1. What does the author think is the main difference between a punctual person and an unpunctual person?

A. A punctual person does everything ahead of time while an unpunctual person does everything behind schedule.

B. A punctual person does everything at the right time while an unpunctual person seldom does anything at the correct time.

C. A punctual person has a lot of appointments while an unpunctual person has few appointments.

D. A punctual person has much time to do everything while an unpunctual person has little time to do anything.

4. A。主旨题。根据文章内容及倒数第2段可推知此题答案为 A。

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A punctual person is in the habit of doing a thing at the proper time and is never late in keeping an appointment.

The unpunctual man, on one hand, never does what he has to do at the proper time. He is always in a hurry and in the end loses both time and his good name. A lost thing may be found again, but lost time can never be regained. Time is more valuable than material things. In fact, time is life itself. The unpunctual man is for ever wasting and mismanaging his most valuable asset (财产) as well as other’s. The unpunctual person is always complaining that he finds no time to answer letters, or return calls or keep appointments promptly. But the man who really has a great deal to do is very careful of his time and seldom complains of want of it. He knows that he can not get through his huge amount of work unless he faithfully keeps every piece of work when it has to be attended to.

Failure to be punctual in keeping one’s appointments is the sign of disrespect towards others. If a person is invited to dinner and arrives later than the appointed time, he keeps all the other guests waiting for him. Usually this will be regarded as a great disrespect to the host and all other guests present.

Unpunctuality, moreover, is very harmful when it comes to do one’s duty, whether public or private. Imagine how it would be if those who are put in charge of important tasks failed to be at their proper place at the appointed time. A man who is known to be habitually unpunctual is never trusted by his friends or fellow men.

3. C。推断题。根据文章最后一段排除选项A、B、D，可推知此题答案为 C。

2. B。推断题。根据文章第 2 段最后一句 …for fierceness (狂怒) makes error a fault为可推知此题答案为 B。

1. B。推断题。根据第 1 段最后一句“如果一个人被情感和冲动所支配，那么他就放弃了道德上的自由”可推知此题答案为 B。

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

A. explain that self-control is the key to success

B. teach people how to control everything in order to make a great success

C. distinguish all kinds of self-control and suggest ways for keeping it

D. advise people not to lose temper so as to make and keep more friends

[答案解析]

本文介绍了自控力在人生中的重要性。

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

A. the very backbone and nerve of character　

B. the patience and power to control himself

C. strong feelings

D. self-confidence

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

A. If the gods want to kill you, they make you crazy first.

B. If you always lose your temper, you will soon be finished.

C. If you cannot control yourself, you will become crazy.

D. If you are mad, you will be punished by the gods.

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

A. The greatest victory for a man is to conquer everything except himself.

B. One’s moral freedom is based on the control of himself.

C. To control oneself is the most difficult in one’s life.

D. If a person is too stubborn, he will feel most shameful.

4. D。推断题。The show’s main viewers are middleclass Americans 和 Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of a connection with the young adults of society 暗示这两个节目分别适应不同年龄、不同层次的观众需要。

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“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 (道德上的) 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.