I was in my third year of teaching writing at Ralph High School in New York, when one of my students, 15-year-old Mikey, gave me a note from his mother. It explained his absence from class the day before:
"Dear Mr. McCort, Mikey's grandmother, who is eighty years of age, fell down the stairs from too much coffee and I kept Mikey at home to take care of her and his baby sister so I could go to my job. Please excuse Mikey and he'll do his best in the future. P.S. His grandmother is OK."
I had seen Mikey writing the note at his desk. l said nothing. Most parental-excuse notes I received were penned by my students. The writers of those notes didn't realize that honest excuse notes were usually boring: "Peter was late because the alarm clock didn't go off."
The students always said it was hard putting 200 words together on any subject, but when they produced excuse notes, they were excellent. So I decided to give the first class to study the art of the excuse note.
“Today I'd like you to write 'An Excuse Note from Adam to God' or 'An Excuse Note from Eve to God'. "Heads went down. Pens raced across paper. They had to be asked to go to lunch by their friends.
The next day everyone had excuse notes. Heated discussions followed. But suddenly I saw the headmaster at the door. He entered the classroom and walked up and down, looking at papers, and then said. "I'd like you to see me in my office." My heart sank,
When I stepped into his office, he came to shake my hand and said, "I just want to tell you that lesson, that task, was great. Those kids were writing on the college level. Thank you."
小题1:What did the writer do when he found the students dishonest?
| A．He reported them to the headmaster. |
| B．He lectured them hard on honesty. |
| C．He had them take notes-n class. |
| D．He helped improve their writing skills. |
小题2:We can learn that when Mikey was absent from the class, he was____.
| A．somewhere enjoying himself |
| B．taking care of his baby sister |
| C．looking after his grandmother |
| D．studying the art of the excuse note |
小题3:How did the writer usually find out his students' parental excuse notes were dishonest?
| A．They were written in boring words. |
| B．He called their parents and found out the truth. |
| C．They were more like stories than facts. |
| D．The handwriting clearly looked like children's. |
小题4:Which of the following is true?
| A．The writer has many years of teaching experience. |
| B．The students are good at writing excuse notes. |
| C．The headmaster was angry with the writer. |
| D．Most of the excuse notes were written by the parents. |
小题5:Which of the following best describes the writer as a teacher?
| A．Honest. | B．Strict. | C．Hardworking. | D．Wise. |