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 (沖動) 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.
【小題1】What does the reader learn from the first paragraph?

Forty-two of the fifty American states offered some kind of public online learning this past school year．One state，Michigan，now requires all students to have an online learning experience before they finish high school．Even the idea of a school has changed since the rise ofthe Internet in the 1990s．
A new report from the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University says eighteen states have full-time virtual schools．There are no buildings．All classes are online．
Florida started the first statewide public virtual school in the United States in 1997．Today，the Florida Virtual School offers more man ninety courses．56,000 students were enrolled as of December．Almost sixty percent were female．The school's website says each student was enrolled in an average of two classes．
Florida Virtual School has now opened the Florida Virtual Global School．Students in other countries pay for classes．Janet Heiking teaches an English class．She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana．Her students live as far away as Africa and Japan．She says they are taking her Advanced Placement class to prepare for attending an American college．They can earn college credits by passing the AP test．
So how good are virtual schools? Studies have shown mixed results, as a new report from Indiana University notes．For example, students at Florida Virtual School earned higher grades than those taking the same courses the traditional way．And they scored higher on a statewide
test．But virtual school students in Kansas and Colorado had lower test scores or performed at a lower level than traditional learners．Studies also find that virtual schools may not save much in operating costs．
Education experts say the mixed results suggest the need for more research to find the best ways to teach in virtual schools．A1so, they say schools of education need to train more teachers to work in both real and virtual classrooms．
【小題1】A virtual school is one that___________．

A．earning college credits

B．entering an American college

C．learning advanced science

D．passing the AP test

Who cares if money can’t buy you love? But it can still be your best friend forever．That’s one of the surprising findings in a new research paper, “The Power of Money”，published in me journal Psychological Science．
Like any best friend forever，money demonstrated to researchers its ability to soothe us，reduce our sense of social exclusion and even reduce life’s painful moments．
“I was surprised” says Katherine Vohs，one of the researchers and professor at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management．“The findings were surprising because no one had connected the meaning of money to pain．The money wasn’t buying the subjects more friends；it was only psychologically helpful.”
In the research ,students were told they would be participating in a test of finger dexterity(敏捷度)．One group was given some paper money to count，while the other group was given blank pieces of paper．Once the counting was complete, all the test subjects were asked to dip their fingers into bowls of water heated to 122 degrees—roughly the temperature of a very hot bath．
Result? Those who had been counting money reported less pain than those who had not．Subjects also were asked about their feelings．Those who handled actual money reported feeling stronger even 10 minutes after they put down the cash．
Combined with previous experiments，the findings confirmed what researchers have long doubted，that money acts as a general panacea(萬能藥)in the brain，giving us social self-confidence and reducing physical pain without having to spend a dime on aspirin．
But can we get the same effect by using credit cards? “No，credit cards do not have the same effect，” Vohs says．“They are scary for most people，and they in fact represent debt m many ways．”The findings could have an interesting effect in the business world, where recent trends have been to issue non-monetary rewards and bonuses instead of what was thought of as “cold, hard cash”．
【小題1】The underlined word “soothe” in Paragraph 2 is the closest in meaning to“____________” .

A．They were divided into two groups according to their ages．

B．One group was given paper money while the other was given coins．

C．They were holding the money while dipping fingers into hot water．

D．Both groups were asked to dip fingers into hot water．

Good sportsmanship occurs when teammates, opponents（對手）, coaches, and officials treat each other with respect. Kids learn the basics of sportsmanship from the adults in their lives, especially their parents and their coaches. Kids who see adults behaving in a sportsmanlike way gradually come to understand that the real winners in sports are those who know how to keep on trying and to behave well - whether they win or lose a game.
Parents can help their kids understand that good sportsmanship includes both small gestures and heroic efforts. It starts with something as simple as shaking hands with opponents before a game and includes acknowledging good plays made by others and accepting bad calls gracefully. Showing good sportsmanship isn't always easy: It can be hard to congratulate the opposing team after losing a close or important game. But the kids who learn how to do it will benefit in many ways.
A child who bullies or laugh at others on the playing field isn't likely to change the behavior when in the classroom or in social situations. In the same way, a child who practices good sportsmanship is likely to carry the respect (尊重) and appreciation of other people into every other aspect of life
The best coaches - and parents - encourage their kids to play fair, to have fun, and to concentrate(專心于) on helping the team while improving their own skills.
【小題1】The most important feature of good sportsmanship is ______.

Students who say they never or hardly ever used dictionaries may speak English well but usually write poorly, because they make many mistakes.
The students who use dictionaries most do not learn especially well either. The ones who look up every new word do not read fast. Therefore they do not have time to read much. Those who use small two-language dictionaries have the worst problems. Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as translations of English. But one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one foreign word has many translations in English.
The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000 words but do not use them too often. When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea and understand new words from the context. Then they reread and use the dictionary to look up only key words that they still do not understand. They use dictionaries more for writing. If they are not sure how to spell a word, they always use a dictionary. Also, if they think a noun might have an unusual plural form, they check this in a dictionary.
【小題1】The writer thinks that        .

A．Dictionaries have little effect on learning to speak English.

B．Whatever new words you meet while reading, never use dictionaries.

C．Small two-language dictionaries have serious shortcomings.

D．Reading something for the first time, you’d better not use dictionaries.

The new studies show that fewer than half of the 9th graders in many of the nation’s largest cities, can ever graduate. The studies clearly show that the dropout rate isn’t dropping. And, in particular, the dropout rate isn’t dropping for poor and minority students.
Amazingly, though so many regret the rising dropout rate, our schools continue to lack formal plans--or any plans--to teach students motivation(動機(jī)). Most schools have no game plan to ensure that students understand that schooling will be completely necessary. Schools expect youth and children to act as though schooling is important, but they never teach them to believe that.
Years ago, families ensured that the children recognized the value of schooling. But in many modern families, the children may fail to recognize the importance of school life just because these families may actually tell their children that school is not important. Since many families are not motivating their children to be interested students, youth professionals, like teachers may need to provide this training. Otherwise, it is likely the dropout rate will continue not to drop, but only worsen.
Here are some strategies to convince even the most apathetic (無動于衷的) students that they must stay in school.
Ask students if they will ever need to work: The world has changed. 100 years ago, factory work was the booming job, and it required no education. Today, factories are increasingly automated. Most computer-related jobs require education and at least a high school diploma.
Ask students which century they will be prepared for: In 1900, the most common jobs were farm laborer and domestic servant—education not needed. Now, the most common jobs are office and sales staff—education and diploma usually needed. An amazing 6 out of 10 people today work in a store or office.
Ask students to devise a way that the employee could be replaced. For example, the coming trend in fast food is to use computers rather than people to run the restaurant. A prototype is apparently already being tested. The students should discover that most jobs that lack education and diploma requirements may be ripe for automation.
【小題1】 What does the underlined part mean in Paragraph1?

A．tell us that many jobs requires certain education in the past

B．show that there are more factory work and employment in modern society

C．show that employment in the computer field grows at a high rate

D．emphasize that modern jobs require education and schools are necessary

It is pretty much a one-way street. While it may be common for university researchers to try their luck in the commercial world, there is very little traffic in the opposite direction. Pay has always been the biggest deterrent, as people with families often feel they cannot afford the drop in salary when moving to a university job. For some industrial scientists, however, the attractions of academia (學(xué)術(shù)界) outweigh any financial considerations.
　　Helen Lee took a 70% cut in salary when she moved from a senior post in Abbott Laboratories to a medical department at the University of Cambridge. Her main reason for returning to academia mid-career was to take advantage of the greater freedom to choose research questions. Some areas of inquiry have few prospects of a commercial return, and Lee’s is one of them.
　　The impact of a salary cut is probably less severe for a scientist in the early stages of a career. Guy Grant, now a research associate at the Unilever Centre for Molecular Informatics at the University of Cambridge, spent two years working for a pharmaceutical (制藥的) company before returning to university as a post-doctoral researcher. He took a 30% salary cut but felt it worthwhile for the greater intellectual（知識的） opportunities.
　　Higher up the ladder, where a pay cut is usually more significant, the demand for scientists with a wealth of experience in industry is forcing universities to make the transition (轉(zhuǎn)換) to academia more attractive, according to Lee. Industrial scientists tend to receive training that academics do not, such as how to build a multidisciplinary team, manage budgets and negotiate contracts. They are also well placed to bring something extra to the teaching side of an academic role that will help students get a job when they graduate, says Lee, perhaps experience in manufacturing practice or product development. “Only a small number of undergraduates will continue in an academic career. So someone leaving university who already has the skills needed to work in an industrial lab has far more potential in the job market than someone who has spent all their time on a narrow research project.”
【小題1】By “a one-way street” (Line 1, Para. 1), the author means ________.

People should be warned against using mobile phones outdoors in stormy weather because they may “be struck by lightning”, according to doctors.

Three experts have described how a teenage girl was struck by lightning while using her phone in a large London park. The girl, aged 15, recovered, but a year later, was still wheelchair-bound and found to be suffering complex physical and emotional problems.
The girl also had a perforate eardrum（打孔耳膜）on the side where she had been holding the mobile phone. She was having general recovery in Northwick Park Hospital, Middlesex.Swinda Esprit, a senior house offi­cer, said that while the brain and muscle damage was similar to that of many lightning victims—who can experience heart attacks on being struck— the ear problems were not.
She said that the damages were particularly relevant for people who might be involved in less seri­ous lightning incidents, who might other­wise recover, but would never get their full hearing back if struck while on the phone.
“We were shocked by the damage, which is why we wanted to draw attention to it,” Dr Esprit said. “A year on and she still was suffering these difficult hearing.”
They added that three other cases had been reported in newspapers in China, South Korea, and Malaysia. In the Malaysian case, a sales executive was killed by lightning while talking on his phone during a thun­derstorm near Kuala Lumpur
“All these events resulted in death,” the doctors wrote. “This rare phe­nomenon is a public health issue, and edu­cation is necessary to stress the risk.”
The Australian Lightning Protection Standard recommends that metallic objects, including cordless or mobile phones, should not be carried out­doors during thunderstorms. However, “the United States National Weather Service says on its website that both are safe to use “because there is no direct path between you and the lightening”.
Paul Taylor, of “the Met Office”, said the ear injuries were a consequence of mobile phones being metal, and not related to radio waves.
Mr. Taylor said that mobile phones should be treated as another piece of metal, similar to carrying coins or wearing rings, and people need to be warned against the possi­ble danger.
【小題1】What do we know about the teenage girl?

What is EQ? In the early 1990s, Dr. John Mayer, Ph.D., and Dr. Peter Salovey, Ph.D., introduced the term “emotional intelligence” in the Journal of Personality Assessment. They used this term to describe a person’s ability to understand his or her own emotions and the emotions of others and to act properly based on this understanding. Then in 1995, psychologist Daniel Goleman popularized this term with his book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.
EQ gives you a competitive advantage. Even at Bell Labs, where everyone is smart, studies find that the most respected and productive engineers are those with the special qualities of emotional intelligence quotient — it’s not necessary for them to have the highest IQ. Having a high IQ may make you an excellent expert or a legal scholar, but a highly developed emotional intelligence quotient will make you a candidate （候選人）for a leader or a brilliant lawyer. EQ can make it more likely that your marriage will be successful. Lack of EQ shows why people with high IQ can be such bad pilots of their personal lives.
The study shows that these men with high IQ also lack these emotional abilities: suffering from being criticized and misunderstood, shy and uncomfortable, emotionally stimulated（激勵）. Compared with those men with high IQ, these men (with high EQ) are calm and friendly, who are loyal to people and careers, have lots of sympathy with and care for others, with a rich but suitable emotional life  — they’re comfortable with themselves, others, and the human society they live in.
Is your intelligence the greatest predictor of what you’ll achieve in life? We have believed that IQ is the best measure of human potential for so many years. In the past 10 years, however, researchers have found that isn’t necessarily the case---that in fact, your EQ might be a greater predictor of success.
High IQ may help you the father of science fiction, but it won’t make you a respected person. High EQ can help you more.
【小題1】What can we learn from the second paragraph?
A In daily life and work, EQ is more important than IQ.
B High IQ will have a bad effect on people’s lives.
C It’s not necessary for people to have a high IQ.
D You’d better develop your intelligence well in order to be a leader.
【小題2】The underlined sentence “this isn’t necessarily the case” in Paragraph 4 means here that ____.
A your IQ is a greater predictor of success
B success is dependent on your IQ
C your EQ can predict your success better
D human potential is up to your IQ
【小題3】From the text, it can be inferred that ____
A high IQ can help you work better and succeed more easily
B high EQ must make you succeed
C all the bosses have a higher EQ than their employees
D those with high IQ are hot valued
【小題4】The text is written mainly to advise ____.
A people should only pay attention to their EQ
B people should develop their EQ as well as their IQ
C those who want to act as leaders should develop their EQ
D people should not develop their IQ too much

Happiness is for everyone. You don’t need to care about those people who have beautiful houses with large gardens and swimming pools or those who have nice cars and a lot of money and so on. Why? Because those who have big houses may often feel lonely and those who have cars may want to walk on the country roads in their free time.
In fact, happiness is always around you if you put your heart into it. When you are in trouble at school, your friends will help you; when you study hard at your lessons, your parents are always taking good care of your life and your health; when you get a success, your friends will say congratulations to you; when you do something wrong, people around you will help you to correct it. And when you do something good to others, you will feel happy, too. All these are your happiness. If you notice a bit of them, you can see that happiness is always around you.
Happiness doesn’t mean money. It is a feeling of your heart. When you are poor, you can also say you are very happy, because you have something that can’t be bought with money. When you meet with difficulties, you can say loudly you are very happy, because you have more chances to challenge yourself. As the saying goes, life is like a revolving（旋轉(zhuǎn)的）door. When it closes, it also opens. If you take every chance you get, you can be a happy and lucky person.
【小題1】 When you do something wrong , people around you will    .