提供：北京环球时代学校英语专业考试培训中心

　　TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2006)

　　-GRADE EIGHT-

　　TIME LIMIT: 190MIN

　　PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION (30MIN)

　　略

　　PART II READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)

　　In this section there are four reading passages followed by a total of 20 multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then mark your answers on your coloured answer sheet.

　　TEXT　A

　　He was an old man with a white beard and huge nose and hands. Long before the time during which we will know him, he was a doctor and drove a jaded white horse from house to house through the streets of Winesburg. Later he married a girl who had money. She had been left a large fertile farm when her father died. The girl was quiet, tall, and dark, and to many people she seemed very beautiful. Everyone in Winesburg wondered why she married the doctor. Within a year after the marriage she died.

　　The knuckles of the doctor's hands were extraordinarily large. When the hands were closed they looked like clusters of unpainted wooden balls as large as walnuts fastened together by steel rods. He smoked a cob pipe and after his wife's death sat all day in his empty office close by a window that was covered with cobwebs. He never opened the window. Once on a hot day in August he tried but found it stuck fast and after that he forgot all about it.

　　Winesburg had forgotten the old man, but in Doctor Reefy there were the seeds of something very fine. Alone in his musty office in the Heffner Block above the Paris Dry Goods Company's store, he worked ceaselessly, building up something that he himself destroyed. Little pyramids of truth he erected and after erecting knocked them down again that he might have the truths to erect other pyramids.

　　Doctor Reefy was a tall man who had worn one suit of clothes for ten years. It was frayed at the sleeves and little holes had appeared at the knees and elbows. In the office he wore also a linen duster with huge pockets into which he continually stuffed scraps of paper. After some weeks the scraps of paper became little hard round balls, and when the pockets were filled he dumped them out upon the floor. For ten years he had but one friend, another old man named John Spaniard who owned a tree nursery. Sometimes, in a playful mood, old Doctor Reefy took from his pockets a handful of the paper balls and threw them at the nursery man. "'That is to confound you, you blithering old sentimentalist," he cried, shaking with laughter.

　　The story of Doctor Reefy and his courtship of the tall dark girl who became his wife and left her money to him is a very curious story. It is delicious, like the twisted little apples that grow in the orchards of Winesburg. In the fall one walks in the orchards and the ground is hard with frost underfoot. The apples have been taken from the trees by the pickers. They have been put in barrels and shipped to the cities where they will be eaten in apartments that are filled with books, magazines, furniture, and people. On the trees are only a few gnarled apples that the pickers have rejected. They look like the knuckles of Doctor Reefy’ s hands. One nibbles at them and they are delicious. Into a little round place at the side of the apple has been gathered all of its sweetness. One runs from tree to tree over the frosted ground picking the gnarled, twisted apples and filling his pockets with them. Only the few know the sweetness of the twisted apples.

　　The girl and Doctor Reefy began their courtship on a summer afternoon. He was forty-five then and already he had begun the practice of filling his pockets with the scraps of paper that became hard balls and were thrown away. The habit had been formed as he sat in his buggy behind the jaded grey horse and went slowly along country roads. On the papers were written thoughts, ends of thoughts, beginnings of thoughts.

　　One by one the mind of Doctor Reefy had made the thoughts. Out of many of them he formed a truth that arose gigantic in his mind. The truth clouded the world. It became terrible and then faded away and the little thoughts began again.

　　The tall dark girl came to see Doctor Reefy because she was in the family way and had become frightened. She was in that condition because of a series of circumstances also curious.

　　The death of her father and mother and the rich acres of land that had come down to her had set a train of suitors on her heels. For two years she saw suitors almost every evening. Except two they were all alike. They talked to her of passion and there was a strained eager quality in their voices and in their eyes when they looked at her. The two who were different were much unlike each other. One of them, a slender young man with white hands, the son of a jeweler in Winesburg, talked continually of virginity. When he was with her he was never off the subject. The other, a black-haired boy with large ears, said nothing at all but always managed to get her into the darkness, where he began to kiss her.

　　For a time the tall dark girl thought she would marry the jeweler's

　　son. For hours she sat in silence listening as he talked to her and then

　　she began to be afraid of something. Beneath his talk of virginity she began to think there was a lust greater than in all the others. At times it seemed to her that as he talked he was holding her body in his hands. She imagined him turning it slowly about in the white hands and staring at it. At night she dreamed that he had bitten into her body and that his jaws were dripping. She had the dream three times, then she became in the family way to the one who said nothing at all but who in the moment of his passion actually did bite her shoulder so that for days the marks of his teeth showed...-..-.

　　After the tall dark girl came to know Doctor Reefy it seemed to her that she never wanted to leave him again. She went into his office one morning and without her saying anything he seemed to know what had happened to her.

　　In the office of the doctor there was a woman, the wife of the man who kept the bookstore in Winesburg. Like all old-fashioned country practitioners, Doctor Reefy pulled teeth, and the woman who waited held a handkerchief to her teeth and groaned. Her husband was with her and when the tooth was taken out they both screamed and blood ran down on the woman's white dress. The tall dark girl did not pay any attention. When the woman and the man had gone the doctor smiled. "I will take you driving into the country with me," he said.

　　For several weeks the tall dark girl and the doctor were together almost every day. The condition that had brought her to him passed in an illness, but she was like one who has discovered the sweetness of the twisted apples, she could not get her mind fixed again upon the round perfect fruit that is eaten in the city apartments. In the fall after the beginning of her acquaintanceship with him she married Doctor Reefy and in the following spring she died. During the winter he read to her all of the odds and ends of thoughts he had scribbled on the bits of paper. After he had read them he laughed and stuffed them away in his pockets to become round hard balls.

　　11.According to the story Doctor Reefy’s life seems very ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿.

　　A. eccentricB. normal C. enjoyableD. optimistic (A)

　　12.The story tells us that the tall dark girl was in the family way. The phrase “in the family way” means＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿.

　　A. troubledB. pregnantC. twistedD. cheated (B)

　　13.Doctor Reef lives a ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ life.

　　A.happyB. miserableC. easy-goingD. reckless (B)

　　14. The tall dark girl’s marriage to Doctor Reef proves to be a ＿＿＿＿＿ one.

　　A. transientB. understandable C. perfectD. funny (A)

　　15. Doctor Reef’s paper balls probably symbolize his ＿＿＿＿＿＿.

　　A eagerness to shut himself away from society

　　B suppressed desire to communicate with people

　　C optimism about life

　　D cynical attitude towards life (B)

　　Text B

　　Stratford-on-Avon, as we all know, has only one industry-William Shakespeare-but there are two distinctly separate and increasingly hostile branches. There is the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), which presents superb productions of the plays at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre on the Avon. And there are the townsfolk who largely live off the tourists who come, not to see the plays, but to look at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Shakespeare’s birthplace and the other sights.

　　The worthy residents of Stratford doubt that the theatre adds a penny to their revenue. They frankly dislike the RSC’s actors, them with their long hair and beards and sandals and noisiness. It’s all deliciously ironic when you consider that Shakespeare, who earns their living, was himself an actor (with a beard) and did his share of noise - making.

　　The tourist streams are not entirely separate. The sightseers who come by bus- and often take in Warwick Castle and Blenheim Palace on the side – don’t usually see the plays, and some of them are even surprised to find a theatre in Stratford. However, the playgoers do manage a little sight - seeing along with their play going. It is the playgoers, the RSC contends, who bring in much of the town’s revenue because they spend the night (some of them four or five nights) pouring cash into the hotels and restaurants. The sightseers can take in everything and get out of town by nightfall.

　　The townsfolk don’t see it this way and local council does not contribute directly to the subsidy of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stratford cries poor traditionally. Nevertheless every hotel in town seems to be adding a new wing or cocktail lounge. Hilton is building its own hotel there, which you may be sure will be decorated with Hamlet Hamburger Bars, the Lear Lounge, the Banquo Banqueting Room, and so forth, and will be very expensive.

　　Anyway, the townsfolk can’t understand why the Royal Shakespeare Company needs a subsidy. (The theatre has broken attendance records for three years in a row. Last year its 1,431 seats were 94 per cent occupied all year long and this year they’ll do better.) The reason, of course, is that costs have rocketed and ticket prices have stayed low.

　　It would be a shame to raise prices too much because it would drive away the young people who are Stratford’s most attractive clientele. They come entirely for the plays, not the sights. They all seem to look alike (though they come from all over) –lean, pointed, dedicated faces, wearing jeans and sandals, eating their buns and bedding down for the night on the flagstones outside the theatre to buy the 20 seats and 80 standing-room tickets held for the sleepers and sold to them when the box office opens at 10:30 a.m.

　　16. From the first two paragraphs , we learn that

　　A. the townsfolk deny the RSC ’ s contribution to the town’s revenue A

　　B. the actors of the RSC imitate Shakespeare on and off stage

　　C. the two branches of the RSC are not on good terms

　　D. the townsfolk earn little from tourism

　　17. It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that

　　A. the sightseers cannot visit the Castle and the Palace separately

　　B. the playgoers spend more money than the sightseers B

　　C. the sightseers do more shopping than the playgoers

　　D. the playgoers go to no other places in town than the theater

　　18. By saying “Stratford cries poor traditionally” (Line 2-3, Paragraph 4), the author implies that

　　A. Stratford cannot afford the expansion projects

　　B. Stratford has long been in financial difficulties

　　C. the town is not really short of money C

　　D. the townsfolk used to be poorly paid

　　19. According to the townsfolk, the RSC deserves no subsidy because

　　A. ticket prices can be raised to cover the spending

　　B. the company is financially ill-managed

　　C. the behavior of the actors is not socially acceptable

　　D. the theatre attendance is on the rise D

　　20. From the text we can conclude that the author

　　A. is supportive of both sides

　　B. favors the townsfolk’s view

　　C. takes a detached attitude

　　D. is sympathetic to the RSC. D

　　Text C

　　Students of United States history, seeking to identify the circumstances that encouraged the emergence of feminist movements, have thoroughly investigated the mid-nineteenth-century American economic and social conditions that affected the status of women. These historians, however, have analyzed less fully the development of specifically feminist ideas and activities during the same period. Furthermore, the ideological origins of feminism in the United States have been obscured because, even when historians did take into account those feminist ideas and activities occurring within the United States, they failed to recognize that feminism was then a truly international movement actually centered in Europe. American feminist activists who have been described as "solitary" and "individual theorists" were in reality connected to a movement -utopian socialism-- which was already popularizing feminist ideas in Europe during the two decades that culminated in the first women's rights conference held at Seneca Falls. New York, in 1848. Thus, a complete understanding of the origins and development of nineteenth-century feminism in the United States requires that the geographical focus be widened to include Europe and that the detailed study already made of social conditions be expanded to include the ideological development of feminism.

　　The earliest and most popular of the utopian socialists were the Saint-Simonians. The specifically feminist part of Saint-Simonianism has, however, been less studied than the group's contribution to early socialism. This is regrettable on two counts. By 1832 feminism was the central concern of Saint-Simonianism and entirely absorbed its adherents' energy; hence, by ignoring its feminism. European historians have misunderstood Saint-Simonianism. Moreover, since many feminist ideas can be traced to Saint-Simonianism, European historians' appreciation of later feminism in France and the United States remained limited.

　　Saint-Simon's followers, many of whom were women, based their feminism on an interpretation of his project to reorganize the globe by replacing brute force with the rule of spiritual powers. The new world order would be ruled together by a male, to represent reflection, and a female, to represent sentiment. This complementarity reflects the fact that, while the Saint-Simonians did not reject the belief that there were innate differences between men and women, they nevertheless foresaw an equally important social and political role for both sexes in their Utopia.

　　Only a few Saint-Simonians opposed a definition of sexual equality based on gender distinction. This minority believed that individuals of both sexes were born similar in capacity and character, and they ascribed male-female differences to socialization and education. The envisioned result of both currents of thought, however, was that women would enter public life in the new age and that sexual equality would reward men as well as women with an improved way of life.

　　21.It can be inferred that the author considers those

　　historians who describe early feminists in the Unrated:

　　States as "solitary" to be

　　Ainsufficiently familiar with the international

　　origins of nineteenth-century American feminist thought (A)

　　Boverly concerned with the regional diversity

　　of feminist ideas in the period before 1848

　　Cnot focused narrowly enough in their geo-

　　graphical scope

　　Dinsufficiently aware of the ideological consequences of the Seneca Falls conference

　　22.According to the passage, which of the following

　　is true of the Seneca Falls conference on women's rights?

　　AIt was primarily a product of nineteenth-

　　century Saint-Simonian feminist thought.

　　BIt was the work of American activists who

　　were independent of feminists abroad.

　　C It was the culminating achievement of the

　　Utopian socialist movement.

　　DIt was a manifestation of an international

　　movement for social change and feminism (D)

　　23.The author's attitude toward most European

　　historians who have studied the Saint-Simonians

　　is primarily one of

　　A approval of the specific focus of their research

　　B disapproval of their lack of attention to the

　　issue that absorbed most of the Saint-Simonians' energy after 1832(B)

　　Capproval of their general focus on social conditions

　　Ddisapproval of their lack of attention to links

　　between the Saint-Simonians and their American counterparts

　　24.It can be inferred from the passage that the author

　　believes that study of Saint-Simonianism is necessary

　　for historians of American feminism because such study

　　Awould clarify the ideological origins of those

　　feminist ideas that influenced American feminism(A)

　　Bwould increase understanding of a movement

　　that deeply influenced the Utopian socialism of early American feminists

　　Cwould focus attention on the most important

　　aspect of Saint-Simonian thought before 1832

　　Dpromises to offer insight into a movement that

　　was a direct outgrowth of the Seneca Falls conference of 1848

　　25.According to the passage, which of the following

　　would be the most accurate description of the

　　society envisioned by most Saint-Simonians?

　　AA society in which women were highly regarded

　　for their extensive education

　　BA society in which the two genders played

　　complementary roles and had equal status (B)

　　CA society in which women did not enter public life

　　DA social order in which a body of men and

　　women would rule together on the basis of their spiritual power

　　Text D

　　Joy and sadness are experienced by people in all cultures around the world, but how can we tell when other people are happy or despondent? It turns out that the expression of many emotions may be universal. Smiling is apparently a universal sign of friendliness and approval. Baring the teeth in a hostile way, as noted by Charles Darwin in the nineteenth century, may be a universe sign of anger. As the originator of the theory of evolution, Darwin believed that the universal recognition of facial expressions would have survival value. For example, facial expressions could signal the approach of enemies (or friends) in the absence of language.

　　Most investigators concur that certain facial expressions suggest the same emotions in a people. Moreover, people in diverse cultures recognize the emotions manifested by the facial expressions. In classic research Paul Ekman took photographs of people exhibiting the emotions of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, and sadness. He then asked people around the world to indicate what emotions were being depicted in them. Those queried ranged from European college students to members of the Fore, a tribe that dwells in the New Guinea highlands. All groups including the Fore, who had almost no contact with Western culture, agreed on the portrayed emotions. The Fore also displayed familiar facial expressions when asked how they would respond if they were the characters in stories that called for basic emotional responses. Ekman and his colleagues more recently obtained similar results in a study of ten cultures in which participants were permitted to report that multiple emotions were shown by facial expressions. The participants generally agreed on which two emotions were being shown and which emotion was more intense.

　　Psychological researchers generally recognize that facial expressions reflect emotional states. In fact, various emotional states give rise to certain patterns of electrical activity in the facial muscles and in the brain. The facial-feedback hypothesis argues, however, that the causal relationship between emotions and facial expressions can also work in the opposite direction. According to this hypothesis, signals from the facial muscles ("feedback") are sent back to emotion centers of the brain, and so a person's facial expression can influence that person's emotional state. Consider Darwin's words: "The free expression by outward signs of an emotion intensifies it. On the other hand, the repression, as far as possible, of all outward signs softens our emotions." Can smiling give rise to feelings of good will, for example, and frowning to anger?

　　Psychological research has given rise to some interesting findings concerning the facial-feedback hypothesis. Causing participants in experiments to smile, for example, leads them to report more positive feelings and to rate cartoons (humorous drawings of people or situations) as being more humorous. When they are caused to frown, they rate cartoons as being more aggressive.

　　What are the possible links between facial expressions and emotion? One link is arousal, which is the level of activity or preparedness for activity in an organism. Intense contraction of facial muscles, such as those used in signifying fear, heightens arousal. Self-perception of heightened arousal then leads to heightened emotional activity. Other links may involve changes in brain temperature and the release of neurotransmitters (substances that transmit nerve impulses.) The contraction of facial muscles both influences the internal emotional state and reflects it. Ekman has found that the so-called Duchenne smile, which is characterized by "crow's feet" wrinkles around the eyes and a subtle drop in the eye cover fold so that the skin above the eye moves down slightly toward the eyeball, can lead to pleasant feelings.

　　Ekman's observation may be relevant to the British expression "keep a stiff upper lip" as a recommendation for handling stress. It might be that a "stiff" lip suppresses emotional response-as long as the lip is not quivering with fear or tension. But when the emotion that leads to stiffening the lip is more intense, and involves strong muscle tension, facial feedback may heighten emotional response.

　　26. The word despondent in the passage is closest in meaning to

　　A curious

　　B unhappy (B)

　　C thoughtful

　　D uncertain

　　27. The author mentions "Baring the teeth in a hostile way" in order to

　　A differentiate one possible meaning of a particular facial expression from other meanings of it

　　B upport Darwin's theory of evolution

　　C provide an example of a facial expression whose meaning is widely understood (C)

　　D contrast a facial expression that is easily understood with other facial expressions

　　28.The word concur in the passage is closest in meaning to

　　A estimate

　　B agree (B)

　　C expect

　　D understand

　　29. According to paragraph 2, which of the following was true of the Fore people of

　　New Guinea?

　　A They did not want to be shown photographs.

　　B They were famous for their story-telling skills.

　　C They knew very little about Western　culture. (C)

　　D They did not encourage the expression of　emotions.

　　30. According to the passage, what did Darwin believe would happen to human emotions that were not expressed?

　　AThey would become less intense. (A)

　　BThey would last longer than usual.

　　CThey would cause problems later.

　　DThey would become more negative.

　　Part III GENERAL KZNOWLEDGE (10 MIN)

　　There are ten multi-choice questions in this section. Choose the best answer to each question. Mark your answer on your colored answer sheet.

　　31. _____________________ is the world’s largest exporter of lamb and mutton.

　　A. New ZealandB. AustraliaC. CanadaD. America (A)

　　32. _____________________ is popularly known in the West as the Land Down Under.

　　A. BritainB. CanadaC. AustraliaD. New Zealand(C)

　　33. Shakespeare wrote all the following works EXCEPT ____________________.

　　A. HamletB. King LearC. OthelloD. Wuthering Heights (D)

　　34. Mark Twain is most famous for ____________________________________.

　　A. poemsB. novelsC. dramasD. science fiction(B)

　　35. ______________________________was NOT written by Charles Dickens.

　　A. David CopperfieldB. Oliver TwistC. Sons and LoversD. A Tale of Two Cities (C)

　　36. British prime minister normally serves a ______ term.

　　A. two-yearB. five-yearC. four-yearD. six-year (B)

　　37. __________________________ is sometimes called the birthplace of America.

　　A. New EnglandB. the SouthC. the WestD. the Midwest (A)

　　38. Semantics is the study of ______________________.

　　A. linguistic competenceB. language functionsC. meaningsD. social behavior(C)

　　39. Which of the following is not generally believed to be area of linguistics?

　　A. syntaxB. semanticsC. phonologyD. etiology(D)

　　40. TG grammar was advanced by_______________________________.

　　A. SearleB. WhorfC. HallidayD. Noam Chomsky (D)

　　PARTⅣ　PROOFREADING＆ ERROR CORRECTION (15 MIN)

　　The passage contains TEN errors. Each indicated line contains a maximum of ONE error. In each case, only ONE word is involved. You should proofread the passage and correct it in the following way.

　　For a wrong word, underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank provided at the end of the line.

　　For a missing word, mark the position of the missing word with a “∧”sign and white the word you believe to be missing in the blank provided at the end of the line.

　　For an unnecessary word, cross the unnecessary word with a slash ““∧” and put the word in the blank provided at the end of the line.

　　EXAMPLE

　　When “∧”art museum wants a new exhibit, (1) an

　　It nev/er buys things in finished form and hangs (2) never

　　them on the wall. When a natural history museum

　　wants an exhibition, it must often build it. (3) exhibit

　　Pronouncing a language is a skill. Every normal person is expert with (1) ______

　　The skill of pronouncing his own language; but few people are even

　　moderately proficient at pronouncing foreign languages. Now there many

　　reasons this, some obvious, some perhaps not so obvious. But I suggest (2) _______

　　that the fundamental reason which people in general do not speak (3) _______

　　foreign languages very much better than they do are that they never (4) _______

　　fail grasp the true nature of the problem of learning to pronounce, (5) _______

　　and consequently never set to tackling it in the right way. Far (6) _______

　　too many people fail to realize that pronouncing a foreign language

　　is a skill--- one needs careless training of a special kind, (7) _______

　　and one that cannot be acquired by just leaving it to take care of

　　itself. I think even teachers of language, while recognizing the

　　importance of a good accent, tend to neglect, in their practical

　　teaching, the branch of study concerning with (8) _______

　　speaking the language. So the first point which I want to make is (9) _______

　　that English pronunciation must be taught; the teacher

　　should be prepared to devote some of the lesson time to this,

　　and by his whole attitude to the subject should get the student

　　to feel that here is a matter worthy receiving his close attention. (10) ______

　　ANSWER：(1) with—in (2) reasons for (3) which---why

　　(4) are---is (5) fail to (6) set about

　　(7) careless---careful (8) concerning----concerned (9) whi/ch

　　(10) worthy of

　　PART V TRANSLATION (60 MIN)

　　SECTION A CHINESE TO ENGLISH

　　Translate the following text into English. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.

　　照相是一种既兼并客观世界，又表达独特自我的技术。照片描绘业已存在的客观现实，不过只有造相机才能揭示这种客观现实。照片反映个别摄影者的气质，这种气质是通过照相机剪裁现实而显示出来的。那就是说，摄影术有两个相互对立的观念：第一，摄影术是反映世界的，摄影者只不过是无足轻重的观察者； 第二，摄影术是无畏探索的主观性的手段，摄影者决定一切。

　　(Picture-taking is a technique both for annexing the objective world and for expressing the singular self. Photographs depict objective realities that already exist, though only the camera can disclose them. And they depict an individual photographer’s temperament, discovering itself through the camera’s cropping of reality. That is, photography has two antithetical ideals: in the first, photography is about the world and the photographer is a mere observer who counts for little; but in the second, photography is the instrument of intrepid, questing subjectivity and the photographer is all. )

　　SECTION B ENGLISH TO CHINESE

　　Translate the following underlined part of the text into Chinese. write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.

　　There are few words which are used more loosely than the word ‘civilization’. What does it mean? It means a society based upon the opinion of civilians. It means that violence, the rule of warriors and despotic chiefs, the conditions of camps and warfare, of riot and tyranny, give place to parliaments where laws are made, and independent courts of justice in which over long periods those laws are maintained. That is Civilization ---and in its soil grow continually freedom, comfort and culture. When Civilization reigns in any country, a wider and less harassed life is afforded to the masses of the people, the traditions of the past are cherished, and the inheritance bequeathed to us by former wise or valiant men becomes a rich estate to be enjoyed and used by all. (比“文明”这个词还用得更不确切、更加无拘无束的词简直寥寥无几。文明是什么意思？它意指一个建立在平民百姓舆论基础上的社会。　它意味着暴力、武士和暴君的统治、战争冲突、暴动暴政为立法议会所取代，被法律得以长期维护的独立法庭所代替。这就是文明，在文明的土壤里，自由、舒适和文化不断发展壮大。如果文明在任何一个国家里占了支配地位，那么便可给人民群众提供一种更加宽松的较为平静的生活，过去的传统则受人珍重，英明伟人或勇士们留给我们的遗产则成为咱们大家共同享用的丰富的财产。)　

　　PART IV WRITING (45 MIN)

　　Throughout our life, we are more often than not faced with various crises. Confronting crises, different people respond differently. What is your attitude toward crises? Write an essay of about 400 words to state your view.

　　参考范文：

　　Crisis

　　Crisis is to us what illness is to our body. Just as fatal disease can destroy our body and sometimes even put an end to our lives, so does smashing crisis knock us down so irrevocably and hopelessly that we might never have chance of standing up again. However, most crises that frequent us in life are not such category. They, like occasional ailments which sometimes can bolster our body’s immune system, are mostly minor and surmountable and therefore making us hardy enough to survive whatever adversities in our later life. Even those serious crises, if handled properly, can be turned to a blessing to us, too.

　　A ready example that comes to mind is SARS crisis that has recently torn apart and ravaged most of China. Admittedly, it has cost us quite a lot. Some people suffered health damage and still some even lost their lives. And our economy suffers a temporary setback and a slowdown. However, we still have much to learn and are yet to exhaust listing legacies left by this crisis. Among them are:

　　First, we are more concerned than ever before with our health, and the environment we live in, and above all, the vulnerable medical system and practice we have so long cherished and regarded as matter of course (have taken for granted). Also, we, all of sudden, realize otherwise not so obvious a truth that life is so infirm, feeble and precarious that if we somehow fail to take advantage of it right here and now, we may have no chance of even saying any words of love to our beloved, not to mention doing anything. Additionally, we tried and bettered and are still bettering our mechanism to respond to unexpected crises. These and other lessons and legacies brought about by blood, tear, toil and sweat are benefiting and continue to benefit us and generations of Chinese to come.

　　As a well-known ancient Chinese notion goes, the past lessons if not buried in oblivion are mentors for us all. If we can bear in mind sufferings and ordeals we have experienced, then those of our compatriots who had died did not die in vain and our sufferings will not go unrewarded.

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