A little boy invited his mother to attend his school’s first teacher-parent meeting. To the little boy’s dismay (沮喪), his mother said she would go. This would be the first time that his classmates and teachers met his mother and he was embarrassed by her appearance(出現). There was a severe (嚴重的) scar (傷疤) that covered nearly the whole right side of her face. The boy never wanted to talk about why or how she got the scar.
At the meeting, the people were impressed by the kindness of his mother with the scar, but the little boy was still embarrassed and hid himself from everyone. However, he could hear clearly the conversation between his mother and the teacher.
“How did you get the scar on your face?” the teacher asked.
The mother replied, “When my son was a baby, he was in a room that caught on fire. Everyone was too afraid to go in because the fire was out of control, but I went in. As I was running towards his bed, I saw a burning wood falling down and I placed myself over him trying to protect him. I was knocked to be unconscious (無知覺的), but luckily, a fireman came in and saved both of us.” She touched the burned side of her face. “This scar will be forever, but until today, I have never regretted doing what I did.”
When the little boy heard this, he couldn’t help running towards his mother with tears in his eyes. He hugged her and felt his mother was greater than anyone. He held her hand tightly for the rest of the day.
【小題1】The underline world “embarrassed” means ______ in Chinese.

How would you like to study at an American university in China? With the news that New York University (NYU) is considering setting up a branch（分校）on Chinese mainland, the possibility of getting an American education becomes a reality. But how will Chinese students deal with a very different style of teaching? One that encourages debate（辯論）, discussion and critical thinking (批判思維)； one which puts little attention on rote learning.

You know how kids ask questions all the time? Asking questions shows they are curious (好奇). So when does that natural curiosity get weak? Not at kindergarten or nursery, nor at primary school. As you grow older perhaps refusing to draw attention to yourself by asking the teacher questions, you grow quiet. If so, that's a pity, because questioning your teachers should be encouraged. After all, they're the ones who've been educated, have a lot more experience than you and perhaps have a little wisdom. When I taught joumalim at college in Scotland I enjoyed answering students' questions. Some of them raised difficult questions. I didn't always know the answers. If I didn't, I'd accept it and try to find out later.

At university we were encouraged to challenge our classmates and teachers. There was often a regular meeting between teachers and some students. A student would prepare a paper on a subject and the other students would criticize it. It could be frightening. But it was a way of developing critical thinking.

We need to differentiate critical thinking with loudmouths. We've all come across loudmouths who speak out quickly as if they knew what they were talking about. I know one loudmouth who is paid a great deal of money by a British tabloid newspaper to entertain readers with his deeply-held prejudices(偏見). You might not agree with columnist(專欄作家) Richard Littlejohn, but you have to say that he is entertaining and there is an internal logic（內在的邏輯）to his statements. Having a logical mind can help develop critical thinking.

My wife doesn't have a logical mind, but she does have emotional intelligence（情商）. I can't say that I have anything like her emotional intelligence. but I'd like to think some of it rubbed off on me. If you can't at least try to put yourself in someone else's shoes, how can you understand their situation, their problems and issues?

So try to develop your powers of critical thinking. Start with books, films, music and newspapers. And don't believe everything you read or see. Think independently.

57. According to the passage, to develop your critical thinking, you can____________.

A. keep curious and follow your heart

B. think logically, not emotionally

C. do more reading and think actively

D. voice your opinion like a loudmouth

58. The underlined words 66rubbed off on mc" in Paragraph 5 probably mean " __________".

A. helped me solve the problem better

B. had some influence on me in a way

C. moved it backwards and forwards

D. advised me to wear others' shoes

59. What can be the best title for the passage?

A. Want to be different? Think critically

B. Want to be critical? Think for yourself

C. Choose NYU, choose critical thinking

D. Importance of improving critical thinking

Scientists were surprised that the plant had cured the chimp. Did the chimp know the plant would make him feel better? Or was it just a lucky accident?

Many scientists don't think it has anything to do with luck. Some animals seem to use plants to “cure” the mselves. And these animals are leading scientists to new plants that could cure humans! Some scientists agree that animals may know something we don't about forest plants.

Animals have their own feeding habits. Chimps eat fruit every morning, then they eat leaves. Sometimes they walk for 20 minutes to find the plant and eat the bitter(苦味的) leaves while closing eyes.

Scientists found the leaves contain( 含有)a red oil that kill different parasites and viruses (寄生蟲和細菌). And later on, tests showed that the oil might fight cancer and the AIDS virus.

1．What made the sick chimp get well? (　)

A．Some medicine.

B．Some leaves.

C．Some delicious food．

D．Some trees.

2．How the chimps ate the leaves? (　)

A．They had to have them with fruit.

B．They ate them,climbing up and down.

C．They ate them,closing their eyes.

D．They ate them with surprising feelings.

3．How do chimps know which plants will cure them? (　)

A．Their parents teach them.

B．The scientists tell them.

C．Other animals lead them.

D．We don't know.

4．What's the meaning of “to do with luck”? (　)

A．與運氣有關

B．交好運

C．好運常來

<

span lang=EN-US style='mso-bidi-font-size:10.5pt; color:black'>D．沒運氣

5．Which of the following is right, after reading this text? (　)

A．Humans should cut all of kinds of trees to find out what is good for health．

B．Scientists should taste every leaves to discover(發現)which is useful to humans．

C．All plants and animals should live together on the earth to keep the nature balance(生態平衡)．

D．Humans could follow the animals to live in the forests．

Mobile phone has become a problem for high schools. Some high-school students in Australia are not allowed to carry mobile phones during school hours.
Mobile phone used among children has become a problem for the school years. Several children have got mobile phones as Christmas presents, and more students will want them.
Marry Brown, a headmaster, said that mobile phone was a distraction(分心事) to  students during school hours and it also gave teachers so much trouble in their classrooms. Teachers were also saying that sometimes students might use phone messages to cheat during exams.
She said some schools had tried to ban(禁止) mobile phones. Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t get in touch with their children.
Many teachers said students should not have mobile phones at school. But there was a good reason that they could leave their phones at school offices. They also said they were easily lost and were a distraction for studies. 
Many people say that they understand why parents would want their children to have phones, but they think schools should let the students know when they can use their mobile phones.

1. 1.

   Some high schools in Australia have stopped students from carrying mobile phones __.

   1. A.
      because they are students
   2. B.
      when they are free
   3. C.
      when they are at school
   4. D.
      because they are children
2. 2.

   What does the word “cheat” mean in Chinese in this passage?

   1. A.
      聊天
   2. B.
      核對
   3. C.
      查詢
   4. D.
      作弊
3. 3.

   Some children get mobile phones from _____ as presents.

   1. A.
      the makers and sellers
   2. B.
      the passers-by and strangers
   3. C.
      their parents and friends
   4. D.
      some mobile phone user
4. 4.

   Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t _____ during school hours.

   1. A.
      use their mobile phones
   2. B.
      leave their mobile phones in the school office
   3. C.
      help the teachers with their work
   4. D.
      get in touch with their children
5. 5.

   The passage tells us that _____.

   1. A.
      students shouldn’t have mobile phones at school except for some special reasons
   2. B.
      it is important to ban students from using mobile phones at school
   3. C.
      some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t use their phones at home
   4. D.
      parents should teach their children how to use mobile phones during school hours.