TEXT I First read the questions. 56. Which of the following is the most appropriate title for this passage? A. When to keep your mouth shut. B. The importance of silence. C. How to talk to kids. D. How to avoid embarrassment in talk. 57. What has troubled Ben for fifteen years? A. He has to eat the aspic served by his brother-in-law, which he doesnt like at all. B. He is often offended by his brother-in-laws wife for she is outspoken and garrulous. C. His unthinking flattery of his brothers wife leaded to undesirable results. D. He can hardly zip his lip and often hurt others. Now go through TEXT I quickly to answer question 56 and 57. The owner of a printing business was delighted when another company wanted to buy one of his used printing machines. After careful calculations, he fixed a price of 2.5 million and formulated his arguments. When he sat down to negotiate, however, an inner voice told him, "Wait." The buyers quickly filled the silence with a rundown of the machines strengths and weakness. The seller said nothing. Then the buyers said, "Well give you 3.5 million, but not a penny more." Less than an hour later, the deal was made. Opportunities to improve a situation by "zipping your lip" come up all the time in everyday dealings with others. Sometimes the benefits of keeping your mouth shut may be that you wont have to eat your words. Take my friend Ben. Like many of us when we are unsure of ourselves or trying to be polite, Ben sometimes blurts out things that come back to haunt him. The first time he was invited to dinner by his brothers new wife, she served to tomato aspic. Ben hated the stuff but wanted to compliment her. So he raved, "The aspic is great!" She was so flattered that she remembered and served it to him every time he visited for the next 15 years! Sometimes an unthinking remark, no matter how innocently made, can have more serious consequences. Harold and his wife once ran into neighbors in their apartment building late at night. Startled, he tried to be friendly and said, "I hear congratulations are in order." There was an awkward silence. Later Harolds wife reminded him that the women had recently miscarried. "Nowadays," Harold says, "if Im momentarily thrown, I count to ten before I say anything." Not only is there wisdom is knowing when to keep your mouth shut; there are practical advantages as well. Lawyers tell a story about a man accused of biting off another fellows ear in a brawl. A defense attorney spent the morning challenging the prosecutions main witness. He thought he had destroyed the mans story but couldnt resist final verbal blow. "Youve admitted that you were not very close to the scene of the alleged crime and that you didnt see my client bite off the ear. How can you possibly testify against him?" the defense attorney demanded. The witness paused, then smiled and said, "I saw him spit it out." In the past, psychologists used to day that we should "talk things out" with others. But, increasingly, I find that getting along with another human being sometimes demands tolerance and silence. Adele Faber, co-author of How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk, tells how silence conquered the nightly battle over bedtime between a mother and her eight-year-old son, Jonathan. One night Jonathan came downstairs as usual after being tucked into bed. "Mom, I cant sleep!" he said. "Oh, you cant sleep. Hmmm," his mother replied. She stopped, looked at him with compassion and waited. A full minute passed without a word. At last Jonathan spoke. "I think Ill put on my favorite pajamas." he said. "Then Ill sleep better." And off he went to bed. Its not always easy to let those you love experience pain, frustration or anger. You want to relieve their problems instead of letting them find their own solutions. Jonathan, Fabers teenage daughter, came home one day looking distressed. Faber said, "Jonathan, something happened," and her daughter burst into tears. "We sat on the sofa, and I held her while she sobbed," recalls Faber. "Ten minutes later she took a deep breath, looked at me and sighed. "Thanks, Mom," she said. Then she got up and left." Faber never did find out what was wrong. A long, attentive, loving embrace was what Jonathan wanted most. Then she would solve her problem on her own. "Your silence support can provide the soil in which the other persons solutions begin to grow," says Faber. "Silence is not withdrawal. Silence comes out of respect. It says, "I am here for you, but Im not going to get in the way." Like a composer who knows that the space between the notes is as important as the notes themselves, each of us must realize that our silences can be as expressive as the words we choose. The result is greater harmony and effectiveness.
56. Which of the following is the most appropriate title for this passage?
A) When to keep your mouth shut.
B) The importance of silence.
C) How to talk to kids.
D) How to avoid embarrassment in talk.
57. What has troubled Ben for fifteen years?
A) He has to eat the aspic served by his brother-in-law, which he doesn't like at all.
B) He is often offended by his brother-in-law's wife for she is outspoken and garrulous.
C) His unthinking flattery of his brother's wife leaded to undesirable results.
D) He can hardly zip his lip and often hurt others.
TEXT J First read the question. 58. What did the writer learn form her first teaching experience? A. Every child has great potentials, but dismal environment may hinder them. B. The life of the people in poverty forms a vicious circle. C. The poor have a silent rage against society. D. Words have power. Now go through TEXT J quickly to answer question 58. In 1986, my first teaching experience took me to a small Catholic school in a poor section of North Philadelphia. There, poverty surrounded people like a heavy smog. Tragedy, sickness, illiteracy, and bad luck were as prevalent and tangible to my students as the empty beer cans that cluttered their streets. Accustomed to their dismal environment, my students nonchalantly kicked away bad days and beer cans. They brushed off daily injustices. Tyrone was different. Like the others, it was obvious he from a home laced with poverty. He often came to school wearing the same clothes every day of the week. But, unlike the others, his destitute life filled him with hate. In his mind, he was destined to spend eternity in an employment line like his father, and he didnt like it. It filled him with a silent rage. As a new English teacher full of energy and hope, I promised Tyrone that reading and writing could transport him to a different "world". It was obvious he didnt like the one he was in. I offered him a variety of worlds through reading. He was skeptical at first, but he trusted me. I presented with a cornucopia of literary classics. After a small taste, he politely let me know that they were dull and he wasnt interested. I was crushed. But I didnt give up hope. I figured maybe he didnt like my literary choices because they werent relevant to his life experiences. Anxious to instill in him my love of literature, I went back to the drawing board. From my own personal library, I grabbed entire collections of books by James Baldwin, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. Reluctantly, Tyrone read them, and raised one eyebrow. "These books area little better," he said. "But books arent for me because they arent about real times. None of this literature stuff is for me. You dont know how I live. You dont know what its like." Fed up, I said, "Well, why dont you tell me! If you think you face more injustices than what these men have experienced, write about them. Tell the world your feelings. Let it out. I wasnt sure what I was doing. It was one of those teaching moments that I could never tell my principle. It was one of those moments that you never face as a student teacher. I was determined to get this troubled teen to love reading and writing. After that day, Tyrone was absent a week. When he returned, he sat silently in class as usual. After class, he lingered at his desk for a while, then he approached me. I asked how he was doing. Erupting in a smile, he dropped a handful of tattered papers on my desk. I picked them up and read them. I was thrilled with the effort —— but shocked at the content. Tyrones collection of essays and poems illustrated the anguish and turmoil he had experienced in just 12 short years. His poems and essays were laced with risqué images and sassy similes. No matter. His work was as honest as a newborn and as solemn as death. Anxious to show the world his talent, Tyrone wanted to publish his creative works. Tyrone and I decided to submit his writing to various magazines, some of which published his work. Ten years passed. Tyrones an adult now. He enjoys reading and makes his living as a writer. From my work with Tyrone, I learned a lesson thats stuck with me since: Young people write words loud enough to move mountains, part seas, and change worlds. Im still not sure if the world is ready.
58. What did the writer learn form her first teaching experience?
A) Every child has great potentials, but dismal environment may hinder them.
B) The life of the people in poverty forms a vicious circle.
C) The poor have a silent rage against society.
D) Words have power.
56. Which of the following is the most appropriate title for this passage?
A) When to keep your mouth shut.
B) The importance of silence.
C) How to talk to kids.
D) How to avoid embarrassment in talk.
57. What has troubled Ben for fifteen years?
A) He has to eat the aspic served by his brother-in-law, which he doesn't like at all.
B) He is often offended by his brother-in-law's wife for she is outspoken and garrulous.
C) His unthinking flattery of his brother's wife leaded to undesirable results.
D) He can hardly zip his lip and often hurt others.
TEXT J First read the question. 58. What did the writer learn form her first teaching experience? A. Every child has great potentials, but dismal environment may hinder them. B. The life of the people in poverty forms a vicious circle. C. The poor have a silent rage against society. D. Words have power. Now go through TEXT J quickly to answer question 58. In 1986, my first teaching experience took me to a small Catholic school in a poor section of North Philadelphia. There, poverty surrounded people like a heavy smog. Tragedy, sickness, illiteracy, and bad luck were as prevalent and tangible to my students as the empty beer cans that cluttered their streets. Accustomed to their dismal environment, my students nonchalantly kicked away bad days and beer cans. They brushed off daily injustices. Tyrone was different. Like the others, it was obvious he from a home laced with poverty. He often came to school wearing the same clothes every day of the week. But, unlike the others, his destitute life filled him with hate. In his mind, he was destined to spend eternity in an employment line like his father, and he didnt like it. It filled him with a silent rage. As a new English teacher full of energy and hope, I promised Tyrone that reading and writing could transport him to a different "world". It was obvious he didnt like the one he was in. I offered him a variety of worlds through reading. He was skeptical at first, but he trusted me. I presented with a cornucopia of literary classics. After a small taste, he politely let me know that they were dull and he wasnt interested. I was crushed. But I didnt give up hope. I figured maybe he didnt like my literary choices because they werent relevant to his life experiences. Anxious to instill in him my love of literature, I went back to the drawing board. From my own personal library, I grabbed entire collections of books by James Baldwin, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. Reluctantly, Tyrone read them, and raised one eyebrow. "These books area little better," he said. "But books arent for me because they arent about real times. None of this literature stuff is for me. You dont know how I live. You dont know what its like." Fed up, I said, "Well, why dont you tell me! If you think you face more injustices than what these men have experienced, write about them. Tell the world your feelings. Let it out. I wasnt sure what I was doing. It was one of those teaching moments that I could never tell my principle. It was one of those moments that you never face as a student teacher. I was determined to get this troubled teen to love reading and writing. After that day, Tyrone was absent a week. When he returned, he sat silently in class as usual. After class, he lingered at his desk for a while, then he approached me. I asked how he was doing. Erupting in a smile, he dropped a handful of tattered papers on my desk. I picked them up and read them. I was thrilled with the effort —— but shocked at the content. Tyrones collection of essays and poems illustrated the anguish and turmoil he had experienced in just 12 short years. His poems and essays were laced with risqué images and sassy similes. No matter. His work was as honest as a newborn and as solemn as death. Anxious to show the world his talent, Tyrone wanted to publish his creative works. Tyrone and I decided to submit his writing to various magazines, some of which published his work. Ten years passed. Tyrones an adult now. He enjoys reading and makes his living as a writer. From my work with Tyrone, I learned a lesson thats stuck with me since: Young people write words loud enough to move mountains, part seas, and change worlds. Im still not sure if the world is ready.
58. What did the writer learn form her first teaching experience?
A) Every child has great potentials, but dismal environment may hinder them.
B) The life of the people in poverty forms a vicious circle.
C) The poor have a silent rage against society.
D) Words have power.