题目内容
Not every president is a leader, but every time we elect a president we hope for one, especially in time of trouble. Leadership is as much a question of timing as anything else. The leader must appear on the scene at a moment when people are looking for leadership. And when he comes, he must offer a straightforward and powerful message.
Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers who cut through argument, debate and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand and remember. We have an image of what a leader ought to be. We even recognize the physical signs: leaders may not necessarily be tall, but they must have bigger- than-life, commanding features. We expect our leaders to stand out a little, not to be like ordinary men. Half of President Ford’s trouble lay in the fact that, if you closed your eyes for a moment, you couldn’t remember his face, figure, or clothes.
It also helps for a leader to be able to do something most of us can’t. Mao swam the Yangtze River at the age of 72. We want our leaders to be like us but better, special, more so. Yet if they are too different, we reject them.
A leader must know how to use power (that’s what leadership is about), but he also has to have a way of showing that he does. A leader should know how to appear relaxed and confident. His walk should be firm and purposeful. He should be able to give a good, hearty, belly laugh. Ronald Reagan’s career as an actor showed to good effect in the debate with his opponent. He managed to convey the impression that in fact he was the President.
A leader rides the waves, moves with the tides, understands the deepest feelings of his people. He cannot make a nation that wants peace at any price go to war, or stop a nation determined to fight from doing so. His purpose must match the national mood. His task is to focus the people’s energies and desires, to inspire, to make what people already want seem possible and important to achieve.
68. The passage is mainly about____________________.
A.how a leader is elected B.what it takes to be a leader
C.when a leader is needed D.where a leader lays his power
69.The author thinks that President Ford_________________.
A.was an ordinary-looking man
B.got into more trouble than the other presidents
C.was not tall enough for his status
D.stood too far away from real life
70. According to the passage, Reagan succeeded in winning his election largely due to the fact that _______.
A.he was once an actor
B.he was able to well present himself
C.Reagan did much for
D.Reagan was a very lucky man
71.In the last paragraph the author emphasizes that a leader should_________________.
A.encourage his people to think about things in a new way
B.like to swim like Mao to fight with waves and tides
C.spare no efforts to get his people to follow him
D.try to know his people and make them happy
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Have you ever been sad because of failure? Please remember, for often, achieving what you set out to do is not the most important thing.
A boy decided to dig a deep hole behind his house. As he was working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch. “What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors. “I want to dig a hole all the way through the earth!” the boy answered excitedly. The older boys began to laugh, telling him that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a while, the boy picked up a jar. He showed it to the visitors. It was full of all kinds of stones and insects. Then he said calmly and confidently, “Maybe I can’t finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I’ve found during this period!”
The boy’s goal was far too difficult, but it did cause him to go on. And that is what a goal is for — to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen, in other words, to cause us to keep working!
Not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end up with a success. Not every dream will come true. But when you fall short of your aim, maybe you can say, “Yes, but look what I’ve found along the way! There are so many wonderful things having come into my life because I tried to do something!” It is in the digging that life is lived. It is the unexpected joy on the journey that really makes sense.
【小题1】The older boys laughed at the boy because he was thought to be .
A.brave | B.impolite | C.foolish | D.warm-hearted |
A.To drive them away. |
B.To show what he had found in digging. |
C.To show how beautiful the jar was. |
D.To attract them to join him in the work. |
A.Not dream can come true. | B.All work will end successfully. |
C.Goals shouldn't be set too high | D.Goals will make us work harder. |
A.Joy in the Journey | B.A Boy Dug a Hole |
C.No Pains, No Gains | D.Failure Is the Mother of Success |
I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by themselves. One January, I had to hold two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community. Both had died “full of years”, as the Bible would say .Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence(吊唁)calls on the two families on the same afternoon.
At the first home, the son of the deceased woman said to me, ”If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today. It’s my fault that she died. ”At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today .That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate ,was more than she could take.It’s my fault that she’s dead.”
You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out bad, they believe that the opposite course------keeping mother at home, putting off the operation----would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?
There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens. That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.
The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.
A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs,and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to his tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him,and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we don not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.
【小题1】The author had to conduct the two women’s funerals probably because_______.
A.he was minister of the local church |
B.he wanted to comfort the two families |
C.he was an official of the community |
D.he had great pity for the deceased |
A.they can’t find a better way of express their sorrow |
B.they have neglected the natural course of events |
C.they believe that they were the reason |
D.the don’t know things often turn in the opposite direction |
A.everything in the world is predetermined |
B.there’s an explanation for everything in the world |
C.the world can be interpreted in different ways |
D.we have to be sensible in order to understand the world |
A .Life and death is an unsolved mystery.
B. Never feel guilty all the time because not every disaster is our fault.
C Every story should have a happy ending.
D. In general, the survivors will feel guilty about the people who passed away.
Famous centenarians (百岁老人) still active in arts, science are in no mood to retire. "Those who stand still, die," is one of Oliveira's favorite phrases. He knows from experience what it means, as the Portuguese film director has reached the age of 102 and is still active in his profession. Every year, Oliveira shoots a film and is currently working on his next project. "You have to work, work, work in order to forget that death is not far away," he said. When asked about his age, Oliveira said with some humility: "It's down to mother nature. It gave to me what it took from others."
Being both mentally and physically fit in old age is partly a matter of luck, but it also has something to do with character. Not every white-haired person is wise and social skills, openness and the ability to train the brain are essential for senior citizens.
Along with the architect Oscar Niemeyer (103), Nobel laureate Montalcini (101) and director Kurt Maetzig (100), Oliveira is one of those people of whom it would be very wrong to think as members of a listless elderly generation.
Another master in his profession is the architect Oscar Niemeyer. The 103-year-old Brazilian is best known for his futuristic-looking buildings in Brasilia, but he also speaks out on behalf of the poor. "The role of the architect is to struggle for a better world where we can develop a form of architecture that serves everyone and not just a privileged few," said Niemeyer recently. He spends almost every day working in his office in Copacabana, and even when he falls ill he keeps working on ideas: After a gallbladder (胆囊) operation he composed a samba tune (桑巴舞曲) in the clinic.
Another man who could sing a song about age is 107-year-old Heesters. The Dutch-born opera singer spent most of his life performing in Germany, where he still works. Recently Heesters said: "I want to be at least 108-years-old." He also plans to keep performing. "Should I just sit at home and wait until they come and pick me up?" Heesters has not given up trying to add to his tally of awards and is looking for a "good stage role".
Italian scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini, who is 101-year-old and is still active in medical science, has described the force that keeps driving her on: "Progress is created through imperfection." In 1986 she and her lab colleague were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work on nerve growth factor. She's convinced that humans grow on challenges.
With so many brilliant examples given, we can see clearly that age is no barrier to some high achievers.
【小题1】From the first two paragraphs, we can see ______.
A.being active at 102 is achievable for everybody |
B.Oliveira owes his long life to his mother’s help |
C.being fit in old age is a matter of luck and character |
D.social skills and wisdom are difficult for the senior |
A.4 | B.5 | C.6 | D.7 |
A.wants to sit or lie in comfort |
B.is waiting for people to pick him up |
C.is willing to work till he dies |
D.prefers to give performance at home |
A.old age is a big problem if you want to succeed |
B.as a senior citizen, you have to be open-minded and optimistic |
C.old people should never think of themselves as old |
D.old age cannot prevent a great person from achieving a lot |
A.intelligent | B.pessimistic | C.positive | D.diligent |