In 1883，at age thirteen，Maria entered the "Regia Scuola Tecnica Michelangelo Buonarroti" in Rome. Her experience at this school is difficult for us to imagine. Though the courses included modern subjects，the teaching methods were very traditional. Learning consisted of memorizing long lists of facts and repeating them back to the teacher. Students were not supposed to ask questions or think for themselves in any way. Teachers were very demanding，discipline in the classroom was strict，and punishment was severe for those who failed to achieve or were disobedient.

答案：

36. Maria wanted to attend a ____.

答案为C. technical high school.

37. In those days, most Italian girls ___.

答案为B. didn’t go to high school.

38. Maria’s father probably ___.

答案为B. had a traditional view about women.

39. High school teachers in Italy in those days were very ___.

答案为D. strict

40. We can infer from this passage that __

答案为D. Maria was a girl of strong will

第三篇

Gross National Happiness

In the last century， new technology improved the lives of many people in many countries. However， one country resisted these changes. High in the Himalayan mountains of Asia， the kingdom of Bhutan remained separate. Its people and Buddhist（佛教）culture had not been affected for almost a thousand years. Bhutan， however， was a poor country. People died at a young age. Most of its people could not read， and they did not know much about the outside world. Then， in 1972， a new ruler named King Jigme Singye Wangchuck decided to help Bhutan to become modern， but without losing its traditions.

King Wangchuck looked at other countries for ideas. He saw that most countries measured their progress by their Gross Natonal Product（GNP）。 The GNP measures products and money. When the number of products sold increases， people say the country is making progress. King Wangchuck had a different idea for Bhutan. He wanted to measure his country’s progress by people’s happiness. If the people’s happiness increased， the king could say that Bhutan was making progress. To decide if people were happier， he created a measure called Gross National Happiness（GNH）。

GNH is based on certain principles that create happiness. People are happier if they have health care， education， and jobs. They are happier when they live in a healthy， protected environment. They are happier when they can keep their traditional culture and customs. Finally， people are happier when they have a good， stable government.

Now these is some evidence of increased GNH in Bhutan. People are healthier and are living longer. More people are educated and employed. Teenty-five percent of the land has become national parks， and the country has almost no pollution. The Bhutanese continue to wear their traditional clothing and follow their ancient Buddhist customs. Bhutan has also become a democracy. In 2008， King Wangchuck gave his power to his son. Although the country still had a king， it held its first democratic elections that year. Bhutan had political parties and political candidates for the first time. Finally， Bhutan has connected to the rest of the world through television and internet.

Bhutan is a symbol for social progress. M