Then there is the general, all covering apology, which avoids the necessity of identifying a specific act that was particularly hurtful or insulting, and which the person who is apologizing should promise never to do again. Saying “I’m useless as a parent” does not commit a person to any specific improvement.
These pseudo-apologies are used by people who believe saying sorry shows weakness. Parents who wish to teach their children to apologize should see it as a sign of strength, and therefore not resort to these pseudo-apologies.
But even when presented with examples of genuine contrition, children still need help to become aware of the complexities of saying sorry. A three-year-old might need help in understanding that other children feel pain just as he does, and that hitting a playmate over the head with a heavy toy requires an apology. A six-year-old might need reminding that spoiling other children’s expectations can require an apology. A 12-year-old might need to be shown that raiding the biscuit tin without asking permission is acceptable, but that borrowing a parent’s clothes without permission is not.
57. If a mother adds “but” to an apology, _______.
A) she doesn’t feel that she should have apologized
B) she does not realize that the child has been hurt
C) the child may find the apology easier to accept
D) the child may feel that he owes her an apology
58. According to the author, saying “I’m sorry you’re upset” most probably means “_______”.
A) You have good reason to get upset
B) I’m aware you’re upset, but I’m not to blame
C) I apologize for hurting your feelings
D) I’m at fault for making you upset
59. It is not advisable to use the general, all-covering apology because _______.
A) it gets one into the habit of making empty promises
B) it may make the other person feel guilty
C) it is vague and ineffective
D) it is hurtful and insulting
60. We learn from the last paragraph that in teaching children to say sorry _______.
A) the complexities involved should be ignored
B) their ages should be taken into account
C) parents need to set them a good example
D) parents should be patient and tolerant
61. It can be inferred from the passage that apologizing properly is _______.
A) a social issue calling for immediate attention
B) not necessary among family members
C) a sign of social progress
D) not as simple as it seems
Passage Two
Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.
Lead deposits, which accumulated in soil and snow during the 1960’s and 70’s, were primarily the result of leaded gasoline emissions originating in the United States. In the twenty years that the Clean Air Act has mandated unleaded gas use in the United States, the lead accumulation world-wide has decreased significantly.
A study published recently in the journal Nature shows that air-borne leaded gas emissions from the United States were the leading contributor to the high concentration of lead in the snow in Greenland. The new study is a result of the continued research led by Dr. Charles Boutron, an expert on the impact of heavy metals on the environment at the National Center for Scientific Research in France. A study by Dr. Boutron published in 1991 showed that lead levels in arctic (北极的) snow were declining.
In his new study, Dr. Boutron found the ratios of the different forms of lead in the leaded gasoline used in the United States were different from the ratios of European, Asian and Canadian gasoline and thus enabled scientists to differentiate (分区) the lead sources. The dominant lead ratio found in Greenland snow matched that found in gasoline from the United States.
In a study published in the journal Ambio, scientists found that lead levels in soil in the North-eastern United States had decreased markedly since the introduction of unleaded gasoline.
Many scientists had believed that the lead would stay in soil and snow for a longer period.
The authors of the Ambio study examined samples of the upper layers of soil taken from the same sites of 30 forest floors in New England, New York and Pennsylvania in 1980 and in 1990.
The forest environment processed and redistributed the lead faster than the scientists had expected.
Scientists say both studies demonstrate that certain parts of the ecosystem (生态系统 ) respond rapidly to reductions in atmospheric pollution, but that these findings should not be used as a license to pollute.
62. The study published in the journal Nature indicates that ________.
A) the Clean Air Act has not produced the desired results
B) lead deposits in arctic snow are on the increase
C) lead will stay in soil and snow longer than expected
D) the US is the major source of lead pollution in arctic snow
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