Maricel Apatan，22，stands in the kitchen of the Edsa Shangri—La Hotel in Manila，preparing to decorate a cheesecake. It would seem to be a routine task for a cake chef，but Maricel is no ordinary chef－she has no hands．

Maricel has come a long way since the day in September 2000 when she and her uncle were attacked near their farm. Fortunately, both of them survived，but the 11-year-old girt lost her hands. In 2004，she entered a Manila training centre for people with disabilities. She learned how to write and do housework and，more importantly , came to terms with her disability.

After graduation from high school，she took a two—year Hotel and Restaurant Management course and flourished even though she was the only disabled student in the course．After she moved back to Manila to continue her studies, the media started reporting on this determined young woman. She didn't shy away from the attention.“I wanted others living With disabilities to believe it's possible to live a normal life,” Maricel says.

When managers at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel saw Maricel on television，they hired her as part of the hotel's Care for People project．She has also accomplished her goal Of inspiring others．One of them is Ronelyn Calumpiano．a 21-year-old with cerebral palsy(脑瘫).She saw Maricel on television and Was moved by her confidence. Ronelyn will soon start classes and is already planning a career in IT.

Maricel's three younger sisters have moved to Manila．She pays for the rent of their small apartment. While their parents look after their family farm in Mindanao．“It is difficult to make ends meet but I don't lose hope. I believe anything is possible if you dream．work hard and pray．”

56．“Maricel is no ordinary chef because         .

A．she is better than other chefs

B．she is physically disabled

C．she can do a routine task

D．she is good at decorating cakes

57．Which of the following is NOT true about Maricel?

A．She survived while her uncle did not．

B．She didn't shy away from pubic attention.

C．She has inspired some disabled people．

D．She managed to make a living by herself．

58．The underlined word“flourished”in Paragraph 3 is similar in meaning to         .

A．was rejected

B．was employed

C．recovered well

D．developed well

59．According to the text，Ronelyn           .

A．works in art IT company

B．was inspired by Maricel

C．once lived hi Mindanao

D．has already started classes

60．What does the author want to tell US in the text?

A．We should be determined and never lose hope．

B．We shouldn't look down upon the disabled．

C．We should help those who suffer disabilities．

D．We should feel sympathy for the unfortunate．

It was a party. I was 18 and it was fresher(大一新生) week. I was at the beginning of a course in English Literature and full of enthusiasm for my subject. She was also 18 and enrolled in a course in physics.

“Your major is of no use to society. What will you do with it when you graduate, other than teach? Plus, you’re going to be poor your whole life,” she said. “You have no soul and your degree is boring. I don’t care how much money you’re going to earn. I’d rather be poor and don’t mind being a teacher. If I love my work I’ll have something far more meaningful than a big bank account!” came the reply.

And so it went, back and forth, neither of us giving the other an inch, each of us stubbornly committed to our prejudice. We were both ignorant, but our ignorance was also society’s ignorance. It had always been that way. Scientists mocked(嘲笑) humanists; humanists laughed at scientists. Back in the 1960s, the physicist-turned novelist C. P. Snow labeled the sciences-humanities divide “a problem of ‘the two cultures’” . He said it was bad for society. The modern world needed well-rounded people.

I think I know better now, but it would have helped if we had been encouraged to think a little more outside our science and arts “boxes”.

That’s why I believe it is healthy that China is beginning a debate on whether it’s wise for young people to have to choose which direction their careers – and lives – will take at such an early age. At the moment, in their second year of high school, students must choose either the sciences or the humanities. After making the choice, they focus their energies on passing the appropriate college entrance exam.

But now, people in China are asking: Is this forced, early decision good for young people or society? Young people need time to explore, to discover where their real talents and interests lie. There are more than just a few middle-aged people out there, stuck in jobs they hate because they made the wrong choice at the wrong time.

And from the point of view of society, isn’t it better for students to delay a while before they decide what to study? Scientists can benefit from learning to develop the critical skills associated with the humanities; students in the humanities, surely, only stand to gain by finding out a little more about science and technology, which are so important to the future of a developing country like China.

With any luck, in the future young people fresh to college will be better informed about the possibilities of education than people of my generation.

The author describes what happened at a fresher party to ________.

A. show that he was ready to defend the subject he enjoyed

B. lead up his argument that the sciences-humanities divide is harmful

C. prove that doing something meaningful is better than having a lot of money

D. describe how fierce students of different majors can be when arguing with each other

What was C. P. Snow’s attitude towards the sciences-humanities divide?

A. Indifferent.         B. Uncertain.         C. Positive.          D. Negative.

In the sixth paragraph, an example mentioning middle-aged people is used to show that ________.

A. students should not make decisions too early

B. not all people have a talent for or are interested in the sciences

C. these people did not have the chance to make a choice earlier in life

D. the earlier young people make a decision, the better it will be for them

According to the text, it is safe to say that ________.

A. sciences are more practical in the modern world

B. C. P. Snow was a novelist who became a physicist

C. future generations will be able to get more out of education

D. a command of both the sciences and humanities is important to society

What’s the best title for the article?

A. The sciences or the humanities, which to choose?

B. High school education in China

C. Isn’t it better to delay the choice of the career direction?

D. A better time to decide what to study