In a book called Magnificent Obsession, by Lloyd C. Douglas, a description is given of people helping others but doing it secretly. When difficult problems worried a person, friends nearby would meet to discuss possible solution without the person knowing their actions. When a solution was agreed upon, one or two of the friends would carry out the plan and solve the problem secretly, to the great delight of the worried person. The helpers would stand by privately, content with their success. No reward was given to the problem solvers, not even a sincere “thank you”, because they were never known.
This idea is popular today but in a different way. The phrase “pay it forward” is now used when one person helps another. However, the person helped may not be able to repay the person or group that helped them. So rather than return the favor to their helpers, they are supposed to help someone else in the future, which means they pay it forward. It is a sense of responsibility(责任) which makes us want to give back in equal measure to the one who has helped us. But, in this case, the responsibility turns to helping someone in the future.
Suppose your elderly grandmother pays part of your schooling. She may tell you there is no need to repay her because it is a gift from someone who loves you very much. Nothing would please her more than to have you use her money to get a good education.
You may never be able to repay her for such a gift. However, she not only gave you some money, but she provided you with an example that you should also help other people who need it.
People with serious needs are everywhere. Many are children who need better clothes, more books and even better schools. Some are elderly people who can’t afford their medicine or a doctor’s care. Consider how you can “pay it forward” rather than pay money back to your grandmother.
【小题1】The helpers in the book “Magnificent Obsession” were not rewarded because ______________.

To err is human. To blame（责备） the other guy is even more human.

Common sense is not all that common.

Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?

These three popular misquotes（戏谑的引语）are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature. To err, or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don’t want to accept the responsibility for the problem. Perhaps it is the natural thing to do. The original quote about human nature went like this: “To err is human, to forgive, divine（神圣的）.” This saying mirrors an ideal: People should be forgiving of others’ mistakes. Instead, we tend to do the opposite – find someone else to pass the blame on to. However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a mark of great maturity（成熟）.

Common sense is what we call clear thought. Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan. Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine. Common sense does not seem to be common for large companies, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything. People say that in a large company, “the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.”

And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people, get the idea that it’s okay not to be totally honest all the time. There is a corollary（直接推论）to that: if a good excuse is “good” even if it isn’t honest, then where is the place of the truth?

1.Which of the following is NOT based on common sense?

2.What can we infer from the last paragraph according to the writer?

3.What would be the best title for this passage?

　　Do you enjoy travelling to other countries? There is a saying that goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

　　You will find gifts are important. Do remember not to give anything of four--the word “four”is similar to the word of “death”. All gifts, even money, should be wrapped（包裹）, but your host will not probably open the gifts in front of you. This will show the host thinks the giving of gifts is more important than the real gifts. Use both your hands when you give or receive a gift.

A．have enough money

B．learn something about the country

C．know how to give gifts

D．know how to eat out

(2)“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”means ________.

A．When you are visiting in Rome, you should do things as the Romans do

B．You should go to Rome before you go to visit other countries

C．All the people in Rome must do things like Romans

D．When you are in other places, you'd better learn the customs there and do things in the same way

A．They may begin when the meal is ready.

B．They wait until the older people begin.

C．They begin almost at the same time.

D．They pick up their chopsticks before they begin eating

A．the giving of gifts is more important than the real gifts

B．money is the best gift

C．it's good to learn the customs of other places

D．hosts can't open the gifts in front of the guests

A．Japanese open the gift as soon as they get the gifts.

B．Japanese like travelling.

C．Japanese use one hand to receive gifts.

D．Japanese value（重视）the giving of gifts.