One night, I wondered what it would be like if I only asked questions. I decided that no matter what anyone said to me the next day, I would reply only with   36  .

I loved to read about scientists and their discoveries, and I knew that scientists always started their research with a question. I hoped that I could become a scientist. Maybe by asking questions, I could train my mind to be   37  .

  I survived the morning easily. “Is there any egg?” I answered when my mother asked what I wanted for breakfast. “Is this seat taken?” I asked when my friend Mike asked where he was going to   38   on the bus.

In the classroom, Mr. Black spoke slowly and clearly while I listened carefully. The problem had been part of my homework the night before. I wrote the answer on the board, “Could the answer be 361?”

  Mr. Black smiled and nodded. I thought,“How did I   39   to get through that?” I almost laughed because asking questions really was starting to become a   40  .

  I thought I had made it safely through the whole day,   41   what I had come to consider my experiment blew up at the dinner table when my dad asked me about my day. “What do I always do?” I replied.

My parents looked at each other. My father   42   again. “Well, I hope you went to school,” he said.

    “Uhhh … why would you think otherwise?” I asked. My parents exchanged another   43    

and were becoming annoyed.

   “Do you think questions are a good way to train your mind to be active?” I asked.

“It   44   the question,” said my father. “Some questions are asked for   45   information. Those are good mind-training questions. Sometimes, people use questions to get the other person to say something. Sometimes people ask questions to get someone to agree with them. Those questions don’t really achieve anything.”

   “I guess my experiment didn’t work,” I said, and I told my father about my   46  .

“I think it worked   47  !” my father said. “You made a discovery, didn’t you? What matters is that you have put your idea into practice.”                               

1.A. actions              B. answers             C. gestures             D. questions

2.A. deep             B. free            C. quick            D. strong

3.A. get                  B. sit                 C. come         D. take

4.A. fail             B. have            C. want             D. manage

5.A. habit            B. step                C. goal                 D. rule

6.A. or               B. so                  C. but              D. and

7.A. tried             B. asked            C. guessed           D. ordered

8. A. look                B. word            C. mind                 D. topic

9.A. refers to            B. belongs to     C. puts on          D. depends on

10.A. sending         B. finding             C. sharing         D. keeping

11.A. test            B. idea            C. plan                 D. wonder

12.A. slowly              B. safely          C. perfectly            D. properly

It was the last day of final exams in a university. On the steps of one building, a group of engineering students were discussing the exam. On their faces was confidence . This was their last exam and then they would graduate. With all these four years of college behind them, they felt ready to go into the world.
The professor had said they could bring any book or note they wanted, but they could not talk to each other. They went into the classroom happily. The professor gave them the papers. They smiled when they found that there were only five questions.
Three hours passed and the professor began to collect the papers. The students no longer looked so confident . The professor faced the class. No one spoke. They just held papers in their hands.
The professor then asked, "How many of you finished all five questions?"
Not a hand was raised.
"How many answered four?"
Still no hand.
"Three? Two?"
The students looked worried in their seats.
"One, then?" Certainly somebody finished one.
However, nobody replied. The professor put down the papers. "That is just what I thought," he said. "I just want to tell you that, even though you have finished four years of engineering, there are still many things about the subject you don't know. These questions you could not answer are quite common in everyday practice." Then he added with a smile, “You will all pass this course, but remember——even though you are now college graduates, your education has just begun."
【小题1】When did the story happen?