surgery and,   46  , I'm fine now．
This was the closest I've been to facing  47  , and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades．Death is the destination we all   48  ．No one has ever escaped it．And that is   49  it should be, because death is very likely the single   50  invention of life．It clears out the old to make   51  for the new．Your time is limited, so don't waste it living   52  life．Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out （ 盖过） your own inner   53  ．And most importantly, have the courage to 54 your heart and intuition （直觉）．They 55 already know what you truly want to become．Everything else is secondary．