The poor are very wonderful people. One evening we went out and we picked up four people from the street. And one of them was in a most terrible condition - and I told the sisters: You take care of the other three. I take care of this one who looked worse. So I did for her all that my love can do. I put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hand as she said just the words "Thank you" and she died.
I could not help but examine my conscience before her and I asked what I would say if I was in her place. And my answer was very simple. I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself. I would have said I am hungry, that I am dying, I am cold, I am in pain, or something, but she gave me much more - she gave me her grateful love. And she died with a smile on her face. So did that man whom we picked up from the drain, half eaten with worms, and we brought him to the home. "I have lived like an animal in the street, but I am going to die like an angel, loved and cared for", he said at the end . And it was so wonderful to see the greatness of that man who could speak like that, who could die like that without blaming anybody, without cursing anybody, without comparing anything. Like an angel - this is the greatness of our people. And that is why we believe what Jesus has said: I was hungry, I was naked, I was homeless, I was unwanted, unloved, uncared for, and you did it to me.
And with this prize that I received as a Prize of Peace, I am going to try to make the home for many people who have no home. Because I believe that love begins at home and if we can create a home for the poor I think that more and more love will spread. And we will be able through this understanding love to bring peace, be the good news to the poor, the poor in our own family first, in our country and in the world. When I pick up a person from the street, hungry, I give him a plate of rice, a piece of bread, I have satisfied. I have removed that hunger. But to a person who is shut out, who feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person who has been thrown out from society, that poverty is so full of hurt and so unbearable… And so let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love, and once we begin to love each other naturally we want to do something.
What can be learned from the second paragraph？
A．The woman should have paid more attention to herself.
B．The man couldn' t blame anyone.
C．The author is religious.
D．The man died in the street.
In the United States, a person can take credit onl...
In the United States, a person can take credit only for what he has accomplished by himself. Americans get no credit whatsoever for having been born into a rich or privileged family. (In the United States, that would be considered ―an accident of birth .) Americans pride themselves in having been born poor and, through their own hard work, having climbed the difficult ladder of success to whatever level they have achieved —all by themselves. The American social system has, of course, made it possible for Americans to move, relatively easily, up to the social ladder, whereas this is impossible to do in many other countries. The ―self -made man or woman is still very much the ideal in present-day America.
Americans believe that competition brings out the best in any individual. Consequently, the foreign visitor will see competition being fostered in the American home and in the American classroom, even at the youngest age levels. You may find the value placed on competition among individuals. But Americans teaching in Third World countries find the lack of competitiveness in a classroom situation equally distressing (令人苦恼的). They soon learn that what they had thought to be one of the universal human characteristics represented only a peculiarly American (or Western) value.
Americans, valuing competition, have devised an economic system to go with it – free enterprise (自由企业制). Americans feel very strongly that a highly competitive economy will bring out the best in its people and ultimately, that the society which fosters competition will progress most rapidly. If you look for it, you will see evidence in all areas – in all fields as diverse as medicine, the art, education, and sports – that free enterprise is the approach most often preferred in America.
What does the author mean by saying ―self -made man or woman is still very much the ideal in present-day America？
A.Americans no longer respect those who are born rich as they used to.
B.Americans still respect those who have climbed up the social ladderthrough hard work.
C.Americans think that an ideal man or woman should be born poor.
D.Americans think that only the self-made man or woman is worthy ofrespect.
What does the author think of the American social system？A.It is a system that does not favor those who are born rich.
B.It is a system that makes social climbing very difficult, if not impossible.
C.It makes it comparatively easy for the poor to move up the social ladder.
D.It is the best system possible in the world.
Americans teaching in Third World countries found that _____.A.competition is a unique American (or Western) value.
B.competition must be fostered in the classroom for success in business.
C.cooperation is more important than competition in bringing about progress.
D.competition is one of the universal human characteristics.
We can infer from the passage that free enterprise is _____.A.an economic system allowing free competition among business
B.a belief that competition brings out the best in any individual
C.an attitude that values competition rather than cooperation
D.a theory that advocates competition as the source of all progress
Americans would most likely frown at you if you _____.A.tell them you were born poor and had to work with your hands
B.go around telling people that your father is a self-made man
C.tell them that their social system is not necessarily the best
D.complain that you were born poor and had had no opportunities
