A newly trained teacher named Mary went to teach at a Navajo Indian reservation. Every day, she would ask five of the young Navajo students to __1__ the chalkboard and complete a simple math problem from 2 homework.
They would stand there, silently, 3 to complete the task. Mary couldn’t figure it out. 4 she had studied in her educational curriculum helped, and she 5 hadn’t seen anything like it in her student-teaching days back in Phoenix.
What am I doing wrong? Could I have chosen five students who can’t do the 6 ? Mary would wonder. No, 7 couldn’t be that. Finally she 8 the students what was wrong. And in their answers, she learned a 9 lesson from her young 10 pupils about self-image and a(n) 11 of self-worth.
It seemed that the students 12 each other’s individuality and knew that 13 of them were capable of doing the problems. 14 at their early age, they understood the senselessness of the win-lose approach in the classroom. They believed no one would 15 if any students were shown up or embarrassed at the 16 . So they 17 to compete with each other in public.
Once she understood, Mary changed the system 18 she could check each child’s math problem individually, but not at any child’s expense 19 his classmates. They all wanted to learn, 20 not at someone else’s expense.
1. A. go to B. come to C. get close to D. bring
2. A. his B. their C. his own D. her
3. A. happy B. willingly C. readily D. unwilling
4. A. Anything B. Nothing C. Everything D. Neither
5. A. almost B. certainly C. hardly D. never
6. A. question B. chalkboard C. problem D. homework
7. A. they B. it C. everything D. each
8. A. asked B. questioned C. told D. understood
9. A. outstanding B. surprising C. annoying D. frightening
10. A. sunburned B. tender C. Indian D. naughty
11. A. sense B. image C. way D. aspect
12. A. had B. ignored C. respected D. cared
13. A. none B. no one C. each D. not all
14. A. Especially B. Even though C. Even so D. Even
15. A. lose B. win C. achieve D. answer
16. A. time B. situation C. chalkboard D. condition
17. A. refused B. rejected C. tried D. promised
18. A. if B. so that C. unless D. in case
19. A. in favour of B. of C. by means of D. in front of
20. A. and B. but C. so D. or
