At the table sat my new mentees (学员): six eager undergraduates who signed to work on a project I designed. “Starting today, I get to learn what it s like to be an adviser,” I thought to myself excitedly. But a few minutes later, the students broke the news: They didn’t have any training related to the project. I couldn’t help sighing. How would this ever work?

My inspiration to involve undergraduates in my research came after two years of working as a teaching assistant. Many of my undergraduate students had voiced the same frustrations I once had: They were expected to absorb facts and use them in exams, without any real critical thinking or chance to apply what they had learned. I believe I could fill that gap by creating a project related to my own work and employing undergraduates as the researchers.

My Ph.D. adviser was supportive, knowing it would be a good experience for undergraduates. My department purchased the fish we would study, and a government research lab offered space. Everything was in place—except for the students’ training. I was worried. But backing out was not an option.

I reminded myself how green I had been on my first day in the lab. After 3 hours there, I had to throw everything out and start over the experiment, because I mistook the concentrations of chemicals. But my mentor (导师) said nothing and he let me learn from the scene.

His example inspired me. On the first day in my lab, I walked new mentees through the facilities. However, I noticed that some forgot my instructions. My instinct (本能) was to jump in and save the day. But I resisted the urge to intervene (介入) and watched proudly as the students identified the mistakes and learned from them.

Six months later, in a reflection meeting, the students thanked me for letting them find their own way to grow as scientists.

【小题1】What made the author sigh after meeting her new mentees?

A．Their choosing other advisers.	B．Their absence from her training.
C．Their being late for a few minutes.	D．Their receiving no relevant training.

【小题2】Why did the author employ undergraduates in her project?

A．To help them achieve better performances in exams.

B．To fill the gap between advisers and mentees.

C．To offer them a chance to combine theory with practice.

D．To train them to be her teaching assistants.

【小题3】What does the author mainly intend to show in paragraph 3?

A．Her being in a dilemma.	B．The possible options ahead.
C．Objects needed by her mentees.	D．Her thanks to the government.

【小题4】What did the author learn from her mentor?

A．Training students as early as possible.

B．Walking students through each experiment.

C．Giving students room to learn through their errors.

D．Stepping in to help students get out of trouble in time.