It was one of my first lessons as an international student in New York City. My US history teacher had just finished his lesson. He sat back in his armchair comfortably, and asked: “Was there anybody doing anything interesting yesterday?”
“I drew a panda, which was lovely!” a girl beside me shouted.Then, the talk developed rapidly. Someone said he had received his learner’s driving permit, while another mentioned that she had spent the first salary from her part-time job. Everybody seemed to have something to say. Although there was a range of people, from different backgrounds, people seemed to feel at home with each other.
Not me. I stayed aloof from the discussion. I looked through my notes until I looked up to see another teacher come in and share some cookies he had made yesterday. The beautifully baked cookies sent out a good smell, which made it impossible to concentrate on my work any longer. However, my seat was in the back row, and I was too shy to stand up and take a cookie for myself.
“Go ahead and have one!” It was the history teacher: “If you don’t stand up, nobody is going to feed you!”
I was still hesitant, but I got up and took a cookie with some other classmates. Now I felt more at ease. We laughed about how “greedy” we were.
The “cookie crisis” had taught me a lesson. I would have to be less shy in the United States. Here was a mixed and various culture, and if I wanted to get anywhere I would have to brave its newness and difference and make myself heard, just as the teacher had said. Otherwise, “Nobody is going to feed you.” It was something a person new to the US, such as myself, needed to learn.
21. The atmosphere in a US classroom is quite __________.
A. lively B. lonely C. bad D. quiet
22. What does the underlined phrase “aloof from” mean?
A. in spite of B. instead of C. apart from D. away from
23. What prevented the writer from getting a cookie for himself at first?
A. His bravery. B. His shyness. C. His strangeness. D. His weakness.
24. The “cookie crisis” in the last paragraph was __________ to the writer.
A. an important problem B. a kind of valuable food
C. a turning point in his life attitude D. a dream in his school life