51. By“Ellen Spero isn‘t biting her nails just yet”（Line 1， Paragraph 1）， the author means

　　[A] Spero can hardly maintain her business.

　　[B] Spero is too much engaged in her work.

　　[C] Spero has grown out of her bad habit.

　　[D] Spero is not in a desperate situation.

　　52. How do the public feel about the current economic situation？

　　[A] Optimistic.　　[B] Confused.　　[C] Carefree.　　[D] Panicked.

　　53. When mentioning“the $4 million to $10 million range”（Lines 3-4， Paragraph 3） the author is talking about.

　　[A] gold market.　　　 [B] real estate.

　　[C] stock exchange.　　[D] venture investment.

　　54. Why can many people see“silver linings”to the economic showdown？

　　[A] They would benefit in certain ways.

　　[B] The stock market shows signs of recovery.

　　[C] Such a slowdown usually precedes a boom.

　　[D] The purchasing power would be enhanced.

　　55. To which of the following is the author likely to agree？

　　[A] A now boom， on the horizon.

　　[B] Tighten the belt， the single remedy.

　　[C] Caution all right， panic not.

　　[D] The more ventures， the more chances.

　　Text 4

　　Americans today don‘t place a very high value on intellect. Our heroes are athletes， entertainers， and entrepreneurs， not scholars. Even our schools are where we send our children to get a practical education——not to pursue knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Symptoms of pervasive anti-intellectualism in our schools aren’t difficult to find.

　　“Schools have always been in a society where practical is more important than intellectual，”says education writer Diane Ravitch.“Schools could be a counterbalance.”Razitch‘s latest bock， Left Back： A Century of Failed School Reforms， traces the roots of anti-intellectualism in our schools， concluding they are anything but a counterbalance to the American distaste for intellectual pursuits.

　　But they could and should be. Encouraging kids to reject the life of the mind leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and control. Without the ability to think critically， to defend their ideas and understand the ideas of others， they cannot fully participate in our democracy. Continuing along this path， says writer Earl Shorris，“We will become a second-rate country. We will have a less civil society.”

　　“Intellect is resented as a form of power or privilege，”writes historian and professor Richard Hofstadter in Anti-Intellectualism in American life， a Pulitzer Prize winning book on the roots of anti-intellectualism in US politics， religion， and education. From the beginning of our history， says Hofstadter， our democratic and populist urges have driven us to reject anything that smells of elitism. Practicality， common sense， and native intelligence have been considered more noble qualities than anything you could learn from a book.

　　Ralph Waldo Emerson and other Transcendentalist philosophers thought schooling and rigorous book learning put unnatural restraints on children：“We are shut up in schools and college recitation rooms for 10 or 15 years and come out at last with a bellyful of words and do not know a thing.”Mark Twain‘s Huckleberry Finn exemplified American anti-intellectualism. Its hero avoids being civilized——going to school and learning to read——so he can preserve his innate goodness.