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.

1.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.

2.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

3.What made some people different from others according to Confucius?

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

4.This passage is organized in the pattern of          .

       A. time and events                                            B. cause and effect

C. comparison and contrast                                D. definition and classification

C
People have long debated the essence（本质）of human nature．Some people think humans are
born good．In San Zi Jing（Three Chara~er Classic），a Chinese children’s educational book from
the 13th century, we read：“Men at birth are naturally good．Their natures are similar, their habits
become different．’’
Yet some philosophers disagree with this．They think men are born selfish and vicious（恶的）．
For example，Thomas Hobbes，the 1 7th century English philosopher argued that men are born self-
interested and with a liking for war．
Over the centuries，different philosophers have argued their cases．Now the results of a new
study，which contrasts the behavior of very young children and young chimpanzees（黑猩猩）
suggests that human beings are born sociable and helpful to others，according to a New York Times
report．
“Of course every animal must to some extent be selfish to survive．But the biologists also see
in humans a natural willingness to help．”The New York Times science reporter Nicholas Wade writes．
Wade quotes a book published in October by American psychologist Michael Tomasello．
Tomasello writes：“When infants（婴儿）18 months old see an unrelated adult whose hands are
full and who needs help opening a door or picking up a dropped clothespin，they will immediately
help．The helping behavior seems to be innate because it appears so early and before many parents
start teaching children the rules of polite behavior．’’
Tomasello finds that this behavior is not the result of an incentive（动机）of a
reward，suggesting training does not influence it．And it seems to happen across cultures，with their different timetables for teaching social rules．For these reasons，Tomamsello concluded that helping is natural，not something taught by parents or culture．
And it seems that infants cannot only help in practical ways，it can also help with information，
Tomasello writes．From the age of 1 2 months they will point at objects thin all adult pretends to
have lost．Chimpanzees，by contrast，never point at things for each other, and when they point for
people．it seems to be as a command to go fetch something rather than to share information．
49．What is the article mainly about?
A．The behavior of young children．
B．Former philosophies about human nature.
C．The difference between babies and baby chimpanzees.
D．A new study of human nature．
50．According to Michael Tomasello, human beings are born __________.
A．similar to chimpanzees in nature       B．selfish and Vicious
C．sociable and helpful       D．with a liking for war
51．Of all the following，__________has a negative attitude towards human nature.
A．Three Character          B．Thomas Hobbes
C．Nicholas Wade       D．Michael Tomasello
52．According to the study，it's safe to say that __________.
A．human beings are not selfish
B．children like to help others when they get a reward
C．different countries teach social rules at different times
D．children tend to be helpful if they are taught early

For many of us, cartoon strips are simply one of our pastimes. The popular Japanese manga(漫画) provides us with an escape from reality into a world of fantasy, adventure and romance.With much less text and pictures running for pages, it fits perfectly into today’s fast, throwing away city lifestyle.
But Tsai Chih-chung,a famous Taiwanese illustrator (漫画家), doesn’t agree.He believes cartoons can be a bridge connecting traditional Chinese culture and wisdom with the modern  world in a much wittier and more acceptable way.
He has interpreted Lao Zi, Confucius, Mencius，Zhuang Zi and Sun Zi and made their works accessible to a global audience. He has also produced two books about Zen (禅宗), introducing oriental philosophy. His cartoons are humorous yet full of wisdom and are admired as an easy way to learn Chinese classics.
After avoiding the public for ten years, Tsai made a comeback in late April with seven new works. But does his age, 61, work as a gap between him and his young readers? Tsai doesn’t think so. The topics he has covered range from philosophy in a time of individuality to the learning and memorizing techniques used at school. “Every child is a genius and has the potential beyond his own imagination, ” he said.
If popular Japanese manga is purely for entertainment, Tsai’s work, to a large extent, is to light the power of thinking in a light-hearted way. Tsai uses differenr forms of water to refer to people. In his eyes some people are like an ocean, some are like vapor, while others may be ice or
rain. But in essence(本质上)they share a similarity-human being’s forever chasing for the true and the good. “The person who thinks over life issues is not necessarily a scholar or a philosopher,” he said. “I’ve dedicated my whole life to thinking and individual freedom, not making a living.”
【小题1】What is the main idea of the first paragraph in the passage?

阅读短文，回答后面的问题。

For many of us, cartoon strips are simply one of our pastimes. The popular Japanese manga(漫画) provides us with an escape from reality into a world of fantasy, adventure and romance. With much less text and pictures running for pages, it fits perfectly into today's fast, throwing away city lifestyle.

But Tsai Chih-chung, a famous Taiwanese illustrator (漫画家), doesn't agree. He believes cartoons can be a bridge connecting traditional Chinese culture and wisdom with the modern world in a much wittier and more acceptable way.

He has interpreted Lao Zi, Confucius, Mencius, Zhuang Zi and Sun Zi and made their works accessible to a global audience. He has also produced two books about Zen (禅宗), introducing oriental philosophy. His cartoons are humorous yet full of wisdom and are admired as an easy way to learn Chinese classics.

After avoiding the public for ten years, Tsai made a comeback in late April with seven new works. But does his age, 61, work as a gap between him and his young readers? Tsai doesn't think so. The topics he has covered range from philosophy in a time of individuality to the learning and memorizing techniques used at school. "Every child is a genius and has the potential beyond his own imagination," he said.

If popular Japanese manga is purely for entertainment, Tsai's work, to a large extent, is to light the power of thinking in a light-hearted way. Tsai uses different forms of water to refer to people. In his eyes some people are like an ocean, some are like vapor (水蒸汽), while others may be ice or rain. But in essence they share a similarity – human being's forever chasing for the true and the good. "The person who thinks over life issues is not necessarily a scholar or a philosopher," he said. "I've dedicated my whole life to thinking and individual freedom, not making a living."

1. What is the main idea of the first paragraph in the passage?

A. Japanese manga is a simple way of killing time.

B. What Japanese manga is mainly about.

C. Japanese manga presents a world of fantasy, adventure and romance.

D. Why Japanese manga is so popular.

2. The underlined word “it” in paragraph 1 refers to___________.

A. much less text                                B. Japanese manga

C. pictures running for pages               D. an escape from reality

3. In Tsai Chih-chung’s opinion, cartoon ___________.

A. connects traditional Chinese culture and wisdom.

B. helps connect Chinese classics with modern world.

C. uses a wiser and acceptable way to draw cartoons.

D. builds up a bridge between cartoons and illustration.

4. What is the main difference between Japanese manga and Tsai’s works in this passage?

A. His works are mainly designed for a pure time killer for all.

B. His works are more popular with young readers in China now.

C. His works are to inspire people to think in a cheerful way.

D. His works are much more interesting and instructive.

5. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE about Tsai Chih-chung?

A. He thinks some people are like ocean, some like vapor, while others like ice cream.

B. He says that one who thinks over life is either a scholar or a philosopher.

C. He values more thinking and personal freedom than making a living.

D. Tsai devoted his life to creating cartoons in order to make money.

Kong Zi, also called Confucius (551—479B.C.), and Socrates(苏格拉底) (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 out 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 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 the society, with family relations considered much more important than political relations.

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

1.Which of the following is TURE according to the first paragraph?

A. Socrates and Confucius had much in common

B. Confucius had much influence on Socrates’ ideas.

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

D. There were cultural exchanges between China and Greece.

2.Socrates shared with Confucius the idea that ________.

A. all men were equal when they were born

B. the lower classed should be ruled by the upper class

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

3.What made some people different from others according to Confucius?

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

4.This passage is organized in the pattern of ________.

A. time and events         B. comparison and contrast

C. cause and effect         D. definition and classification