Parents whose children show a special interest in a sport feel very difficult to make a decision about their children's careers. Should they allow their children to train to become top sportsmen and sportswomen? For many children it means starting schoolwork very young, and going out with friends and other interests have to take a second place. It's very difficult to explain to a young child why he or she has to train five hours a day, even at the weekend, when most of his or her friends are playing.
Another problem is of course money. In many countries money for training is available from government for the very best young sportsmen and sportswomen. If this help can not be given, it means that it is the parents who have to find the time and the money to support their child's development and sports clothes, transport to competitions, special equipment, etc. All can be very expensive.
Many parents are worried that it is dangerous to start serious training in a sport at an early age. Some doctors agree that young muscles may he damaged by training before they are properly developed. Professional trainers, however, believe that it is only by training when young that you can reach the top as a successful sports person. It is clear that very few people do reach the top, and both parents and children should be prepared for failure even after many years of training.
【小题1】This passage is most probably taken from _______.

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 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.

1.What does the reader learn from the first paragraph?

2.What is the correct interpretation of “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad ” in paragraph 2 ?

3. If a man lacks self-control, he lacks all of the following EXCEPT _______.

4.The author’s main purpose in writing this article is to _______.

5.The passage is mainly developed by _____.

Kong Zi, also called Confucius (551 — 479 B.C.), and Socrates (469 — 399 B.C.) lived only a hundred years apart, and during their lifetimes there was no contact between China and Greece, but it is interesting to look at how the world that each of these great philosophers came from shaped their ideas, and how these ideas in turn, shaped their societies.

       Neither philosopher lived in times of peace, though there were more wars in Greece than in China. The Chinese states were very large and feudal, while the Greek city-states were small and urban. The urban environment in which Socrates lived allowed him to be more radical (激进的) than Confucius. Unlike Confucius, Socrates was not asked by rulers how to govern effectively. Thus, Socrates was able to be more idealistic, focusing on issues like freedom, and knowledge for its own sake. Confucius, on the other hand, advised those in government service, and many of his students went on to government service.

       Confucius suggested the Golden Rule as a principle for the conduct of life: “Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to you.” He assumed that all men were equal at birth, though some had more potential than others, and that it was knowledge that set men apart. Socrates focused on the individual, and thought that the greatest purpose of man was to seek wisdom. He believed that some had more potential to develop their reason than others did. Like Confucius, he believed that the superior class should rule the inferior (下层的) classes.

       For Socrates, the family was of no importance, and the community of little concern. For Confucius, however, the family was the centre of society, with family relations considered much more important than political relations.

       Both men are respected much more today than they were in their lifetimes.

Which of the following is TRUE according to the first paragraph?

       A. Socrates and Confucius had much in common.

       B. The societies were influenced by the philosophers’ ideas.

C. Confucius had much influence on Socrates’ ideas.

       D. There were cultural exchanges between China and Greece.

Socrates shared with Confucius the idea that          .

       A. all men were equal when they were born

       B. the purpose of man was to seek freedom and wisdom

C. the lower classes should be ruled by the upper class

       D. people should not ask others to do what they did not want to

What made some people different from others according to Confucius?

       A. Family.                    B. Knowledge.              C. Potential.                 D. Community.

This passage is organized in the pattern of          .

       A. time and events                                            B. cause and effect

C. comparison and contrast                                D. definition and classification

The first and best of victories is for a man to conquer(征服) 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 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.
【小题1】What does the reader learn from the first paragraph?

C
　　The curtain on the 2008 US presidential election finally rose last month as Requblican Senator(参议员) John McCain and Democratic Senator Barack Obama were formally selected as candidates of the two major parties.This may be one of the hardest decisions voters have to make between two appealing candidates.The big question for voters,as they face both an economic downturn and international threats,is :who will they elect? A young first - term senator promising change and new ideas,or a longtime senator with strong military experience and a reputation as a maverick(特立独行的人)？
　　American voters have never seen a candidate quite like Obama.He has a white mother from the US and a black fater from Kenya who left the family when Obama was very young.He spent part of his youth in Indonesia.
　　However,McCain has a very different life story.
　　He grew up in a Navy family and was a daring pilot during the Vietnam War in the 1960s. When Obama was in kindergarten in Indonesia,McCain's plane was shot down over Ietenam and he became a prisoner of war.McCain could have been set free if he disowned America but he refused and so was held for five years.
　　"We need a president who is very,very old,"McCain joked at his age as many others do.If elected,he would be 72 when he takes office and the oldest man to step in.
　　So in the end,the election may depend on several factors that are hard to judge:Will Obama's race matter to a significant number of voters ? Will workingclass whites who tended to support his primary (党内初选) oponent,Hillary Clinton,vote for Obama? And perhaps most important of all,will uncertain voters be more attracted to Obama's vision or to McCain's experience?
　　Whatever happens,one thing is clear,however:Whoever walks into the White House on January 20,2009,will find huge challenges waiting for him in the Oval Office,both at home and abroad.
　　64.______makes the result of the election hard to predict.
　　　A.Whether working class whites care about Obama's inexperience
　　　B.The economic trouble the country now faces
　　　C.Who uncertain voters will finally decide to vote for
　　　D.McCain being too old to govern the country
　　65.The appeal in Obama as a presidential candidate lies in _________
　　　A.his multi - cultural background
　　　B.his belife in tradition
　　　C.his inexperience in politics
　　　D.his fantastic promises
　　66.The word "disown" in Paragraph 6 means closest to ______.
　　　A.flee from
　　　B.turn his back on
　　　C.not keep it private
　　　D.expose secrets about
　　67.The challenges that will face the new preident______.
　　　A.are not mentioned in the text
　　　B.include buklding a strong party and a friendly image
　　　C.refer to the problems of immigrants and economy
　　　D.refer to the problems of economy amd international relations