Question

What does it mean to say that we live in a world of persuasion? It means that we live among competing interests. Your roommate’s need to study for an exam may take priority（优先）over pizza. Your instructor may have good reasons not to change your grade. And the object of your romantic interest may have other choices.
　　In such a world, persuasion is the art of getting others to give fair and favorable consideration to our point of view. When we persuade, we want to influence how others believe and behave. We may not always prevail— other points of view may be more persuasive, depending on the listener, the situation, and the merits of the case. But when we practice the art of persuasion, we try to ensure that our position receives the attention it deserves.
　　Some people, however, object to the very idea of persuasion. They may regard it as an unwelcome interruption into their lives. Just the opposite, we believe that persuasion is unavoidable — to live is to persuade. Persuasion may be ethical（合乎道义的）or unethical, selfless or selfish, inspiring or degrading. Persuaders may enlighten our minds or catch our vulnerability(弱点). Ethical persuasion, however, calls on sound reasoning and is sensitive to the feelings and needs of listeners. Such persuasion can help us apply the wisdom of the past to the decisions we now must make. Therefore, the most basic part of education is learning to resist the one kind of persuasion and to encourage and practice the other.
　　Beyond its personal importance to us, persuasion is necessary to society. The right to persuade and be persuaded is the bedrock of the American political system, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution（美国宪法）

1. 1.
   According to the passage, persuasion means ________
   1. A.
      changing others’ point of view
   2. B.
      exercising power over other people
   3. C.
      getting other people to consider your point of view
   4. D.
      getting people to agree with you and do what you want
2. 2.
   The underlined word in the second paragraph “prevail” means“________”
   1. A.
      win
   2. B.
      fail
   3. C.
      speak
   4. D.
      listen
3. 3.
   The passage states that some people object to persuasion because they think it is ________
   1. A.
      a danger to society
   2. B.
      difficult to do well
   3. C.
      unwelcome behavior
   4. D.
      never successful
4. 4.
   The passage mainly discusses ________
   1. A.
      people’s different opinions towards persuasion
   2. B.
      the reasons why people persuade
   3. C.
      that persuasion is both good and bad
   4. D.
      that persuasion is important and it is all around us

Answer 1

CACD
试题分析:
1.细节题，由第一段第一句What does it mean to say that we live in a world of persuasion? It means that we live among competing interests可以知道答案，故选C。
2.推理题。由第二段第四行other points of view may be more persuasive, depending on the listener, the situation, and the merits of the case.可以推出是说的意思，所以选A。
3.细节题，由第三段第二行They may regard it as an unwelcome interruption into their lives.可以知道答案，所以选C
4.推理题，由本文的主要意思“在我们日常生活中，劝说很重要”，所以选D
考点：本篇是一篇说明文
点评：本文说明了在我们日常生活中，劝说很重要，对于文章中的细节题，要注意文章中的细节的理解。推断题测试考生在阅读基础上的逻辑推理能力，要求考生根据文章所述事件的逻辑关系，对未说明的趋势或结局作出合理的推断；或根据作者所阐述的观点理论，对文章未涉及的现象、事例给以解释。考生首先要仔细阅读短文，完整了解信息，准确把握作者观点。