Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn’t exist (存在). That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball (化装舞会). He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand (壮丽的) entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was greatly surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time!The text is mainly about __________.
| A．a strange man |
| B．an unusual party |
| C．how roller skating began |
| D．how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century |
People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he __________.
| A．was full of imagination |
| B．was a gifted (有才华的) musician |
| C．invented the roller skates |
| D．often gave others surprises |
Merlin put wheels under his shoes in order to __________.
| A．show his skill in walking on wheels |
| B．arrive at the party sooner |
| C．test his invention |
| D．impress the party guests |
What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph (自然段)?
| A．The roller skates needed further improvement. |
| B．The party guests took Merlin for a fool. |
| C．Merlin succeeded beyond (超出) expectation. |
| D．Merlin got himself into trouble. |
A person may have an idea about himself that will prevent him from doing good work..
He may have the idea that he is not capable of it. It is easy to get such an idea even though there is no justification for it. A child may think he is stupid because he does not understand how to take the most of his mental faculties, or he may accept another person s mistaken estimate of his ability. Older people may be handicapped by the mistaken belief that they are incapable of learning anything new because of their age.
A person who believes that he is incapable will not make a real effort, because he feels that it would be useless. He won’t go at a job with the confidence necessary for success, and he won’t work hardest, even though he may think he is doing so. He is therefore likely to fail, and the failure will strengthen his belief in his incompetence.
Alfred Adler, a famous psychiatrist（精神病医生）, had an experience which illustrates this. When he was a small boy he got off to a poor start in arithmetic. His teacher got the idea that he had no ability in arithmetic, and told his parents what she thought in order that they would not expect too much of him. In this way, they too developed the idea, "Isn’t it too bad that Alfred can’t do arithmetic?" He accepted their mistaken estimate of his ability, felt that it was useless to try, and was very poor at arithmetic, just as they expected.
One day he became very angry at the teacher and other students because they laughed when he said he saw how to do a problem which none of the other students had been able to solve.
Adler succeeded in solving a problem. This gave him confidence. He rejected the idea that he couldn’t do arithmetic and was determined to show them that he could. His anger and his new found confidence stimulated him to be at arithmetic problems with a new spirit. He now worked with interest, determination, and purpose, and he soon became extraordinarily good at arithmetic. He not only proved that he could do arithmetic, but he learned early in life from his own experience that , if a person goes at a job with determination and purpose, he may astonish himself as well as others by his ability.
This experience made him realize that many people have more ability than they think they have. And that lack of success is as often the result of lack of knowledge of how to apply one’s ability, lack of confidence, and lack of determination as it is the result of lack of ability.The underlined word “justification” most probably means ________.
| A．reason | B．rightness | C．need | D．demand |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．The basic principles in doing math problems. |
| B．Our idea about ourselves may have a negative influence on our work. |
| C．Our ideas do not always have and influence on us. |
| D．All actions are caused by impulse. |
What does Alfred Adler’s story tell us?
| A．Many people have more ability than they think they have. |
| B．Anybody can become a mathematician, if he has determination. |
| C．Arithmetic is actually very easy. |
| D．Most teachers are wrong when they evaluator their students. |
Why did he become angry one day?
| A．Because the teacher and other students laughed at him. |
| B．Because they challenged him to do a difficult arithmetic problem. |
| C．Because he couldn’t solve the arithmetic problem. |
| D．Because he was very poor at arithmetic. |
What idea did Alfred’s teacher have?
| A．He was slow in arithmetic. |
| B．He should work harder. |
| C．He should be transferred to a special school. |
| D．He should not tell his parents that he was slow. |
Help or Not
Dear editor,
During last year's winter holiday, I went shopping with my grandmother. We saw several beggars. Some of them were disabled, which made me feel sad. Among them were old people, young people and even children! When I wanted to help them, my grandmother stopped me. She told me they were not worth showing mercy to because some beggars cheated people out of their money. Should I help them?
Yours,
Mary from Guangzhou
Dear Mary,
While I understand your grandmother’s point of view, I think that just because some beggars have cheated people, this doesn’t mean you should never help any beggars.
Showing mercy to people who are not as fortunate as us is one of the kindest things we can do. While some beggars may use dishonest means to get money, most beggars will not. Even those who use dishonest means are probably hungry for food and feel they have no choice but to cheat people. It is important to be careful for your own safety. But if you want to help, you don’t necessarily have to give it to beggars in the street.
Another way you can help is by donating money to the China Charity Federation. Visit its website at: www. china charity. cn.net.
18.From the grandmother’s point of view, we can learn that ________.
A. she has never helped the beggars.
B. she believes not all beggars are honest
C. she has surely been cheated by some beggars
D. she shows no pity for the poor
19. Mary felt sad for _______.
A. her grandmother B. the disabled beggars
C. the old people D. herself
20. The editor suggests that Mary should _______.
A. have her own mind B. follow her grandmother
C. do something for those unfortunate D. help the China Charity Federation
21. The underlined word “donating” probably means _______.
A. give out of kindness B. put into a business
C. earn through an organization D. give in return for some kindness
From poor beginnings to most expensive player
ZINEDINE Zidane，who dreams of leading France to its second World Cup title in a row next month，has always preferred to express himself with a football rather than with words．
Last Wednesday Zidane scored the decisive goal when Real Madrid of Spain won the Champions League final against Germany's Leverkusen 2一1．
He became one of the world’s most expensive players when he joined Real Madrid from Italy's Juventus for US $ 66 million．And he has been a national hero since he scored twice in the 3-O defeat of Brazil in the 1998 World Cup Final．
But despite his success，Zidane has always kept his feet on the ground．He leads a quite family life，there is hardly any gossip about him and he avoids putting his wife and two children in the spotlight．
“Just because I'm a public figure it doesn't mean I have to express myself on everything．I don't like to discuss some personal matters publicly．”he said．
Even as a child playing football in the slum area of Marseille，France，where he was raised by his Algerian parents，Zidane was shy．
He loved football even as a little kid．“I realized football is a wonderful mixture of a sharp mind and hard training rather than just talking，”he said．
Even when the match awards were just chocolate and bread，Zidane found that football made his poor childhood rich．
Before he was 10 years old，it was obvious that he could become a great footballer．He was offered his first professional contract(合同)when he was just 20．Now，at the age of 29，he has already picked up two World Player of the year awards．
This quiet striker has not yet spoken of his hopes for the coming World Cup．But his fans across the world will be eagerly watching him to see what he'll do this time． What did Zidane learn from his childhood football experience? He learned that_____________.
| A．he could become a great footballer |
| B．he could become rich if he became a footballer |
| C．football is a mixture of a sharp mind and hard training but not just talking |
| D．football is a favorite sport in the future |
According to the article，what are Zidane’s main characteristics?
| A．He is a shy but successful man． |
| B．H e loves his wife and children． |
| C．He doesn't like to speak in public． |
| D．He is a quiet，down—to earth person of few words． |
When the writer says“Zidane has always kept his feet on the ground”,he means_________.
| A．Zidane spends more time standing than sitting most days |
| B．Zidane is a down-to earth person |
| C．Zidane has spent most of his time training on the pitch |
| D．Zidane likes standing when he succeeds |
The sentence“Zidane found that football made his poor childhood rich”means___________．
| A．football made Zidane's poor family wealthy when he was a child |
| B．Zidane knew that football could bring him fame and wealth even when he was a child |
| C．football brought happiness to Zidane when he was a child in a poor family |
| D．Zidane knew that if he wanted to be rich he must play football from childhood |
Few people would defend the Victorian attitude on children, but if you were a parent in those days, at least you knew where you stood: children were to be seen and not heard. Freud and his colleagues did away with all that and parents have been puzzled ever since. The child’s happiness is all- important, they say, but what about the parents’ happiness? Modern child-rearing manuals（抚养孩子手册）would never permit cruelty to children .The trouble is you are not allowed even to shout. Who knows what deep psychological(心理的)wounds you might cause? The poor child may never recover from the dreadful experience. So it is the parents that bend over backwards to avoid giving their children complex which a hundred years ago hadn’t even been heard of. Certainly, a child needs love, and a lot of it. But the excessive permissive(纵容) of modern parents is surely doing more harm than good.
Psychologists(心理学家) have succeeded in weakening parents confidence in their own authority. And it hasn’t taken children long to get wind of the fact. In addition to the great modern classics on child care, there are countless articles in magazines and newspapers. With so much advice flying about, mum and dad just don’t know what to do any more. In the end, they do nothing at all. So, from early childhood, the kids are in charge and parents’ lives are regulated according to the needs of their kids. When the little dears develop into teenagers, they take complete control. Lack of authority over the years makes teenagers rebellion against parents all the more violent. If the young people are going to have a party, for example, parents are asked to leave the house. Their presence merely spoils the fun. What else can the poor parents do but obey?The author says that today’s parents _______.
| A．are bombarded with excessive amounts of child-care literature. |
| B．draw a distinction between permissiveness and carelessness. |
| C．are only towards children from happy home backgrounds. |
| D．weigh their children’s knowledge rather than intelligence. |
The phrase “get wind of” (Para.2) most likely means _______ .
| A．become used to | B．try to avoid |
| C．realize | D．become puzzled of |
Which of the following can be inferred from this passage?
| A．Victorian child rearing is a model for parents to follow. |
| B．Psychologists have much to answer for today’s problems on child care. |
| C．With the help of so much advice, raising children is easier than ever. |
| D．Parents like to enjoy the freedom when there is a party in the house. |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．The excessive permissiveness of today’s parents is harmful to children. |
| B．Psychologists shouldn’t interfere so much with child care. |
| C．Parents should hold the Victorian attitudes towards children. |
| D．Children are too sensitive to be hurt. |
“The first and best of victories is for a man to conquer himself; to be conquered by himself is, of all things, the most shameful,” says Plato. Self-control is at the root of all the advantages. Let a man give in to his impulses (冲动) and feelings, and from that moment he gives up his moral (道德上的) freedom.
A single angry word has lost many a friend. When Socrates found in himself any temper or anger, he would check it by speaking low in order to control himself. If you are conscious of being angry, keep your mouth shut so that you can hold back rising anger. Many a person has dropped dead in great anger. Fits of anger bring fits of disease. “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad.” “Keep cool”, says George Herbert, “for fierceness (狂怒) makes error a fault.”
To be angry with a weak man is to prove that you are not strong yourself. “Anger,” says Pythagoras, “brings with folly(愚蠢) and ends with regret.” You must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings he conquers, not by the power of those which conquer him.
Self-control is man’s last greatest victory.
If a man lacks self-control he seems to lack everything. Without it he can have no patience, no power to govern himself; he can have no self-confidence, for he will always be controlled by his strongest feeling. If he lacks self-control, the very backbone and nerve of character are lacking also. What does the reader learn from the first paragraph?
| A．The greatest victory for a man is to conquer everything except himself. |
| B．One’s moral freedom is based on the control of himself. |
| C．To control oneself is the most difficult in one’s life. |
| D．If a person is too stubborn, he will feel most shameful. |
What is the correct interpretation of “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad” ?
| A．If the gods want to kill you, they make you crazy first. |
| B．If you always lose your temper, you will soon be finished. |
| C．If you cannot control yourself, you will become crazy. |
| D．If you are mad, you will be punished by the gods. |
If a man lacks self-control, he lacks all of the following EXCEPT _______.
| A．the very backbone and nerve of character |
| B．the patience and power to control himself |
| C．strong feelings |
| D．self-confidence |
The author’s main purpose in writing this article is to _______.
| A．explain that self-control is the key to success |
| B．teach people how to control everything in order to make a great success |
| C．distinguish all kinds of self-control and suggest ways for keeping it |
| D．advise people not to lose temper so as to make and keep more friends |
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