What does it mean to say that we live in a world of persuasion? It means that we live among competing interests. Your roommate’s need to study for an exam may take priority（优先）over pizza. Your instructor may have good reasons not to change your grade. And the object of your romantic interest may have other choices.

　　In such a world, persuasion is the art of getting others to give fair and favorable consideration to our point of view. When we persuade, we want to influence how others believe and behave. We may not always prevail— other points of view may be more persuasive, depending on the listener, the situation, and the merits of the case. But when we practice the art of persuasion, we try to ensure that our position receives the attention it deserves.

　　Some people, however, object to the very idea of persuasion. They may regard it as an unwelcome interruption into their lives. Just the opposite, we believe that persuasion is unavoidable — to live is to persuade. Persuasion may be ethical（合乎道义的）or unethical, selfless or selfish, inspiring or degrading. Persuaders may enlighten our minds or catch our vulnerability(弱点). Ethical persuasion, however, calls on sound reasoning and is sensitive to the feelings and needs of listeners. Such persuasion can help us apply the wisdom of the past to the decisions we now must make. Therefore, the most basic part of education is learning to resist the one kind of persuasion and to encourage and practice the other.

　　Beyond its personal importance to us, persuasion is necessary to society. The right to persuade and be persuaded is the bedrock of the American political system, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution（美国宪法）.

1.According to the passage, persuasion means ________.

2.The underlined word in the second paragraph “prevail” means“________”.

3.The passage states that some people object to persuasion because they think it is ________.

4.The passage mainly discusses ________.

Hana al—Shaibani was born on August 27, 1942．She was the only girl in her family, having two older and two younger brothers．Her father, a politician and journalist, loved her and played a large role in shaping the woman she grew up to be．
In 1956, Iraq's Baath party started to grow in popularity．Its slogans declaring liberty, Arab socialism and unity attracted the younger generation, including Hana．Although she was only 14 years old, she turned member of the party-receiving her education with her political activities．During her university years, she worked for the Baath party during the day and attended classes in the evening．
In 1958, following the overthrow of Iraq's monarchy （君主政治） , Hana rose through the ranks and was chosen to lead the party's female members．She was just 16．Two years later, she was selected as one of three representatives of the Iraqi Baath party to attend the Arab National Baath Party Conference, held that year in Beirut．Still just a teenager, she had already achieved more than most women from her region could ever imagine．
As was known to everyone, she was determined and fearless．One of the most memorable family stories tells of the time in 1959 when she left the house to join an organization against the rule of the then prime minister, Abdel Karim Qassim．The atmosphere was tense and a number of the organisers would later be killed．But Hana was determined to attend．
Sensing trouble, she hid the gun and carried beneath her skirt as she walked down the stairs．Her father begged with her not to go．He explained that as a patriot he understood her sense of duty, but added that his love for her went beyond all else．Hana replied; "Papa, you were once a patriotic man and when you were called upon to fight, you did．Please understand, so that I may go with your blessing rather than without．" Her father could not stop her．
【小题1】．The passage mainly talks about __    __．
A．the life of Hana al-Shaibani       
B．the achievement of Hana al-Shaibani
D．the sufferings Hana al-Shaibani has received
D．Hana al-Shaibani and her father
【小题2】．When Hana al-Shaibani joined the Baath party, __    __．

A．she had to abandon her studies

B．she became popular with the people

C．she attracted the younger generation

D．she was then only a student

完形填空

The Brick

　　About ten years ago, a young and very successful manager named Josh was travelling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit fast in his 1 car.

　　He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars. 2 his car passed, no child rushed out, but a brick did and WHUMP! It 3 his shiny black side door! Josh 4 out of his car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up 5 a parked car. He shouted at the kid,“ 6 was that all about and who are you? Just what are you doing?”He went on with 7 “That's my new Jaguar, that brick you threw is going to cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?”

　　“Please, mister, please…I'm 8 ! I didn't know what else to do!” 9 the youngster.“I threw the brick 10 no one else would stop!”Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he 11 around the parked car.“It's my brother, mister,”he said.“He rolled 12 the sidewalk and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't 13 him up.”Sobbing, the boy asked the manager,“Would you please help me get him 14 into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me.”

15　　 beyond words, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief 16 wiped the cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then 17 the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.

　　It was a long and slow walk back to his expensive car. Josh 18 did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the damage to 19 him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. Pay 20 to the bricks of life coming at to you.

“I grew up on Jackson’s music and I still have all his stuff on My iPod. I think that Michael Jackson will go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers. His brilliance as a performance also was paired with a tragic and in many ways，sad personal life.”

Michael Jackson was a singer，songwriter，dancer and celebrity icon with a vast catalog of hit records and countless awards to his credit. Beyond that，he had transfixed the world like few entertainers before or since. As a solo performer，he had enjoyed a level of superstardom previously known   ——Barack Obama

only to Elvis Presley，the Beatles and  Frank Sinatra.

Michael Jackson was unquestionably the biggest pop star of the 80s’，and certainly one of the most popular recording artists of all time.

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29,1958.The fifth and youngest son of steelworker Joe Jackson，Michael displayed a talent for music and dance from an extremely young age. His father began to organize a family musical group around his three eldest sons in 1962，and Michael joined them the following year，quickly establishing himself as a dynamic stage performer. Dubbed the Jackson 5，the group signed to Motown in 1968 and issued their debut single in October 1969，when Michael was just 11 years old. I Want You Back，ABC，The Love You Save and I’ll Be There all hit number one in 1970，making the Jackson 5 the first group in pop history to have their first four singles top the charts. Later in 1972，Jackson had his first number one solo single，Ben. In 1977，he met producer/composer Quincy Jones for the first time. With Jones producing，Jackson recorded his first solo album as an adult，Off the Wall.

Released（发行） in 1982，the Quincy Jones produced Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall：the dance and rock tracks were more driving，the pop tunes and ballads softer and more soulful，and all of it was recognizably Michael. There was no surprise that Thriller was a hit；what was a surprise was its staying power .Jackson’s duet with McCartney，The Girl Is Mine，was a natural single choice，and it peaked at number two；then Billie Jean and the Van Halen track Beat It both hit number one，for seven and three weeks respectively.

Michael Jackson died from heart disease on June 25 at age 50.

1.What does Barack Obama mean by saying “His brilliance as a performance also was paired with a tragic and in many ways，sad personal life”？

A．Michael Joseph Jackson was a success in his career as well as in life.

B．Michael Joseph Jackson was a success in his career.

C．Michael Joseph Jackson led a happy life.

D．Michael Joseph Jackson gained a lot in his career，but he also suffered a lot in his life.

2.According to the passage，which of the following is NOT true?

A．Barack Obama likes Michael Jackson’s song very much.

B．Barack Obama and Michael Jackson are good friends.

C．Michael is good at music as well as at dance.

D．Michael Jackson had his first number one solo single when he was 14 years old.

3.Choose the right time order of the following events.

a．Barack Obama，President of the US，assessed the whole life of Michael Jackson.

b．The family musical group signed to Motown.

c．Michael joined the family musical group.

d．His father began to organize a family musical group.

e．Thriller became a hit.

A．a－c－e－b－d  　　  B．d－c－b－e－a

C．b－e－a－c－d  　　  D．d－e－b－c－a

4.What does the first paragraph mainly tell us?

A．Michael Jackson’s job.  　　B．How Michael Jackson performed.

C．Michael Jackson’s great achievements.  D．Michael Jackson’s life.