17．Many articles have appeared in recent years，claiming that there are no more heroes in the world．The authors says that the young now refuse to admire anyone and that we are living in a world too well informed，too curious showing us the faults of the public figures who could become today's stars，until we lose faith and start looking for defects in any person who seems worthy of respect．
Is it true that we know too much？Were our ancestors lucky to be only partly informed？Those who read the first biographies of George Washington，Joan of Arc，or other great men and women of the past were not told that their hero had bad breath or disliked his mother； they only found a description of his great accomplishments and their admiration was strengthened．In fact，early biographers didn't hesitate to make up an admirable story or two about their hero．The man who wrote the first biography of Washington，for instance，invented the cherry tree； he admitted later that there was no truth in it，but he said that it would give young men a good example to follow．His readers didn't seem to object； the book was reprinted eighty times-a great success in those days．
Modern biographers do not invent such stories； they respect the facts，as indeed they should．But we pay a price for their truthfulness，for in their efforts to show"the whole person，"they tell us more than we really need to know about private lives，family secrets，and human weakness．The true greatness of a fine man is often forgotten in the display； and people lose not only their admiration for him，but their willingness to trust any other"star"completely．
It may be difficult to be a hero in the world these days，under the searching eyes of the society．But surely excellence has not disappeared completely； there are still individuals who are superior to their fellow men by their wisdom，their courage，or their character．They can be heroes if people are willing to ignore their human imperfection and to admit the respect that their admirable qualities inspire．Heroes are needed everywhere，at any time．It's a sad sky that has no shining stars．
36．Why do the young now refuse to admire anyone？D
A．Because there are fewer heroes than before．
B．Because they themselves are more self-centered．
C．Because they have lost faith in today's life style．
D．Because they rush to find faults with any person．
37．Early biographers of great peopleB．
A．knew little about their heroes
B．were willing to invent stories
C．were disliked by readers
D．hid some achievements of their heroes
38．Which of the following statements about modern biographers is true？C
A．They show no respect to facts．
B．They choose to ignore heroes'greatness．
C．Their writing style has aroused criticism．
D．We benefit from their truthfulness．
39．We can infer from the last paragraph thatB．
A．the standard of being a hero has been raised
B．the author is optimistic about the hero issue
C．our society is lacking in real heroes
D．our society shows enough tolerance
40．What is essential in solving the problem mentioned in the passage？A
A．People's attitude．
B．The true greatness of heroes．
C．The author's arguments．
D．Biographers'truthfulness．
分析 近年来，尤其在欧美国家，随着媒体对公众人物缺点的不断披露，年轻人越来越觉得已经没有英雄可以崇拜了．但事实真的如此吗？
解答 36-40 DBCBA
36．D 细节理解 根据第一段…we are living in a world too well informed，too curious showing us the faults of the public figures who could become today's stars，until we lose faith and start looking for defects in any person who seems worthy of respect．可知，我们在失去信任，开始查找值得尊重的任何人的缺点，故答案为D
37．B 细节理解题 根据In fact，early biographers didn't hesitate to make up an admirable story or two about their hero．可以得知，早期的自传往往会杜撰一些故事，故答案为B
38．C 细节理解题 根据 But we pay a price for their truthfulness可知，对于现代的自传的真实，我们会为此付出一些代价，所以不会从中受益，这种纪实方式的写作方式引起了批评，所以C项表述正确，故答案为C
39．B 推理判断题 根据But surely excellence has not disappeared completely； there are still individuals who are superior to their fellow men by their wisdom，their courage，or their character．They can be heroes if people are willing to ignore their human imperfection and to admit the respect that their admirable qualities inspire．可以判断，作者对于当今社会英雄还是充满了乐观的，故答案为B
40．A 推理判断题 根据最后一段They can be heroes if people are willing to ignore their human imperfection and to admit the respect that their admirable qualities inspire．Heroes are needed everywhere，at any time．可知，关键还在于公众对英雄的看法与态度，毕竟人无完人，我们这个世界需要英雄，故答案为A
点评 本文阅读难度较大，达到大学四级阅读水平，对学生在词汇、复杂句式及文章理解方面提出来较高要求．
