C

We have a real crisis in this country in the basic understanding of science. It affects our global competitiveness as a country, our national security, and the effectiveness of our social system. The misunderstanding about science is blinding our eyes.

We know that an awful lot of teachers who are teaching science today have not been properly empowered to do so. School frequently isn’t testing whether you understand something but whether you’re familiar with it. What’s Newton’s second law? You say F=ma, and you get an A. That does not reflect a deep understanding of Newtonian mechanics. Science education is not just a body of facts; it’s a process. To present it with appeal and excitement you need to picture it as a detective story—asking questions, making observations, and collecting evidence. You test and you fail but, you know, failure can lead to discovery.

Another challenge we face is that science is often viewed as too hard, for experts only. But I don’t actually think it’s that difficult. People see science every day. They look outside and see weather and nature. They push a button in their house and the lights go on. Everybody’s dealing with science every day. They just don’t call it that. And it’s important they do. In fact, science is determining the quality and outcomes of their life.

Science needs creativity. And one of the best ways to be creative is to think “out of the box”. However, we need more courage when we come to practice. Take me for example. Very early in my teens I decided to educate myself. I realized I would never be a very good student because I didn’t like teachers judging me by what I thought were arbitrary (主观臆断的) standards. I decided I’d let the world judge me by whether I could do something of value—solve a problem or build something. That’s why I quit school early and risked everything to start a company. I risked everything I had because I had nothing to lose. I’d rather fail at trying to do something really big than succeed at being medium.

“When’s the right age to think creatively?” you may ask. I’d say in the womb (母腹)! Kids don’t have anxieties about trying to avoid failure. They are full of imagination and much more willing to fail. Just watch a 3-year-old. They touch everything, and if it hurts they don’t touch it again. They learn everything at a breathtaking rate. Start to think out of the box as early as you can, because it’s more likely to take you to places that you can’t predict, schedule and budget for. Do all that when you can bear the insecurity.

50. The author believes that they actually have a problem in________.

A. the understanding of science B. the security of his nation

C. the global competitiveness D. the present social system

51. According to the passage, science teachers should ________.

A. train students’ memory for right facts B. focus more on the learning process

C. present interesting detective stories D. abandon frequent science examinations

52. Paragraph 3 indicates that _______.

A. science is intended for experts only B. it’s important to see weather and nature

C. people can determine the quality of life D. we should realize science is around us

53. The author takes his own example to say ________.

A. school education may do little good to students

B. teachers sometimes judge their students unfairly

C. people need to take an unusual path to be creative

D. failure at a big thing is better than a small success

54. What’s the tone of the passage?

A. Questioning. B. Encouraging. C. Praising. D. Complaining.

D

Mrs. Packletide intended to shoot a tiger. Not that the desire to kill had suddenly come to her, or that she felt she would leave India safer with one wild beast less. It was because Loona Bimberton had recently taken a plane to the forest and killed a tiger, and the newspapers showed photographs of Loona Bimberton with a tiger-skin on. In a world supposed to be moved by hunger and by love, Mrs. Packletide’s movements were largely governed by dislike of Loona Bimberton.

Circumstances proved favorable. Mrs. Packletide had offered a thousand rupees (印度卢比) for the opportunity of shooting a tiger without risk or effort, and it happened that an old tiger was frequently coming to a neighboring village at night. He was so old that he couldn’t kill animals in the wild and just satisfied his appetite to the smaller household animals. The villagers were eager to earn the thousand rupees; children were posted night and day in the jungle to watch the tiger, and the cheap goats were left about to keep him from going elsewhere. The one great fear was that he should die of old age before the day of Mrs. Packletide’s shoot.

The great night arrived. A platform had been built in a tree, on which sat Mrs. Packletide and her paid companion, Miss Mebbin. A goat with a loud bleat (咩咩叫) was tied down at the correct distance. With an accurate gun, they waited for the coming of the tiger.

“I suppose we are in some danger?” said Miss Mebbin.

She was not actually nervous about the wild beast, but she was unwilling to perform a bit more service than she had been paid for.

“It’s a very old tiger. It couldn’t spring up here even if it wanted to.” said Mrs. Packletide.

Their conversation was cut short by the appearance of the old tiger. He saw the goat, and lay on the earth for a short rest before attacking.

The gun fired very loudly, and the great yellow beast jumped to one side and then rolled over in the stillness of death. In a moment a crowd of excited villagers appeared on the scene, and their shouting carried the glad news to the village.

It was Miss Mebbin who found that the goat was dying from a bullet-wound, while no wound could be found on the tiger. Evidently the wrong animal had been hit, and the tiger had died of heart-failure, caused by the sudden loud noise of the gun. Mrs. Packletide was annoyed at the discovery; but anyway, she owned a dead tiger, and the villagers, anxious for their thousand rupees, gladly accepted the fiction that she had shot the tiger. And Miss Mebbin was a paid companion. Therefore Mrs. Packletide faced the cameras with a light heart, and her pictures appeared on the newspapers of England and America. As for Loona Bimberton, she refused to look at a newspaper for weeks, and was in a depressed emotion for quite some time.

Mrs. Packletide’s tiger-skin was inspected and admired by the neighbors, and Mrs. Packletide went to the Costume Ball in the character of Diana (狩猎女神).

“How amused everyone would be if they knew what really happened,” said Miss Mebbin a few days after the ball.

“What do you mean?” asked Mrs. Packletide quickly.

“How you shot the goat and frightened the tiger to death,” said Miss Mebbin, with her unpleasant laugh.

“No one would believe it,” said Mrs. Packletide, her face changing color rapidly.

“Loona Bimberton would,” said Miss Mebbin.

Mrs. Packletide’s face settled on greenish white. “You surely wouldn’t give me away?” she asked.

“I’ve seen a weekend cottage near Dorking,” said Miss Mebbin, “six hundred and eighty. Quite a bargain, only I don’t happen to have the money.”

Miss Mebbin possessed the pretty weekend cottage. Mrs. Packletide lost interest in animal-hunting.

“The extra expenses are so heavy,” she said to inquiring friends.

55. Mrs. Packletide planned to shoot a tiger because she ________.

A. would leave India safer B. hated the wild animal

C. admired her good friend D. disliked a certain person

56. The Indian villagers were afraid that the tiger might ________.

A. eat their goats B. kill their kids C. die of old age D. attack them at night

57. What did Mrs. Packletide want the villagers to arrange for her?

A. A platform in a tree . B. A paid companion. C. An accurate gun. D. A safe shooting.

58. What was the result of Mrs. Packletide’s shooting?

A. The old tiger was shot to death. B. Neither the tiger nor the goat was shot.

C. The old tiger missed being shot. D. Both the goat and the tiger were shot.

59. Who might not know the truth of what happened that great night ?

A. Loona Bimberton. B. Miss Mebbin. C. The villagers. D. Mrs. Packletide.

60. What is the message conveyed in the story?

A. Life is hard for one to predict. B. Everything comes for a reason.

C. It’s unwise to keep bad company. D. False pride costs more than expected.