— Will we win the game?

—________. We are the best.

A. Not all all          B. You are right     C. It’s hard to say        D. No doubt about it

Steve Nash enjoys team success far more than personal success, and always wants to share the glory and the joy with teammates.

?? He is a self-effacing (不爱出风头的) Canadian, who grew up in hockey country. Today Steve Nash has to stand alone even if he doesn’t enjoy it. The Phoenix Sun’s point guard has to take ownership of a set of skills that sets him apart from every bigger, faster basketball player. He is considered the best basketball player in the game.

?? 31-year old Nash was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the NBA on May 8, 2005. “It’s unbelievable,” he said. “It’s been a long road for me and I really enjoy playing as a team, just trying to be a good teammate. That is the only way for me to highlight what I do as a basketball player.”

?? It is the first time a Canadian has won any individual NBA honor. Of the 50 winners of the MVP award, only six have been guards: Steve Nash, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, and Bob Cousy. “I’m happy for him getting the MVP, which makes us feel like we all got the MVP,” said Phoenix forward Shawn Marion.

?? He may be the only one who truly believes he can reach this level. “I always try to set goals for myself and have my own time frame to accomplish them and I never give up on anything,” he said. It is not as if Nash arrived at this point without countless hours of hard work.

?? His interests go far beyond sports and the NBA. His social conscience is such that he wore a T-shirt bearing an anti-war slogan at the NBA all-star weekend festivities in Philadelphia in 2002.

?? “A lot of great moments are when you win games with your teammates. There’s nothing like sharing something with someone else,” he said. “There is a pinnacle (顶点) of a player’s career individually. In many ways, the pinnacle of a player’s career really is defined by team wins.”

1.What does Steve Nash mean by saying the last two sentences?

A. A player’s success is decided by his / her individual efforts.

B. A player won’t succeed without a team’s support.

C. A player will succeed sooner or later.

D. A team always decides a player’s success.

2.Steve Nash feels happiest _______.

A. when he is named the Most Valuable Player of the NBA

B. when he is 30 years old

C. when he plays at the NBA all-star weekend festivities

D. when his team wins a game

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Nash is an American basketball player.

B. Nash is better at basketball than Magic Johnson.

C. Nash is the first Canadian winner of the MVP award.

D. Michael Jordan is the best of the six guards.

4. Which of the following is the main message that the passage wants to express?

A. Nash prefers team honor to personal honor.

B. Hard work will lead to the honor of the MVP of the NBA.

C. A Canadian can be an MVP of the NBA.

D. Setting goals is of importance to success.

Most parents work hard at either preventing failure or protecting their children from the knowledge that they have failed．One way is to lower standards．A mother describes her child's hand-made table as perfect, even though it doesn't stand still．Another way is to shift（转移）blame．If John fails science，his teacher is unfair or stupid．

The trouble with failure-prevention devices is that they leave a child unequipped for life in the real world．The young need to learn that no one can be best at everything，no one can win all the time—and that it's possible to enjoy a game even when they don't win．A child who's not invited to a birthday party，who doesn't make the honor roll on the baseball team，feels terrible，of course．But parents should not offer a quick consolation（安慰），prize or say，“It doesn't matter．because it does．The young should be allowed to experience disappointment—and be helped to master it．

Failure is never pleasurable．It hurts grown-ups and children alike．But it can make a positive（有益的）contribution to your life once you learn to use it．Step one is to ask “Why did I fail？”

Don't blame someone else．Ask yourself what you did wrong，how you can improve．If someone else can help，don't be shy about inquiring（咨询）．Success，which encourages repetition of old behavior，is not nearly as good a teacher as failure．You can learn from a bad party how to give a good one，from an ill-chosen first house what to look for in a second ．Even a failure that seems definitive can prompt fresh thinking，a change of direction．After 12 years of studying ballet a friend of mine auditioned（面试）for a professional company．She was turned down．“Would further training help？she asked．The ballet master shook his head．“You will never b
e a dancer，” he said，“you haven't the body for it．”?

In such cases，the way to use failure is to take stock（鉴定）bravely asking．“What have I left？What else can I do？My friend put away her shoes and moved into dance treatment center，a field where she's both able and useful．Failure frees one to take risks because there's less to lose．Often there is recovery（恢复）of energy ─ a way to find new possibilities．

1．The second paragraph tells us ____ ．

A．how a mother praised her children

B．two ways of failure prevention most parents used when their children fail

C．how to shift（转移）blame

D．parents should blame their children at the proper time．

2．According to the author，what should a child know in the real world？

A．He should be equipped for life．

B．No one can be best all the time at everything．

C．No parents should offer quick consolations．

D．He can get pleasure from failure as well as success．

3．The underlined word “prompt” in the fifth paragraph can be best replaced by“____”．?

A．improve B．prevent C．continue D．cause

4．From the passage we know that ____ can affect one's life greatly once he learns to use it．

A．success B．disappointment C．failure D．value

Everybody cheats. Whether it’s the taxi driver who tricks a visitor and takes them the long way round, or the shop assistant who doesn’t give the correct change, or the police officer who accepts a bribe (贿赂) – everybody’s at it. Cheats in the nest include the scientist whose research was based on fake data, the game show competitors who worked with a friend in the audience or win a million pounds, and the doctor who made up his qualifications and wasn’t really a doctor at all. Everybody cheats; nobody’s playing the game.

???? Is cheating acceptable, a natural way of surviving and being successful? Or is it something that should be frowned on, and young people discouraged from doing? If it’s the latter how can we explain to children why so many bend the rules?

Take sport for example. The Word Cup was filled with cheating. Whether diving, pretending to be hurt or denying a handball, footballers will do anything for a free – kick or a penalty shot. France striker Henry denied cheating to win the free – kick which led to his side’s second goal in their 3 – 1 victory over Spain. Many footballers, however, are often putting it on. Whatever the nationality there’s one common plot: the player rolls over holding their leg, ankle or head seeming to be in great pain. As a result a yellow card and / or free – kick is given for the foul and then, a few seconds later, the player is up and about as if nothing had happened ! The ref (裁判) may be taken in by it but youngsters watching the game aren’t. They also see their heroes getting away with it.

Of course it’s not just football. In 1998 the Tour de France, the world’s greatest cycling event, was hit by a drug – taking scandal (丑闻). The 40 bottles of forbidden drugs found with the Fustian team caused a massive investigation that almost caused the Tour to be abandoned. One rider, Veronique, was banned for 9 months. He claimed: “You have cheats in sport, just as you do in business – there will always be people trying to take a short cut. At least we’re not turning a blind eye to the problem, which other sports are.”

Is it all unavoidable? There’s huge pressure on all athletes to perform for their fans and for their sponsors. It’s success, money and power that rule professional sport rather than an honest attempt to do the best one can.

Meanwhile companies around the world are losing billions of dollars to fake products. From cut price CDs and DVDs to sportswear, cheap fake products are everywhere. It has become socially acceptable to buy fake Gucci bags and illegal copies of films. If parents are doing this, their children will follow.

So perhaps it’s not surprising that around the world more pupils than ever are caught cheating during exams. In one case missing exam papers were put up for sale on the Internet. In another, widespread cheating took place by pupils using their mobile phones to receive tested answers. They blame the pressure put on them to do well in exams. It doesn’t help that their role models are also cheats. Surely we can’t complain when we’re setting such a bad example.

1.According to the passage, in which way can a game show player cheat?

A. By taking an indirect way.?????????????

B. By gaining aid from a friend.

C. By taking forbidden drugs.?????????????

D. By selling fake products.

2.The underlined phrase “be frowned on”(Paragraph 2) most probably means?? .

A. to be disapproved of????????????? ????????????? B. to be pushed forward

C. to be taken the place of????????????? D. to be stuck with

3.The writer mentions the example of the World Cup in Paragraph 3 in order to ____

A. show cheating is a common phenomenon nowadays

B. discuss the relationship between sport and cheating

C. explore the nature of cheating in important events

D. warn coaches and athletes of the danger of cheating

4.The writer’s purpose for writing this passage is to???????? .

A. explain why people in almost every field cheat

B. complain about cheats in school education

C. persuade young people not to cheat in exams

D. blame the society for tolerating cheats