Each of us fails from time to time. If we are wise, we accept these failures as a necessary part of the learning process. But all too often we __41__ to our children either by words or by actions that failure is something to be ashamed of, that nothing but top performance meets our __42__.

Donnie was my youngest student. His fear of failure kept him from classroom games that other children played excitedly. He __43__ answered questions―he might be wrong. I tried my best to build his self-confidence. But nothing changed until midterm, when Mary Anne, a student teacher, was assigned to our classroom. She was young and pretty, and she loved children. My pupils, Donnie included, __44__ her. But even enthusiastic, loving Mary was __45__ by this little boy who feared he might make a mistake.

Then one morning we were working math problems. I left the children with Mary. But when I returned, Donnie was in tears. He’d missed the third problem. Mary looked at me in despair. Suddenly her face __46__. From the desk we shared, she got a canister(小筒) filled with pencils. She removed the pencils and placed them on his desk. “See these pencils, Donnie?” she said, “They belong to Mrs Lindstrom and me. See how the erasers are worn? That’s because we make __47__ too. But we erase the mistakes and try again.” She kissed him and continued, “I’ll leave one of these pencils on your desk so you’ll remember that everybody makes mistakes, even teachers.” Donnie looked up with love in his eyes and just a glimmer of a smile.

The pencil became Donnie’s prized possession. That, together with Mary Anne’s __48__ encouragement and praise for even Donnie’s small successes, __49__ persuaded him that it’s all right to make mistakes―as long as you erase them and try again.

There is a fine line between a parent who is active and open-minded and one that doesn’t know when to let go （放手）．As my daughter, Nicole, prepares to leave home for college, I’m discovering how hard it is to stay on the __1__ side of this line．When I hold __2__ the apron strings （围裙带） connecting us, Nicole, eager to __3__ independence, tries to loosen my grasp．What results is a （an） __4__ mother-daughter, push-me, pull-you kind of tango．

For the past two years, it’s gone like this:

Mother’s question: “Have you thought of taking an advanced placement class （大学预修课程） so that you can earn college credit?”

Daughter’s __5__: “No, I’m not interested in that．”

………

I bit my lip a few times and Nicole shot me a few glares．

Two months ago, she was _6__ to a great university．However, I was still the mother having a __7_ time letting go．The night before the introductory meeting of the university, I had read the course catalog carefully and __8__ courses which I thought looked good．We met on the campus the next afternoon, and Nicole’s face _9__ with excitement．“I have had my entire schedule figured out,” she said．“Already?” I was astonished, __10__ she should have discussed it with me．I examined the schedule．Nicole hadn’t taken a （an） __11__ one of the courses I had suggested．Every course she had chosen __12__ suited her interests．Just then I saw a mature, capable young woman with a __13__ mind and the ability to shape her future．She no longer needed her mother __14__ every decision she made．I felt proud, though still a bit __15__．

I __16__ the lessons carefully．Nicole has struggled to learn over the past 18 years: __17__, sympathy, and hard work．There have been a few holes along the way．__18__, she is well-equipped and eager to __19__ the future．The next step, I recognized, was mine to take: giving my daughter and myself the _20__ we both needed．

1．A．left　　　　 B．right　　　 C．either　　　 D．each

2．A．onto　　　　 B．up　　　　　 C．back　　　　 D．out

3．A．keep　　　　 B．refuse　　　 C．taste　　　 D．bear

4．A．awkward　　　 B．relaxing　　 C．lively　　　 D．beautiful

5．A．comment　　　 B．word　　　　 C．concept　　 D．response

6．A．received　　 B．invited　　 C．treated　　 D．accepted

7．A．good　　　　 B．great　　　 C．hard　　　　 D．easy

8．A．taken　　　　 B．underlined　 C．offered　　 D．emphasized

9．A．lit up　　　 B．built up　　 C．turned up　 D．made up

10．A．imagining　 B．thinking　　 C．hoping　　　 D．adding

11．A．only　　　　 B．just　　　　 C．even　　　　 D．single

12．A．mostly　　　 B．hardly　　　 C．exactly　　 D．slightly

13．A．sharp　　　 B．normal　　　 C．different　 D．typical

14．A．encouraging B．evaluating　 C．disagreeing D．agreeing

15．A．anxious　　 B．excited　　 C．sad　　　　 D．tense

16．A．reviewed　　 B．observed　　 C．checked　　 D．studied

17．A．competence　 B．creativity　 C．responsibility　　　　　 D．confidence

18．A．Therefore　 B．Instead　　 C．Still　　　 D．Besides

19．A．embrace　　 B．discover　　 C．determine　 D．control

20．A．character　 B．strength　　 C．relief　　　 D．independence

完形填空

　　You will have a lot of reading to do in your grade this year. You can do more of it in less time 1 you learn to read rapidly.

　　 2 you have been told about some habits which keep a person from 3 fast and have been y asked to 4 those habits which you might have.

　　Do you still have 5 of these bad habits? Check yourself 6 answering “Yes” or“ No” to these questions:

　　A. Do you move your lips when reading 7 ?

　　B. Do you point to words with your finger as you read?

　　C. Do you 8 your head from side to side as you read?

　　D. Do you read one word at a time?

　　If you answer 9 to any of these questions, start at once to break the habit.

　　If you move your lips, hold your fingers over them, or hold a piece of paper 10 your lips while you are reading. Then if your lips move, you will know it and can stop them.

　　If you 11 words, hold the two sides of your book, one side with your left hand, 12 side with your right hand. Then you won't have a 13 finger to use in pointing while reading. If you move your head, place your chin in one hand, and hold your head still.

　　If you read no more than one or two or three words 14 , you 15 to work very hard in learning to 16 more words at each glance as your eyes 17 across the lines of words.

　　Even if you do read fairly fast now, you can learn to read even faster. As you probably have been told, 18 of fast reading is to read in groups and force your eyes 19 the lines of words as fast as you can to make them go. Anyone who practises 20 these two things will be able to read faster.

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Dear Daughter,

As we drove off from Columbia, I wanted to write a letter to you to tell you all that is on my mind．

First, I want to tell you how proud we are．Getting into Columbia is a real testament of what a great well-rounded student you are．It is in college that you will truly discover what learning is about．I encourage you to be curious, but I also want to tell you “Education is what you have left after all that is taught is forgotten”．That is really what learning in college is about–this will be the period where you go from teacher-taught to master-inspired, after which you must become self-learner．So do take each subject seriously, and even if what you learn isn’t critical for your life, the skills of learning will be something you cherish forever．

There is no single simple answer to any question．Remember during your high school debate class, I always asked you to take on the side that you don’t believe in? I did that for a reason– things rarely “black and white”, and there are always many ways to look at a problem．You will become a better problem solver if you recognize that．This is called “critical thinking”, and it is the most important thinking skill you need for your life．This also means you need to become tolerant and supportive of others．I will always remember when I went to my Ph．D．advisor and proposed a new thesis topic．He said “I don’t agree with you, but I’ll support you．”

Do your best in classes, but don’t let pressure get to you．Your mother and I have no expectations for your grades．If you graduate and learn something in your four years, we would feel happy．Please don’t be worried．The only thing that matters is that you learned．The only metric you should use is that you tried．Grades are just silly letters that give the vain people something to brag, and the lazy people something to fear．You are too good to be either．

College is the four years where you have:·the greatest amount of free time．·the first chance to be independent．·the most flexibility to change．·the lowest risk for making mistakes．

So please treasure your college years．

Love,

Dad (& Mom)

(A letter from Kaifu Lee)

1．According to Kaifu Lee, the underlined sentence in the second paragraph means_________．

A．you should learn by yourself instead of learning from your teachers．

B．the knowledge isn’t as important as the ability to learn．

C．the knowledge from college is of less worth than that acquired after college．

D．education is nothing but what you have remembered．

2．Kaifu Lee expects his daughter to _________．

A．agree with those who hold the opposite opinions．

B．find out the difference between ‘right and wrong’．

C．think of more ways to solve a problem critically．

D．step into others’ shoes and think from others’ positions．

3．Based on the letter, it can be inferred that ________．

A．high grades are not important for people．

B．Kaifu Lee and his wife don’t care about their daughter’s grades or college life．

C．Kaifu Lee doesn’t expect her daughter to make any mistakes in her life．

D．Kaifu Lee’s daughter is a freshman in Columbia University．

4．We can conclude that Kaifu Lee’s daughter is _________．

A．dependent and curious                         B．tolerant and supportive

C．well-rounded and worried                         D．excellent and hard-working 

One summer in college, I was invited to be an instructor at a high school leadership camp.

I first   1  a boy under the tree on the first day of camp. His obvious   2   and shyness made him appear weak and lonely. Nearby, 200   3   campers were playing and joking, but the boy seemed to want to be anywhere   4   where he was.

I was instructed to care more about campers who might feel   5  . So I   6   him and said, “Hi, I’m Kevin. It’s nice to meet you. How are you?”

 7   a shaky voice he   8   answered, “Okay, I guess.”

I calmly asked him to join in the activities and   9  some new people. He quietly replied, “No, this is not really my thing.”

I could   10   that this whole experience was   11   to him. But I somehow knew it wouldn’t be right to   12   him, either. It was going to take more time and   13  .

The next day, I was leading camp songs for the campers. They eagerly participated. But the boy was just sitting alone,   14   out the window.

That evening at our nightly staff meeting, I made my   15  about him known. I asked them to pay special attention and spend time with him   16   they could.

The days flew by fast. When the “last dance” came, surprisingly, the boy from under the tree was now a shirtless dancing   17 . He owned the dance floor   18   meaningful time with others. I couldn’t’ believe it was him.

In that instant, I realized how easy it is to give a bit of   19  every day. You may never know how much each gesture may mean to someone else. I tell this story as   20   as I can, and I advise others to look out for their own “boy under the tree.”

1．A．learned                  B．recognized           C．noticed                D．heard

2．A．anger                    B．discomfort           C．excitement           D．satisfaction

3．A．ambitious              B．curious                C．anxious               D．eager

4．A．other than             B．just as                 C．or rather              D．as well as

5．A．left out                  B．put out                C．made out             D．let out

6．A．passed                 B．left                      C．visited                 D．approached

7．A．At                        B．In                       C．On                      D．By

8．A．unfortunately         B．unwillingly           C．unconsciously      D．uninterestingly

9．A．help                      B．interview             C．find                    D．meet

10．A．sense                  B．suggest               C．consider              D．prove

11．A．familiar                B．similar                 C．strange                D．typical

12．A．push                   B．pull                     C．pardon                D．punish

13．A．effects                B．exercises             C．efforts                D．expenses

14．A．observing            B．examining            C．admiring              D．staring

15．A．trouble                B．concern               C．devotion              D．understanding

16．A．unless                 B．before                 C．when                  D．since

17．A．wonder               B．danger                 C．scene                  D．instructor

18．A．sparing                B．saving                 C．spreading            D．sharing

19．A．himself                B．yourself               C．themselves          D．itself

20．A．soon                   B．far                      C．often                   D．long