As the semester ended, students had a chance to _ . They got to grade me anonymously , assessing the ability of my thinking, my organizational skills and the depth of my knowledge. Such evaluations keep me alert to what works and what doesn't. Students reflect my performance back to me, and I'm glad to learn what they think of my teaching so that I might try to improve. This system reflects many aspects of my work. There is, of course, nothing wrong with it. But this system assumes that what students need is the same as what they want. Reading my evaluations every semester has taught me otherwise. Actually many students' expectations for their courses have already changed, reflecting, in part, the business model many universities are following: classes are considered services, and parents are eager to get their money's worth from their children's education. Students feel pressure from their parents to get practical use from their courses. This could make sense for an engineering course, but in my field, creative writing, which rarely trains up excellent 21-year-old writers, it is more difficult to provide the results that the career-minded students desire. Then I tried some teaching techniques to change the criticism of those unhappy students to the opposite and improve my student evaluations. My record would accurately reflect a smart, attentive, encouraging teacher. However, I would admit that they loved me simply because I agreed writing should be easy. I know other teachers have done the same thing: teach your heart out to the teachable but be sure to please the unteachable; keep your ratings high, like a politician trying to improve his poll results. I believe in the struggle. But I still can't help wincing when I read, "The instructor is mean." "Marcus is not committed to my work." "This class sucks." The business model has taught me that customers are always right. And maybe a few more dissatisfied customers would mean a better learning experience. What can we infer from the passage? A) Parents don't care about their money spent on their children's education. B) The writer adopted some teaching methods so that he improved his student evaluations. C) Similar to other teachers, the writer struggled to work as politicians. D) The students intended to punish their teachers by giving comments.
B
If you've ever been to a social gathering, you might feel awkward and uncomfortable. While social gatherings can be very enjoyable, especially when you are surrounded by people whose company you enjoy, there are social events that you sometimes find yourself wishing you were someplace else. Such occasions can sometimes be the cause of much anxiety and self-consciousness. You may even feel like everyone else is having a good time except for you. Yet the truth is that everyone has felt shy and awkward on occasion. One of the best ways to overcome self-consciousness or get past your feelings of shyness at social gatherings is to focus on the people around you. If you can remember that other people might also be feeling awkward or shy, you might find the thought of speaking to them less overwhelming. The next time there is a social event you feel nervous about attending, you may want to try this exercise: Spend some time with your eyes closed and breathe deeply. When you feel ready, create your own zone of comfort by _ yourself surrounded in a warm white light that is protective yet accepting of others. Imagine people at the event being drawn to you because of the open and warm feelings that you are showing. When you arrive at the event, take a moment to spread this same light of loving acceptance to everyone around you. Smile and greet people warmly. Try going up to someone who is standing alone and introduce yourself. When you show acceptance and openness, people can't help but respond to you in kind. Focusing on how we can make other people at a social gathering feel at ease can help us forget about our own insecurities. The next time you attend a social gathering, invite people to join you in your zone of comfort that you have so lovingly and intentionally created. Let yourself enjoy being encircled in the warmth of their friendships. If you feel uncomfortable about attending a social event, the author advises you to _ . A) invite some friends B) arrive ahead of time C) talk with others nonstop D) be open and warm to others
D
Q: After sunset on our last day at the farm I walked out into the desert. In this, the first pleasant moment for a walk after long hot hours, I thought I was the only thing out of doors. Suddenly I stopped. Before me a rattlesnake lay fixed, its head not yet drawn back to strike but only turned a little to watch what I would do. Many snakes will run away at the sight of a man but this rattlesnake felt no necessity to get out of any-body's way. He held his ground in calm watch-fullness waiting for me to show my intentions. My first aim was to take no notice of him; I had never killed an animal if I was not forced to kill. But I remembered that there were children, dogs and horses at the farm as well as men and women with thin clothes on; my duty was to kill the snake. I went back to the farm and returned with a stick. The rattlesnake had not moved; he lay like a wire but more quickly than I could stride he shot into a bush and set up his rattling, warning me by this that I had made an unreasonable attack and attempted to take his life and that if I insisted he would have no choice but to take mine if he could. For a moment I listened to this terrifying sound and then I struck into the bush with my stick and, chop-ping about, dragged him out of the bush with his back broken. He struck once more at the stick but a moment later his neck was broken and he was soon dead although when I picked him up by the tail his mouth opened, proving that a dead snake may still bite. There was blood in his mouth and poison was dropping; it was not only a dis-gusting sight but a pitiful one too. I dropped the body into a green bush and, as I did so, I saw him in my imagination, crawling over the sands as he might have done if I had let him go. At the sight of the author, the rattlesnake_. A) shot into a bush B) lay motionless but got ready to meet danger C) drew itself up to strike D) took no notice of his presence
A: B