14．Mr．Harris taught sixth-grade science．On the first day of class，he gave us a talk about an animal called‘birdcat'，which died out during the Ice Age．He passed around a skull（头骨） as he talked．We all took notes carefully and later we had a test．
When he returned my paper the next day，there was a big red‘X'through each of my answers．I had failed!There had to be some mistake!I had written down exactly what Mr．Harris said．Then I learned that everyone in the class had failed．What had happened？
"Very simple，"Mr．Harris said．He had made up all that‘birdcat'"There had never been any such animal．The information in our notes was therefore incorrect．Did you think you would get good marks for incorrect answers？"
Needless to say，we felt that was unfair．What kind of a test was this？And what kind of a teacher？"We should have figured it out．"Mr．Harris said．After all，at the very moment he was passing around the‘birdcat'skull，in truth a cat's，hadn't he been telling us no other findings about this animal except the skull？He had told us many unbelievable things about the animal，such as the size，the color，the strength…but none of us had questioned．
Mr Harris said he hoped we would learn something from this lesson．Teachers and textbooks are not always correct．In fact no one is．He told us not to let our minds go to sleep and to speak up if we ever thought he or the textbook was wrong．
Up to now I haven't made any great scientific discoveries，but Mr．Harris's class gave me and my classmates something just as important：To look people in the eye and tell them they are wrong．
54．The best title for this passage can beA．
A．An unforgettable Test．
B．A strange Animal Called"Birdcat"
C．An Unfair Test
D．Incorrect Information
55．"Figure it out"should mean"A．"
A．think and find it out
B．answer it
C．draw it out
D．learn and turn it out
56．I failed in the science test becauseC．
A．I didn't answer all the questions
B．I didn't answer the paper according to what Mr Harris said．
C．the information in my answers was wrong．
D．M r Harris made some mistake．
57．We can learn from this passage thatC．
A．Mr．Harris was the only person who found the animal"birdcat"
B．Mr．Harris used a cat's skull instead of a birdcat's because they were the same．
C．We should be brave to speak out against what we don't believe．
D．Teachers and textbooks are usually incorrect．
分析 本文主要通过老师一节课上故意给出错误的信息，而同学们自己没有质疑，紧接着进行一次考试，同学们以为考得好，但实际上所有人都没有及格的这样一次考试经历，说明了一个道理：教师和教科书并不总是正确的，遇到疑问时不要让我们的大脑进入睡眠状态而要大声说出来．
解答 54 A 主旨理解题：根据第一段We all took notes carefully and later we had a test我们都仔细地记笔记，后来我们考试了；最后一段Up to now I haven't made any great scientific discoveries，but Mr．Harris's class gave me and my classmates something just as important：To look people in the eye and tell them they are wrong．到现在为止我没有任何伟大的科学发现，但Mr．Harris的课给我和我的同学一些重要的东西：看对方的眼睛，并告诉他们错了． 故答案是A．
55 A 词义理解题：根据第四段"We should have figured it out．"Mr．Harris said．Mr．Harris说，我们应该自己证实它；第五段Teachers and textbooks are not always correct教师和教科书并不总是正确的．意思与A项：仔细思考并找出答案，相吻合，故答案是A．figure out弄明白．
56 C 细节理解题：根据第三段The information in our notes was therefore incorrect．Did you think you would get good marks for incorrect answers？"我们笔记中的信息是不正确的，你认为你会因为不正确答案而得到好分数吗？"故答案是C．
57 C 推理理解题：根据第五段He told us not to let our minds go to sleep and to speak up if we ever thought he or the textbook was wrong．他告诉我们，如果我们认为他或教科书是错的，就不要让我们的大脑进入睡眠状态并大声说出来．意思与C项吻合，故答案是C．
点评 此阅读材料，在考查学生阅读能力时，设置了三项能力要求：感知全文，把握主旨；根据语境，猜测词义；揭隐显微，推理判断．而这些能力的培养，需要同学们在日常英语学习中多多训练，多多积累．
