题目内容
In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity（繁荣）. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit（追求） of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary player, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “ I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued．Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve（缓解） can we discover a new meaning in competition.
1. What does this passage mainly talk about?
A．Competition helps to set up self-respect.
B．Opinions about competition are different among people.
C．Competition is harmful to personal quality development.
D．Failures are necessary experiences in competition.
2. Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
A．It pushes society forward． B．It builds up a sense of duty.
C．It improves personal abilities. D．It encourages individual efforts.
3. The underlined phrase “ the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means _____.
A．those who try their best to win
B．those who value competition most highly
C．those who are against competition most strongly
D．those who rely on others most for success
4. What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a “desire to fail”?
A．One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others’.
B．One’s success in competition needs great efforts.
C．One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills.
D．One’s success is based on how hard he has tried.
5. Which point of view may the author agree to?
A．Every effort should be paid back.
B．Competition should be encouraged.
C．Winning should be a life-and-death matter.
D．Fear of failure should be removed in competition.
BACAD
Recently, a professor of philosophy in the United States has written a book called MoneyandtheMeaningofLife. He has discovered that how we deal with money in our daytoday life has more meaning than we usually think. One of the exercises he asked his students to do is to keep a record of every penny they spend for a week. From the way they spend their money, they can see what they really value in life.
He says that our relation with others often becomes clearly defined when money enters the picture. You might have wonderful friendship with somebody and you think that you have a very good friend. But you will know him only when you ask him to lend you some money. If he does, it brings something to the relationship that seems stronger than ever before. Or it can suddenly weaken the relationship if he doesn't. This person may say that he has a certain feeling, but if it is not carried out in the money world, there is something less real about it.
Since money is so important to us, we consider those who possess a lot of it to be very important. The author interviewed some millionaires in researching his book.
Question: What is the most surprising thing you have discovered about being rich?
Answer: The most surprising thing is why people give me so much respect. I am nothing. I do not know much. All I am is rich.
People just have an idea of making more and more money, but what is it for? In his book, the professor uncovered an important need in modern society: to bring back the idea that money is an instrument rather than the end. Money plays an important role in the material world, but expecting money to give happiness may be missing the meaning of life.
1.The author seems to believe that asking your friend to lend you some money ________.
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A．is a good way to test your friendship |
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B．will do harm to your friendship |
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C．will strengthen your friendship |
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D．is a good way to break off your friendship |
2.What can we learn about the millionaire from his answer in the interview?
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A．He does not feel that he is well educated. |
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B．He does not think that he is a very important person. |
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C．He does not think that being rich is worth so much attention. |
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D．He does not consider himself to be very successful. |
3.What does the American professor of philosophy want to explain in his book?
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A．Money is an end. |
B．Money is a means. |
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C．Money is everything. |
D．Money is unimportant. |
4.Which of the following might the author disagree with?
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A．Money is important in modern society. |
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B．The meaning of life does not completely lie in money. |
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C．Wealth will surely bring the owner happiness |
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D．Happiness is not necessarily the result of wealth. |
We lived in a technological society where most goods are mass-produced by unskilled labor. Because of this, most people think that craft(手艺) no longer exists.
One of the ways these people wrongly support their view is by pointing to 100-year-old homes which are still solid, and arguing that it is the craftsmanship that is responsible for their durability(持久性). “Homes in those days were well-built,” they say. No doubt these homes were well-built, but what these people have done is mix up the quality of material used in the house with the quality of the craftsmanship.
Homes today could be built to last just as long as those old homes if people were willing or able to pay the price. For example, more people can no longer afford solid oak stairways, although they were once fairly common in older homes. Nor can they afford the high labor cost of employing a carpenter to build the stairway. Yet if someone can pay the high cost, there are still plenty of carpenters around able to make those stairways. And not only would these carpenters know how to build them, they would probably do a better job than carpenters of old.
One thing the modern carpenter has which enables him to do a better job is much more advanced tools. Such tools as laser beams and power planes help them lay out a house better and make more precision cuts on the wood. Also, it is not uncommon any more to find carpenters with college degrees and carpenters with a solid knowledge of mathematics, which would enable them to deal with more difficult house designs.
The problems of modern quality, then, really boils down to the problem of material, for the modern carpenter is just as able to produce craftsmanship as the carpenter of fifty years ago, but only if given proper material.
1． Compared to the carpenters in the past, modern carpenters are _______.
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A．more successful |
B．more learned |
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C．more imaginative |
D．more hardworking |
2． What does the underlined word “they” (paragraph 2) refer to?
carpenters who are fond of oak stairways.
carpenters who have college degrees.
people who think highly of carpenters of old.
people who think that modern material is of low quality.
3． What does the third paragraph mainly discuss?
People in the past preferred to use oak to build stairways.
It is now expensive to employ a carpenter.
Modern houses last as long as the old one.
Good carpenters still exist in modern times.
4． What would be the best title for the text?
Is Craft Dead?
Craft, Back to life?
History of craftsmanship
Carpenters Today and Yesterday