Passage three

　　Many people are afraid to assert themselves. Dr. Alberti, author of Stand Up, Speak Out, and Talk Back, thinks it’s because their self-respect is low. “Our whole set up is designed to make people distrust themselves,” says Alberti. “There’s always a ‘superior’ around – a parent, a teacher, a boss –––– who ‘knows better.’ These superiors often gain when they chip away at your self-image.” But Alberti and other scientists are doing something to help people assert themselves. They offer “assertiveness training” courses ––– AT for short. In the AT courses people learn that they have a right to be themselves. They learn to speak out and feel good about doing so. They learn to be more active without hurting other people. In one way, learning to speak out is to overcome fear. A group taking an AT course will help the timid person to lose his fear. But AT uses an even stronger motive–––the need to share. The timid person speaks out in the group because he wants to express how he feels. Whether or not you speak up for yourself depends on your self-image. If someone you face is more “important” than you, you may feel like less of a person. You start to doubt your own good sense. You go by the other person’s demand. But, why should you? AT says you can get to feel good about yourself. And once you do, you can learn to speak out.

Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　32. Why are people afraid to assert themselves?

　　33. What is the main problem discussed in the passage?

　　34. What is the author’s attitude towards the whole set up?

　　35. What is the one thing that “assertiveness training” does not do?

　　Section C

　　Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.

　　People usually have a positive experience when they first go online. But, (36)like any endeavor ––– traveling, cooking, or attending school – there are some risks. The online world, like the (37) rest of society, is made up of a (38) wide line of people. Most are decent and respectful, but some may be rude and insulting, (39) or even mean and exploitative. Children get a lot of (40) benefits from being online, but they can be (41) targets of crime and exploitation in this as in other environments. Trusting, curious, and (42) anxious to explore this new world and the relationship it brings, children need (43) parental supervision and common sense advice.

　　Although there have been some highly publicized cases of abuse involving the internet and online services, (44) reported cases are relatively infrequent. Of course, like most crimes against children, many cases go unreported, especially (45) if the child is engaged in an activity that he or she does not want to discuss with a parent. The fact that crimes are being committed online, however, (46) is not a reason to avoid these services.