In ancient Greece athletic festivals were very important and had strong religious associations. The Olympian athletic festival held every four years in honor of Zeus, king of the Olympian? Gods, eventually lost its local character, became first a national event and then, after the rules against foreign competitors had been put to an end, international. No one knows how far back the Olympic Games go, but some official records date from 776 BC. ?

The games took place in August on the plain by Mount Olympus. Many thousands of people gathered from all parts of Greece to watch the games, but no married woman was ?admitted? even for watching. Slaves, women and dishonored persons were not allowed to compete. The exact sequence of events is uncertain, but events included boy's gymnastics, boxing, wrestling, horse racing and field events, though there were fewer sports involved than in the modern Olympic Games.

On the last day of the Games, all the winners were honored by having a ring of holy olive(橄榄树) leaves placed on their heads. So great was the honor that the winner of the foot race gave his name to the year of his victory. Although Olympic winners received no money, they were, in fact, richly rewarded by their state authorities.

In ancient Greece, the Olympic Games_______.?

A. was held by Zeus, king of the Olympian Gods?

B. was a religious event?

C. was first a national event held every four years?

D. was an international event held in honor of Zeus?

If an athlete won, _______.

A. he would receive a lot of money?

B. he could give his name to the month of his victory?

C. he would be honored and rewarded by his state authorities?

D. he would only get a ring of holy olive leaves?

In the early days of ancient Olympic Games_______.?

A. only Greek men were allowed to participate in the games?

B. all Greeks, regardless of religion, political views and sex, were allowed to take part in the games

C. all Greeks except married women were allowed to compete in the games?

D. all the Greek men except slaves and dishonored ones were able to compete in the games?

In the face of tragedy(悲剧), you must of course let yourself feel: Cry without holding back, tremble with fear, yell out in anger, accept and follow your feelings. This is part of the wise approach to tragedy: The Upward Path – the feeling of emotions(情感), the acceptance of them, and the coupling of the emotional mind with wisdom. Along this path, you’ll take the experience – no matter how sad or upsetting – as a learning event, just as all other points on your journey will prove to be. While tragic, you must recognize this is still a chance for all involved to grow. You should let both sadness and joy, fear and courage, dark and light fill your world, and learn to find your steady, calm center in the midst of the opposing forces. This is the Upward Path. Use the event as a chance to gain balance and discover wisdom – the wisdom of love and of letting go, of non-attachment and non-resistance, and using this experience to eventually help others in need of guidance.
Being able to relate to others who have also experienced tragedy and inspire in them hope – of recovery, and of moving forward – is perhaps the greatest gift you can receive from tragedy. Turn the negative into positive, the pain into connection. After you’ve taken appropriate time to be sad, to feel your own pain, you should make it your work, your goal, your purpose to connect with others who need help. Show them how you’ve experienced feelings, achieved balance, and gained wisdom that you would never have otherwise had the chance to learn.
Feel, but do not Feed on tragedy. Rather, let it inspire you to go beyond the person who you were before. With demise comes renewal, so let this loss be also your rebirth. No matter how hopeless it seems, no matter how difficult this becomes, you have the power to transform yourself into someone greater than you ever knew you could be. 
【小题1】When following the Upward Path, the person facing tragedy should _______.

In the face of tragedy，you must of course let yourself feel: Cry without holding back, shake with fear, yell out in anger, accept and follow your feelings. This is part of the wise approach to tragedy: The Upward Path — the feeling of emotions, the acceptance of them, and the coupling of the emotional mind with wisdom. Along this path, you'll take the experience — no matter how sad or upsetting — as a learning event, just as a11 other points on your journey will prove to be. While tragic, you must recognize this is still a chance for all involved to grow. You should let both sadness and joy, fear and courage, dark and light fill your world, and learn to find your steady, calm center in the midst of the opposing forces. This is the Upward Path. Use the event as a chance to gain balance and discover wisdom — the wisdom of love and of letting go, of non-attachment and non-resistance, and using this experience to eventually help others in need of guidance.

Being able to relate to others who have also experienced tragedy and inspire in them hope — of recovery, and of moving forward — is perhaps the greatest gift you can receive from tragedy. Turn the negative into positive, the pain into connection. After you've taken appropriate time to be sad, to feel your own pain, you should make it your work，your goal, your purpose to connect with others who need help. Show them how you've experienced feelings, achieved

balance，and gained wisdom that you would never have otherwise had the chance to learn.

FEEL, but do not FEED on tragedy. Rather, let it inspire you to go beyond the person who you were before. With demise comes renewal, so let this loss be also your rebirth. No matter how hopeless it seems, no matter how difficult this becomes, you have the power to transform yourself into someone greater than you ever knew you could be.

1.When following the Upward Path, the person facing tragedy should _______.

A. free his emotions

B. hold back his feelings

C. fill his world with positive ideas

D. give in to tragedy and all opposing forces

2.According to the author， the greatest gift one gets from tragedy is being able to _______.

A. seek solutions from others

B. forgive others and move on

C. stay calm and resist change

D. understand and help others

3.The purpose of the passage is to _______.

A. analyze the causes of tragedy

B. suggest a way of dealing with tragedy

C. tell people how to prevent tragedy

D. encourage people to build friendship after tragedy

In the face of tragedy(悲剧), you must of course let yourself feel: Cry without holding back, tremble with fear, yell out in anger, accept and follow your feelings. This is part of the wise approach to tragedy: The Upward Path – the feeling of emotions(情感), the acceptance of them, and the coupling of the emotional mind with wisdom. Along this path, you’ll take the experience – no matter how sad or upsetting – as a learning event, just as all other points on your journey will prove to be. While tragic, you must recognize this is still a chance for all involved to grow. You should let both sadness and joy, fear and courage, dark and light fill your world, and learn to find your steady, calm center in the midst of the opposing forces. This is the Upward Path. Use the event as a chance to gain balance and discover wisdom – the wisdom of love and of letting go, of non-attachment and non-resistance, and using this experience to eventually help others in need of guidance.

    Being able to relate to others who have also experienced tragedy and inspire in them hope – of recovery, and of moving forward – is perhaps the greatest gift you can receive from tragedy. Turn the negative into positive, the pain into connection. After you’ve taken appropriate time to be sad, to feel your own pain, you should make it your work, your goal, your purpose to connect with others who need help. Show them how you’ve experienced feelings, achieved balance, and gained wisdom that you would never have otherwise had the chance to learn.

    Feel, but do not Feed on tragedy. Rather, let it inspire you to go beyond the person who you were before. With demise comes renewal, so let this loss be also your rebirth. No matter how hopeless it seems, no matter how difficult this becomes, you have the power to transform yourself into someone greater than you ever knew you could be. 

1.When following the Upward Path, the person facing tragedy should _______.

   A. free his emotions                

B. hold back all his feelings

   C. fill his world with positive ideas    

D. give in to tragedy and all opposing forces

2.According to the author, the greatest gift one gets from tragedy is being able to _______.

   A. seek solutions from others          B. understand and help others

   C. stay calm and resist change         D. forgive others and move on

3.The underlined word “demise” in the last paragraph probably means _______.

   A. sorrow            B. problem      C. difficulty       D. death 

4.The purpose of the passage is to _______.

   A. analyze the causes of tragedy       

B. tell people how to prevent tragedy

   C. suggest a way of dealing with tragedy

   D. encourage people to build friendship after tragedy

In the spring of 1999, I spoke about China to a group of over eighty American second grade students in the US. The children were curious about so many things: the Great Wall, pandas, martial arts. More than any other subject, however, these young people were interested in the relationship between Chinese children and their parents.

As I described how Chinese parents raise their children, drawing on the experiences of my friends and their kids, it occurred to me that parents in the US and China differ greatly in their approach to parenting. In the US, parents tend to encourage their children to develop their potential(潜能) to the fullest degree-in a word, to dream. Fathers and mothers frequently put in their children both ambition(理想;抱负) and, as importantly, the confidence necessary to work toward their goals. American parents tend to be very positive: they concentrate on what their kids can do, not what they can't. As a result, millions of American boys and girls grow up hoping to become actors and athletes, statesmen and doctors; many even want to become president.

American parents often encourage their children to become involved (参与) in extracurricular(课外的) activities of all types at school, such as student government, sports and music. They believe that only through involvement in these activities can their children become healthy young adults.

Schoolwork is important, to be sure. But parents realize that the social skills their children learn from natural interaction with their peers in non-scholastic settings are more useful to develop the skills they will need in the "real world". What's more important in the office place: a sound knowledge of physics or the ability to communicate effectively?

As a rule, Chinese parents do not help their children to develop the same kind of ambition and confidence Americans put in their children, nor do they encourage the same level of involvement in extracurricular activities. Children are typically told to study hard and pass exams. Too often, time away from schoolbooks is seen as time wasted.

This approach has created so much pressure for Chinese children that leaders in Chinese educational circles have issued calls for less homework at the lower grade levels. Only healthy kids can become healthy adults. More and more Chinese parents recognize this. I am very confident about China's future.

17. The writer's purpose in writing this text is ________ .

A. to show his confidence about China's future

B. to tell the different way of parenting in the USA and China

C. to give a speech about China to a group of American second grade students

D. to describe how American parents raise their children

18. In America, fathers and mothers often put the ideas of ________ in their children's minds.

A. involvement and natural interaction B. involvement and effective communication

C. involvement and ambition D. ambition and confidence

19. The underlined word "peers" in the text probably means ________ .

A. persons of the same age, class, position, etc. as themselves

B. classmates C. friends D. persons elder than themselves

20. What can we infer about the author from the text?

A. He is a Chinese who once visited America in 1999.

B. He is a Chinese who knows a lot about America.

C. He is an American who knows a lot about China.

D. He is an American who taught in an American school in 1999.