Time spent in a bookshop can be most enjoyable, whether you are a book-lover or merely go there to buy a book as a present. You may even have entered the shop just to find shelter from a sudden shower.

Whatever the reason, you can soon become totally unaware of your surroundings. The desire to pick up a book with an attractive dust-jacket is irresistible but you might end up with a rather dull book. A book-lover rarely adopts this method of selection. All too often you soon become absorbed in some book or other, and usually it is only much later that you realize you have spent far too much time there and must dash off to keep some forgotten appointment — without buying a book, of course.

This opportunity to escape the realities of everyday life is, I think, the main attraction of a bookshop. There are not many places where it is possible to do this. A music shop is very much like a bookshop. You can wander round such places to your heart’s content. If it is a good shop, no assistant will approach you with the unavoidable greeting: “Can I help you, sir?” You needn’t buy anything you don’t want. In a bookshop an assistant should remain in the background until you have finished browsing. Then, and only then, are his services necessary. Of course, you may want to find out where a particular section is, but when he has led you there, the assistant should retire considerately and look as if he is not interested in selling a single book.

You have to be careful not to be attracted by the variety of books in a bookshop. It is very easy to enter the shop looking for a book on, say, ancient coins and to come out carrying a copy of the latest best-selling novel and perhaps a book about brass-rubbing — something which had only uncertainly interested you up till then. This volume on the subject, however, happened to be so well illustrated and the part of the text you read proved so interesting that you just had to buy it. This sort of thing can be very dangerous. Apart from running up a huge account, you can waste a great deal of time wandering from section to section.

24. What is most likely to happen to a book-lover in a bookshop?

A. Lost in some book, he forgets something else important.

B. Annoyed by the shop assistant, he dashes off for an appointment.

C. Attracted by its cover, he buys some book turning out to be a dull one.

D. Unsatisfied with its surroundings, he leaves the shop without buying a book.

25. In the author’s opinion, a shop assistant in a bookshop is supposed to ________.

A. greet customers in a more suitable manner

B. retire from the job if he has no passion for it

C. leave customers alone before services are needed

D. offer nice services from the very moment customers step into the shop

26. In a bookshop with a diversity of books, you tend to ________.

A. ignore the latest best-selling novel

B. be trapped in a dangerous situation

C. buy some book you are not at all interested in

D. buy other books instead of those you initially want

C

Far from the traditional image of a culture of aggressive masculinity (陽剛) in which students either sink or swim, the absence of girls gives boys the chance to develop without pressure to conform (符合) to a stereotype, a US study says. Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness, rather than feeling they had to conform to the “boy code” of hiding their emotions to be a “real man”.

The findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls.

Tony Little, headmaster of Eton, warned that boys were being faded by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls. The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when their female peers do better earlier in speaking and reading skills.

But in single-sex schools teachers can tailor lessons to boys’ learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study’s author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia.

Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with specifically “boy-focused” approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Because boys generally have more acute vision, learn best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given “hands-on” lessons where they are allowed to walk around. “Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine (女性的) and prefer the modern style in which violence and sexism are major themes,” James wrote.

Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel they had to conform to a stereotype that men should be “masterful and in charge” in relationships. “In mixed schools boys feel forced to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means,” the study reported.

27. What does Tony Little say about the British education system?

A. It makes girls less emotional than boys.

B. It fails more boys than girls academically.

C. It fails to give boys the attention they need.

D. It places more pressure on boys than on girls.

28. According to Abigail James, boys perform better in single-sex schools because ________.

A. boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in

B. boys focus more on their lessons without being disturbed

C. teaching quality is relatively higher than in mixed schools

D. teaching can be designed to suit the characteristics of boys

29. Which of the following is NOT characteristic of boys?

A. Boys have sharper vision. B. Boys enjoy being in charge.

C. Boys like “hands-on” lessons. D. Boys prefer physical activities.

30. What is mainly discussed in the passage?

A. Problems boys may have in mixed schools.

B. Boys’ physical and mental growth in school.

C. Advantages of single-sex education for boys.

D. Boys’ disadvantages over girls in mixed schools.
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