A teacher honored her students by telling them how they each had made a difference to her and the class. She also presented each of them with a blue ribbon(綢帶), which read, “Who I Am Makes a Difference.”

    Afterwards the teacher decided to do a class project to see what recognition will do to people in general. She gave each student three more ribbons and instructed them to do the same to more people.

One of the boys went to a junior executive(經理) in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. Later that day the junior executive told his boss he deeply admired him for being a creative genius and asked if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon. The surprised boss accepted the gift delightedly.

That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and told him about his day. “One of the junior executives gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody to honor,” he said. “I thought about you. My days are busy and when I come home I don’t pay much attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just-wanted to sit here and well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. You’re a great kid and I love you!”

The startled boy couldn’t help crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, “I was planning on killing myself tomorrow, Dad, because I didn’t think you loved me. Now I don’t need to.”

53. The word “recognition” in the 2^nd paragraph refers to ________.

   A. openly rewarding people for their good deeds

   B. warmly inviting people to join in your project

   C. presenting people with gifts on special occasions

   D. picking out people you knew before from a crowd

54. It can be inferred from this story that ________.

   A. a small ribbon can mean a lot to teenagers

   B. parents should spend more time with their children

   C. a simple encouragement can sometimes change one’s life

   D. a small action sometimes can lead to unexpected result

55. The underlined word “startled” in the last paragraph mostly probably means ________.

   A. excited           B. surprised         C. puzzled         D. frightened

A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference they each made. She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told them how the student made a difference to her and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters which read, “Who I Am Makes a Difference.”

Afterwards the teacher told the students to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgement ceremony.

One of the boys in the class went to a junior manager in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons, and told him what it was all about.

Later that day the junior manager went in to see his boss, who had been noted, by the way, as being kind of a bad-tempered fellow. He sat his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. The junior manager asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, “Well, sure.

The junior manager took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his boss’s jacket above his heart. Then he gave him the last extra ribbon, and repeated what the boy had told him.

That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, “The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office when one of the junior managers came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says ‘Who I Am Makes A Difference’ on my jacket. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor you.”

“I’m really busy around all day and when I come home I don’t pay a lot of attention to you and sometimes I scream at you, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. You’re a great kid and I love you!”

The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn’t stop crying. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, “I was planning on committing suicide tomorrow, Dad, because I didn’t think you loved me. Now I don’t need to.”

72. What does the blue ribbon in the passage indicate?

A. Recognition of you from others.      B. Appreciation for what you’ve done for others’

C. A sign of love and being loved.         D. A symbol of respect.

73. Why was the boss surprised at what the junior manager said and did?

A. Because the boss was usually bad-tempered.

B. Because the junior manager was not afraid of his bad temper.

C. Because he didn’t expect his juniors to appreciate him.

D. Because it embarrassed him to wear such a blue ribbon.

74. The change in the boss implies that ____________.   

A. positive comments work better than criticism

B. blue ribbons are a good sign of understanding between people

C. he would never be bad-mannered to his employees

D. everybody can make a difference to the world

75. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A. Who You Are Makes a Difference           B. Blue Ribbon, a Sign of Acknowledgement

C. Bad Temper Can Be Changed                  D. Appreciation Can Prevent Juvenile Suicide