If I had known then what I know now, I would have taken my father’s advice when I was 18 and I had to choose my major at university. He told me to study outside Italy where there were more possibilities to find a job once I finished university. But I said no, scared of living alone in a different country with a different culture, with a different language, and above all, far from my family and friends. So I decided to go to university in Italy and I chose the one in Rome, my city, which is one of the most ancient universities in the world, studying Communication Science because it was the most common and the most fashionable major six years ago (and still now…). At that age, I w anted to become a sports journalist, but with the passing time, my opinions and my ideas started changing and I understood that I didn’t like my choice. At that time, I realized that at 18 years old, everyone feels mature to decide about his own future. Everyone thinks that the advice that parents try to give is wrong and we are able to decide alone, maybe just with the help of our friends who are in the same situation. This is the worst thought that we can think.
However, I graduated last December with the pride of my parents and I decide, with their help, to come to Toronto and study English. Here I am living the best experience I have ever lived. I often think, “If I had known that living alone in a different country and studying something I like were so nice and interesting when I was 18, I would have listened to what my father told me six years ago.” I try to regret nothing about my choices I have made in my past, but I just think that now I am mature to ask my parents and to listen to them because they have more experience and they know better than me what is right and what is wrong.
56. What can we learn about the writer from the passage?
A. He went to Toronto in order to become a sports journalist.
B. He studied English when he was in a university in Rome.
C. He followed his parents’ advice when choosing a university.
D. He is enjoying his stay in Toronto and his study of English.
57. The underlined word “mature” in the passage means______.
A. having a developed mind
B. good and ripe
C. confident enough
D. carefully decided
58. From his own experience, the writer tries to tell us that______.
A. he still prefers to ask his friends for help
B. parents’ advice is worth taking
C. he doesn’t regret about the choices he has made
D. Communication Science is still fashionable now
