To err is human. To blame（责备） the other guy is even more human.

Common sense is not all that common.

Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?

These three popular misquotes（戏谑的引语）are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature. To err, or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don’t want to accept the responsibility for the problem. Perhaps it is the natural thing to do. The original quote about human nature went like this: “To err is human, to forgive, divine（神圣的）.” This saying mirrors an ideal: People should be forgiving of others’ mistakes. Instead, we tend to do the opposite – find someone else to pass the blame on to. However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a mark of great maturity（成熟）.

Common sense is what we call clear thought. Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan. Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine. Common sense does not seem to be common for large companies, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything. People say that in a large company, “the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.”

And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people, get the idea that it’s okay not to be totally honest all the time. There is a corollary（直接推论）to that: if a good excuse is “good” even if it isn’t honest, then where is the place of the truth?

1.Which of the following is NOT based on common sense?

2.What can we infer from the last paragraph according to the writer?

3.What would be the best title for this passage?

To err is human. To blame（责备） the other guy is even more human.
Common sense is not all that common.
Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?
These three popular misquotes（戏谑的引语）are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature. To err, or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don’t want to accept the responsibility for the problem. Perhaps it is the natural thing to do. The original quote about human nature went like this: “To err is human, to forgive, divine（神圣的）.” This saying mirrors an ideal: People should be forgiving of others’ mistakes. Instead, we tend to do the opposite – find someone else to pass the blame on to. However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a mark of great maturity（成熟）.
Common sense is what we call clear thought. Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan. Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine. Common sense does not seem to be common for large companies, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything. People say that in a large company, “the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.”
And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people, get the idea that it’s okay not to be totally honest all the time. There is a corollary（直接推论）to that: if a good excuse is “good” even if it isn’t honest, then where is the place of the truth?
【小题1】Which of the following is NOT based on common sense?

阅读短文，并用括号内所给动词的适当形式填空，必要时，可加助动词或情态动词等；把答案写在短文后横线上。

The other day I heard an American say to a Chinese student of English“You speak good English．”But the student answered，“No，no．My English is very poor．”The foreigner was quite surprised at the answer．Thinking he had not made himself     1  (understand)or the student had not heard him clearly，he said，“Yes，indeed，you speak very well．”But the Chinese student still kept   2  (say)“No．”In the end the foreigner gave up and   3  (not know)what to say．

     What is wrong with the student’s answer? It is because he didn’t accept a compliment(称赞) as the English people   4  (do)．He should have said“Thank you!”instead of“No．”In fact he knew what the American had said．But he was afraid that people would think he was too proud．According to the Western culture，if someone says the dishes you   5  (cook)are very delicious，you   6  (say) “Thank you”．If someone says to a woman“You look so beautiful with the new clothes on”，she should be very happy arid answer“Thank you”．In our country we think being modest (谦虚) is a good thing，but in the west，if you are modest and often say“No”，then the others   7  (agree) that you really cannot do it，and you may   8  (treat)unfairly by others．If asking for a job，one says something like“Yes，I can certainly do it”instead of“Let me have a try on the job．”he or she will expect    9  (get)it．So in the west，one should always be confident．Without self—confidence，he can’t go anywhere．Confidence   10  (be)one of great importance to one in a country where competition is quite hard．

1．         2．         3．         4．          5．       

6．         7．         8．         9．          10．