“Confidence” is probably one of the most noticeable traits (品质) in the Americans. They show confidence in the way they talk, the way they smile, the way they dress and the way they walk. Living and competing with all these confident American students, I find it extremely important to be confident as an international student and instructor. As a student, being confident means you should never hesitate to raise your hand whenever a question or a point comes to your mind. Don't mind if it sounds simple or silly. Otherwise you will never get a chance to speak in class at all. What's worse, the professors may think you are not prepared for the discussion or you do not have your own opinion on the issue—this is the last comment any graduate would like to receive.
Being confident for me as a foreign instructor means calmly asking the student to repeat what he or she has said if I did not get it. Pretending to understand what you actually did not may just bring yourself embarrassment or even disgrace. But the time I most need to be confident is when my students come to my office and bargain about the grades I have given for their speeches. (The course I'm teaching here is Public speaking). Modesty is a trait highly valued in China, but it won't be of much help here if you want to survive and succeed in a good American graduate program.
小题1:To compete with American students it's very important to .
A．be quite confident
B．be polite and friendly
C．have more discussions with them
D．understand what they think about小题2:A professor will have the worst opinion of a student who .
A．gives a silly or simple answer
B．tries to seize any chance to speak in class
C．shows no interest in the course
D．is considered to have no opinion of his own小题3:The author is most likely to feel embarrassed if .
A．he asks a student to repeat what he has said
B．the students bargain with him
C．he pretends to know what he doesn't
D．he has to give a speech小题4:We learn from the second paragraph that .
A．we should also remain modest in America
B．modesty doesn't help you much in America
C．Americans also like modest people
D．modesty can help you through an American graduate program小题5:What can we infer from the passage?
A．American students are ready to accept the grades from the teacher.
B．The writer teaches in Europe for a living.
C．Students are encouraged to present simple questions.
D．One’s ignorance will give away in time.
