全国2008年4月高等教育自学考试
英语阅读(一)试题
课程代码：00595

　　I.CAREFUL READING
　　Read the following passages carefully. Decide on the best answer and write the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points, 2 points each)

　　Passage 1

　　Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage.

　　He was a funny looking man with a cheerful face, good natured and a great talker. He was described by his student, the great philosopher Plato, as “the best and most just and wisest man”. Yet this same man was condemned(判刑) to death for his beliefs.

　　The man was the Greek philosopher, Socrates, and he was condemned for not believing in the recognized gods and for corrupting young people. The second charge stemmed from his association with numerous young men who came to Athens from all over the civilized world to study under him.

　　Socrates’ method of teaching was to ask questions and, by pretending not to know the answers, to press his students into thinking for themselves. His teachings had unsurpassed influence on all the great Greek and Roman schools of philosophy. Yet, despite his fame and influence, Socrates himself never wrote a word.

　　Socrates encouraged new ideas and free thinking in the young, and this was frightening to the conservative people. They wanted him silenced. Yet, many were probably surprised that he accepted death so readily.

　　Socrates had the right to ask for a lesser penalty, and he probably could have won over enough of the people who had previously condemned him. But Socrates, as a firm believer in law, reasoned that it was proper to submit to the death sentence. So he calmly accepted his fate and drank a cup of poison in the presence of his grief-stricken friends and students.

　　1. According to Plato’s description, Socrates_______.
　　A．was a funny and good-tempered man
　　B．was the most just and intelligent man
　　C．had a special way to attract his students
　　D． had close relationships with his students

　　2. Socrates was condemned for all the following reasons EXCEPT________.
　　A．doubting the publicly recognized gods
　　B．corrupting the young people with his teachings
　　C．grouping students together to study under him
　　D．pressing his listeners into thinking for themselves

　　3. Socrates’ teaching was intended to_________.
　　A．encourage independent thinking
　　B．win over the conservative people
　　C．inform students of his radical ideas
　　D．lead his audience to be disobedient

　　4. The word “unsurpassed” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to_____.
　　A．untold
　　B． unequalled
　　C．unnoticed
　　D． unexpected

　　5. Socrates readily accepted the death penalty because of_______.
　　A．his disregard for death
　　B．his disbelief in gods
　　C．his contempt for conservatives
　　D．his belief in the legal system

　　Passage 2

　　Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage.

　　Like many of my generation, I have a weakness for hero worship. At some point, however, we all begin to question our heroes and our need for them. This leads us to ask: What is a hero?

　　Despite immense differences in cultures, heroes around the world generally share a number of characteristics that instruct and inspire people.

　　A hero does something worth talking about. A hero has a story of adventure to tell and a community who will listen. But a hero goes beyond mere fame. Heroes serve powers or principles larger than themselves. Like high-voltage transformers, heroes take the energy of higher powers and step it down so that it can be used by ordinary people.

　　The hero lives a life worthy of imitation. Those who imitate a genuine hero experience life with new depth, enthusiasm, and meaning. A sure test for would-be heroes is what or whom do they serve? What are they willing to live and die for? If the answer or evidence suggests they serve only their own fame, they may be famous persons but not heroes. Madonna and Michael Jackson are famous, but who would claim that their fans find life more abundant? 转贴于：自考_考试大

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