An Outstanding Teacher Ben put the white envelope into the mailbox. He felt proud, excited, and happy--and also a little nervous about whether his essay would win. Ben's local newspaper had advertised a contest inviting students to submit essays in honor of a remarkable teacher. The newspaper would choose the five best essays and print them in the paper. As soon as Ben heard about the contest, he knew he wanted to write about Mrs. Gruen. Mrs. Gruen was always so friendly and patient, and she always had something encouraging to say to her students. Even more importantly, she knew how to make science interesting and enjoyable. Before being in her class, Ben would have said he was uninterested in science, but now science was his favorite subject. At first, Ben had struggled with his essay. After he finished his first draft, he asked his older sister, Hannah, to review it. Eventually, after many more revisions, the essay was ready to mail. As Ben stood before the mailbox, he imagined how surprised Mrs. Gruen would be to open the newspaper and see her name in print. When the big day finally came, Ben opened the newspaper and eagerly studied the columns of print for the essay he had written. He did not see his essay anywhere. He turned through all of the pages, but it was not there! Instead, he saw five other essays talking about five other teachers. Ben felt like a balloon that had suddenly lost all its air. A few days later in science class, Mrs. Gruen asked Ben to stay after class for a few minutes. "Your sister stopped by yesterday," Mrs. Gruen told Ben. "She brought me the most wonderful gift." Ben saw that Mrs. Gruen was holding a copy of his essay. "You have no idea how much it means to me that you enjoy my class and think I'm a good teacher. No reward or honor could ever be greater than this essay," said Mrs. Gruen. "OK," Ben said, "I meant everything I wrote." Then he stepped into the hallway with his head held high. From the passage, we can learn that Mrs. Gruen _ . A) got great achievements in science B) educated many outstanding students C) encouraged her students in writing contests D) developed her students' interest in science
D
He was a hero that saved two children from the jaws of a cougar . Standing barely 1.7 meters, the 22-year-old with black-frame glasses might pass more for a Chinese Harry Potter. Yet Shen Huigang is now getting recognition for his bravery in fighting off a cougar on Vancouver Island, Canada, during a family outing. Shen, also known as Ian, was then an exchange student. With him was a friend, Myles Hagar, and Hagar's two grandchildren. Silently and suddenly a cougar appeared out of nowhere. By the time they spotted the cat, it already had the head of 18-month-old Julien in its mouth. "At first, my brain was nothing but blank," Shen recalled. "But I believed I could get the child back." He gestured as if he were ready for a fight, and tried to scare the beast off with his bag. Hearing the noise Shen made, the animal dropped the baby and Hagar rushed to grab his grandson. But the animal didn't run, instead turned toward 3-year-old Iris standing beside Shen. "Had Ian not been there, shouting at the cougar, remaining calm and standing firm, it would certainly have attacked Iris." Hagar recalled. They chased the animal back into the woods. "We moved slowly to our vehicle as we waved our fists and bags, pretending to wrestle it," Shen said. "The vehicle wasn't far away but it felt like it took us a century to travel the short journey." As Hagar drove for help, Shen held the heavily-bleeding boy in the passenger seat and calmly kept him awake by hugging and kissing him in case he would go into a coma . The boy was flown to a hospital nearby. Doctors later said his little skull had been punctured through to his brain in two places. Luckily, Julien made a full recovery. "Any hesitation, even a second delay, would have resulted in certain death for Julien, but Ian was there..." Hagar said. Following the incident, the story appeared on Canadian TV networks in every city, and in many small town newspapers---plus many US Internet news sites. The Royal Canadian Humane Association planned to give Shen a Canada Bravery... Why did the cougar drop the baby? A) Because it was scared by the noise made by Ian's shouting. B) Because Hagar rushed to grab the baby from its jaws. C) Because it wanted to attack Iris and took her away. D) Because Hagar and Ian were chasing it back into the woods.
A
(Q).
To understand how Americans think about things, it is necessary to understand "the point". Americans mention it often: "Let's get right to the point." They will say, "My point is..." "What's the point of all this?" The "point" is the idea or piece of information that Americans suppose is, or should be, at the center of people's thinking, writings, and spoken comments. Speakers and writers are supposed to "make their points clear", meaning that they are supposed to say or write clearly the idea or piece of information they wish to express. People from many other cultures have different ideas about the point. Africans traditionally tell stories that express the thoughts they have in mind, rather than stating the point clearly. Japanese traditionally speak indirectly, leaving the listener to figure out what the point is. Thus, while an American might say to a friend, "I don't think that coat goes very well with the rest of your _ ," a Japanese might say, "Maybe another coat would look even better than the one you have on." Americans value a person who "gets right to the point". Japanese are likely to consider such a person insensitive if not rude. The Chinese and Japanese languages are characterized by vagueness and ambiguity. The precision and directness Americans associate with "the point" cannot be achieved, at least not with any grace, in Chinese and Japanese. Speakers of those languages thus have to learn a new way of reasoning and expressing their ideas if they are going to communicate satisfactorily with Americans. In order to communicate with Americans satisfactorily, speakers of Chinese need to _ . A) mind their manners B) explain their reasons clearly C) change their ways of expressing ideas D) be careful about their choices of words
(A).
C