Question

To err is human. To blame the other guy is even more human.

Common sense is not all that common.

Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?

These three popular misquotes(戏谑的引语)are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature .To err, or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don’t want to accept the responsibility for the problem. Perhaps it is the natural thing to do .The original quote about human nature went like this:” To err is human, to forgive, divine(神圣的).”This saying mirrors an deal people should be forgiving of others’ mistakes. Instead, we tend to do the opposite –find someone else to pass the blame on to. However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a making of great maturity.

Common sense is what we call clear thought. Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan. Commonsense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine．Common sense does not seem to be common for large organizations, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything. People say that in a large company,”the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.”

And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people. get the idea that it’s okay not to be totally honest all the time. There is a corollary(直接推论)to that: if good excuse is “good”even if it isn’t honest, then where is the place of the truth?

1. According to tile passage, which of following seems the most human?

A. To search for truth．                    B. To achieve one’s ideal

C. To make fun of others’mistakes．          D. To criticize others for one’s own error.

2．According to the author, what is a sign of a man’s maturity?

A．Doing things his own way.

B．Bearing responsibility for his mistakes.

C．Making as few mistakes as possible．

D．Thinking seriously about his wrongdoing.

3．Which of the following is N0T based on common sense?

A．A man tries to take charge of everything in a large company.

B．A student goes out with an umbrella in stormy weather.

C．A company’s next move follows a good plan．

D．A lawyer acts on fine judgments．

4. What is the author’s opinion about a good excuse?

A. Making a good excuse is sometimes a better policy.

B. Inventing a good excuse needs creative ideas.

C. A good excuse is as rewarding as honesty.

D. Bitter truth is better than a good excuse.

5. What would be the best title for his passage?

A. A Mirror of Human Nature            B. To Blame or to Forgive

C. A Mark of Maturity                  D. Truth or Excuse

Answer 1

【小题1】D

【小题2】B

【小题3】A

【小题4】D

【小题5】A

解析:

【语篇解读】本篇文章为记叙文。主要讲述“我”对父亲的情感变化过程的故事：孩提时我爱父亲；上学后我怕他；年青的时候更怕他；结婚成家后我发现了父亲温柔和友好的一面，为此我感到高兴。

【小题1】细节理解题。根据第一段第一句和第二句“To err is human. To blame the other guy is even more human”可知，批评他人是更人性化的，故选D项。

【小题2】细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句“However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a mark of great maturity.”可知为某件错误的事情承担责任是成熟的迹象，故选B项。

【小题3】细节理解题。根据第三段内容可知，common sense指的是清晰的思维，如有一个良好的总体计划使事情做得好，指的是下雨时带着伞，到那时不适一个人能够管理所有的事情，可判断选A项。

【小题4】作者态度题。根据最后一段“And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art …then where is the place of the truth”可知，作者在反思一种错误思想，编造好的借口就如创造艺术，尽管不诚实大家感到很正常，但是真理放在那哪一个地方，说明作者反对编造好的借口，由此判断选D项。

【小题5】标题概括题。文章由一段引语抛出本文主题：人性，并在第二段论述这个引语反映了一个理想状态，人们应该原谅他人的错误，然后实际上我们做的恰好相反。第三和第四段则论述了不同做法折射出的人性，所以选择A，能够概括全文主题。