It's really true what people say about English politeness: it's everywhere．When squeezing past someone in a narrow aisle, people say "sorry"．When getting off a bus, English passengers say "thank you" rather than the driver．In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things．
After all, squeezing past others sometimes can't be avoided．a(chǎn)nd the bus driver is merely doing his job．I used lo think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles and came to appreciate some more polite ways of communicating with people．
People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time．When people buy something in a shop, customer and retail assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more．In Germany, it would be exceptional to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation．British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room．English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs as opposed to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough．
Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize others．Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me．my employers stressed several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism．It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable．This also is shown in other ways．British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men．However, 1 do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men' Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted．
【小題1】What is the author's attitude towards English politeness?

A．It's always a retail assistant who says thank you．

B．A customer never says thank you to a retail assistant．

C．They always say thank you to each other．

D．They may say thank you only once．

People often fall ill because of me.   36 , they can hardly blame me; it is largely their own  37 . A tired person may get  38 , especially when he goes to crowded places with polluted air. A sudden change in   39   is another factor. In hot summer, people turn on the air-conditioner upon returning home. They will catch a cold easily.
My latest victim is an energetic student. After school, he played football hard for two hours. Though 40 . He still went to the cinema. Then he got back home and took a cold shower immediately.
I seized this golden chance to   41  him. He reacted, trying to   42  me, but I was already  43  deep in his throat. He kept sneezing(打噴嚏) and his nose was running.   44   he put on some warm clothes, it didn’t work, for there were too many of us. Besides, his sore throat kept  45 him, and he developed a cough to force me and my family out, but   46  .
The next day he couldn’t go to    47  .He had lost his appetite and was not as   48   as before. His mother made him orange juice every few hours for more vitamin C, which would help his  49  .
For two days he was  50  by his mother. As he rested more, his defense strengthened and I began lo feel the   51  . I knew I had to   52   him before long. But I am not the one who gives up easily, and I made every effort to fight back.   53   , it was my turn to feel   54   now, for his defense system was starting an all-out attack against me. I became   55  and finally my time was over.
Do you know what I am?

People often fall ill because of me.   36 , they can hardly blame me; it is largely their own   37 . A tired person may get   38 , especially when he goes to crowded places with polluted air. A sudden change in    39   is another factor. In hot summer, people turn on the air-conditioner upon returning home. They will catch a cold easily.

My latest victim is an energetic student. After school, he played football hard for two hours. Though 40 . He still went to the cinema. Then he got back home and took a cold shower immediately.

I seized this golden chance to    41   him. He reacted, trying to    42   me, but I was already   43   deep in his throat. He kept sneezing(打噴嚏) and his nose was running.   44   he put on some warm clothes, it didn't work, for there were too many of us. Besides, his sore throat kept   45  him, and he developed a cough to force me and my family out, but   46   .

The next day he couldn't go to    47   .He had lost his appetite and was not as    48   as before. His mother made him orange juice every few hours for more vitamin C, which would help his   49   .

For two days he was   50   by his mother. As he rested more, his defense strengthened and I began lo feel the   51   . I knew I had to    52   him before long. But I am not the one who gives up easily, and I made every effort to fight back.   53   , it was my turn to feel   54   now, for his defense system was starting an all-out attack against me. I became    55   and finally my time was over.

Do you know what I am?

1. A. Therefore     B. Besides          C. However      D. Then

2. A. business          B. responsibility       C. excuse        D. fault

3. A. punished          B. blamed           C. caught         D. killed

4. A. temperature       B. season           C. place              D. condition

5. A. excited           B. hurt             C. late           D. tired

6. A. injure            B. bother           C. attack         D. destroy

7. A. get on with       B. get rid of           C. put up with    D. take hold of

8. A. reproducing       B. waiting          C. hiding         D. disappearing

9. A. Since             B. Once             C. Whether        D. Although

10. A. reminding        B. upsetting            C. comforting     D. influencing

11. A. escaped          B. succeeded        C. regretted          D. failed

12. A. bed              B. work             C. school          D. hospital

13. A. peaceful         B. afraid               C. active          D. happy

14. A. recovery         B. development      C. study               D. growth

15. A. protected            B. nursed           C. scolded         D. affected

16. A. loss             B. operation            C. pressure        D. movement

17. A. leave            B. catch                C. forget          D. beat

18. A. Uncertainly      B. Unsuccessfully   C. Unusually       D. Unfortunately

19. A. painful          B. disappointed     C. nervous         D. ashamed

 A. bigger          B. weaker           C. smaller         D. stronger

It's really true what people say about English politeness: it's everywhere．When squeezing past someone in a narrow aisle, people say "sorry"．When getting off a bus, English passengers say "thank you" rather than the driver．In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things．

After all, squeezing past others sometimes can't be avoided．a(chǎn)nd the bus driver is merely doing his job．I used lo think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles and came to appreciate some more polite ways of communicating with people．

People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time．When people buy something in a shop, customer and retail assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more．In Germany, it would be exceptional to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation．British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room．English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs as opposed to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough．

Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize others．Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me．my employers stressed several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism．It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable．This also is shown in other ways．British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men．However, 1 do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men' Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted．

1.What is the author's attitude towards English politeness?

    A．He appreciates it                    B．He gives no personal opinion

    C．He thinks it is artificial             D．He thinks it goes too far．

2.What can we learn about customers and retail assistants in Germany?

    A．It's always a retail assistant who says thank you．

    B．A customer never says thank you to a retail assistant．

    C．They always say thank you to each other．

    D．They may say thank you only once．

3.We can learn from the last paragraph that Scottish men _____．

    A．a(chǎn)re more likely to be involved in a fighting．

    B．a(chǎn)re not so willing to spend money for women．

    C．a(chǎn)re more polite than English men.

    D．treat women in a polite way.

4.The author develops the text through the method of         .

    A．giving comments                      B．telling stories

    C．making comparisons       D．giving reasons

In 1974, after filling out fifty applications, going through four interviews, and winning one offer, I look what I could get — a teaching job at what I considered a distant wild area: western New Jersey. My characteristic optimism was alive only when I reminded myself that I would be doing what I had wanted to do since I was fourteen 一 teaching English.

School started, but I felt more and more as if I were in a foreign country. Waa this rural area really New Jersey? My students a week off when hunting season began. I was told they were also frequently absent in late October to help their fathers make hay on the farms. I was a young woman from New York City, who thought that “Make hay while the sun shines” just meant to have a good time.

But, still, I was teaching English. I worked hard, taking lime off only to eat and sleep. And then there was my sixth-grade class 一 seventeen boys and five girls who were only six yean younger than me. I had a problem long before I knew it. I was struggling in my work as a young idealistic teacher. I wanted to make literature come alive and lo promote a love of the written word. The students wanted to throw spitballs and whisper dirty words in the back of the room.

In college I had been taught that a successful educator should ignore bad behavior. So I did, confident that, as the textbook had said, the bad behavior would disappear as I gave ray students positive attention. It sounds reasonable, but the text evidently ignored the fact that humans, particularly teenagers, rarely seem reasonable. By the time ray boss, who was also ray taskmaster known to be the strictest, most demanding, most quick to fire inexperienced teachers, came into the classroom to observe me, the students exhibited very little good behavior to praise.

My boss sat in the back of the room. The boys in the class were making animal noises, hitting each other while the girls filed their nails or read magazines. I just pretended it all wasn’t happening, and went on lecturing and tried to ask some inspiring questions. My boss, sitting in the back of the room, seemed to be growing bigger and bigger. After twenty minutes he left, silently. Visions of unemployment marched before my eyes.

I felt mildly victorious that I got through the rest of class without crying, but at my next free period I had to face him. I wondered if he would let me finish out the day. I walked to his office, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

He was sitting in his chair, and he looked at me long and hard. I said nothing. All I could think of was that I was not an English teacher; I had been lying to myself, pretending that everything was fine.

When he spoke, he said simply, without accusation, “You had nothing to say to them.”

“You had nothing to say to them," he repeated. “No wonder they’re bored. Why not get to the meal of the literature and stop talking about symbolism. Talk with them, not at them. And more important, why do you ignore their bad behavior?” We talked. He named ray problems and offered solutions. We role-played. He was the bad student, and I was the forceful, yet, warm, teacher.

As the year progressed, we spent many hours discussing literature and ideas about human beings and their motivations. He helped me identify my weaknesses and my strengths. In short, he made a teacher of me by teaching me the reality of Emerson's words: “The secret to education lies in respecting the pupil.”

Fifteen years later I still drive that same winding road to the same school. Thanks to the help I received that difficult first year, the school is my home now.

55. It can be inferred from the story that in 1974 ______.

A. the writer became an optimistic person

B. the writer was very happy about her new job

C. it was rather difficult to get a job in the USA

D. it was easy to get a teaching job in New Jersey

56. According to the passage, which of the following is most probably the writer’s problem as a new teacher?

A. She had blind trust in what she learnt at college.

B. She didn’t ask experienced teachers for advice.

C. She took too much time off to eat and sleep.

D. She didn’t like teaching English literature.

57. What is the writer’s biggest worry after her taskmaster's observation of her class?

A. She might lose her teaching job.

B. She might lose her students’ respect.

C. She couldn’t teach the same class any more.

D. She couldn’t ignore her students’ bad behavior any more.

58. Which of the following gives the writer a sense of mild victory?

A. Her talk about symbolism sounded convincing.

B. Her students behaved a little better than usual.

C. She managed to finish the class without crying.

D. She was invited for a talk by her boss after class.

59. The students behaved badly in the writer's classes because ______.

A. they were eager to embarrass her

B. she didn't really understand them

C. they didn't regard her as a good teacher

D. she didn’t have a good command of English

60. The taskmaster’s attitude towards the writer after his observation of her class can be best described as ______.

A. cruel but encouraging                        B. fierce but forgiving

C. sincere and supportive                       D. angry and aggressive