B
Everybody likes a winner, and there are always people ready to cheer for a good loser. But who ever heard a song for the man who comes in second?
So this is in praise of the almost winner, the nearly champion, the next to the biggest, the second best. This is the song of Mister Two.
You hear unflattering names for Mister Two. “Alsoran”, they call him, and “runner-up”. Names that make you think of a fellow who couldn’t quite make it.
Don’t let that fool you.
Ask the winner of any race how good a man Mister Two is. He will tell you it’s Mister Two who made him run so fast, Mister Two pressing hard at his heels threatening always to overtake and pass him.
Ask the salesman who won the contest and what kept him plugging after hours, looking for extra order. Ask the directors of the big company why they keep changing their product, seeking the new equipment, the added advantage. What drives them? What keeps them hopping? It’s the salesman with nearly as many orders. It is the company with the product almost as good. It’s Mister Two.
In this country, we’re proud of the quality of our champions. Our big men come very big. Our fast men run very fast. Our wise men are the wisest and our greatest men are the greatest that a country could hope to be blessed with. And why is that? Couldn’t it be because great Mister Two’s growing naturally in a land where the race is always open and everybody can run? So this is for you, Mister Two. This is your song. This is for all the days you tried for first, and came in second. It’s for the nights when you wonder if you ought to go on trying, since nobody seems to notice…
We notice, Mister Two. We know the score. Winner or not, you’re a natural champion. There couldn’t be a race without you, Mister Two.
60. People call Mister Two unflattering names to_______ him.
A. praise
B. encourage
C. laugh at
D. comfort
（本題分值：2分）【正確答案】C
61. Mister Two is mentioned in connection with_______.
A. business
B. sports
C. wisdom and greatness
D. all of the above
（本題分值：2分）【正確答案】D
62. It is implied in this story that_______.
A. the runner-up is as important as the winner
B. every leader needs someone to help him
C. the second today may be the first tomorrow
D. second place is pretty good
（本題分值：2分）【正確答案】A
63. The person who wins needs to understand that_______.
A. winning isn’t everything
B. without strong competition he wouldn’t have won
C. without strong competition he wouldn’t have worked so hard
D. there is a prize for being Mister Two
（本題分值：2分）【正確答案】C
C
Do you find getting up in the morning so difficult that it is painful? This might be called laziness, but Dr. Klaitman has a new explanation. He has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle.
During the hours when you labor through your work, you may say that you’re “hot”. That’s true. The time of the day when you feel most energetic is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak. For some people the peak comes during the forenoon. For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. No one has discovered why this is so, but it leads to such familiar monologues(獨(dú)白)as: “Get up, John! You will be late for work again!” The possible explanation to the trouble is that John is at his temperature and energy peak in the evening. Much family quarrelling ends when husbands and wives realized what these energy cycles mean, and which cycle each member of the family has.
You can’t change your energy cycle, but you can learn to make your life fit it better. Habit can help, Dr. Klaitman believes. Maybe you’re sleepy in the evening but feel you must stay up late anyway. Counteract(阻礙)your cycle to some extent by habitually staying up later than you want to. If your energy is low in the morning but you have an important job to do early in the day, rise before your usual hour. This won’t change your cycle, but you’ll get up steam and work better at your low point.
64. If a person finds getting up early difficult, a problem most probably is______.
A. he is a lazy person
B. he refuses to follow his own energy cycle
C. he is not sure when his energy is low
D. he is at his peak in the afternoon or evening
（本題分值：2分）【正確答案】D
65. Which of the following may lead to family quarrels according to the passage?
A. Unawareness of energy cycles.
B. Familiar monologues.
C. A change in a family member’s energy cycle.
D. Attempts to control the energy cycle of other family members.
（本題分值：2分）【正確答案】A
66. If one wants to work more efficiently at his low point in the morning, he should_______.
A. change his energy cycle
B. overcome his laziness
C. get up earlier than usual
D. go to bed earlier
（本題分值：2分）【正確答案】C
Everybody likes a winner, and there are always people ready to cheer for a good loser. But who ever heard a song for the man who comes in second?
So this is in praise of the almost winner, the nearly champion, the next to the biggest, the second best. This is the song of Mister Two.
You hear unflattering names for Mister Two. “Alsoran”, they call him, and “runner-up”. Names that make you think of a fellow who couldn’t quite make it.
Don’t let that fool you.
Ask the winner of any race how good a man Mister Two is. He will tell you it’s Mister Two who made him run so fast, Mister Two pressing hard at his heels threatening always to overtake and pass him.
Ask the salesman who won the contest and what kept him plugging after hours, looking for extra order. Ask the directors of the big company why they keep changing their product, seeking the new equipment, the added advantage. What drives them? What keeps them hopping? It’s the salesman with nearly as many orders. It is the company with the product almost as good. It’s Mister Two.
In this country, we’re proud of the quality of our champions. Our big men come very big. Our fast men run very fast. Our wise men are the wisest and our greatest men are the greatest that a country could hope to be blessed with. And why is that? Couldn’t it be because great Mister Two’s growing naturally in a land where the race is always open and everybody can run? So this is for you, Mister Two. This is your song. This is for all the days you tried for first, and came in second. It’s for the nights when you wonder if you ought to go on trying, since nobody seems to notice…
We notice, Mister Two. We know the score. Winner or not, you’re a natural champion. There couldn’t be a race without you, Mister Two.
60. People call Mister Two unflattering names to_______ him.
A. praise
B. encourage
C. laugh at
D. comfort
（本題分值：2分）【正確答案】C
61. Mister Two is mentioned in connection with_______.
A. business
B. sports
C. wisdom and greatness
D. all of the above
（本題分值：2分）【正確答案】D
62. It is implied in this story that_______.
A. the runner-up is as important as the winner
B. every leader needs someone to help him
C. the second today may be the first tomorrow
D. second place is pretty good
（本題分值：2分）【正確答案】A
63. The person who wins needs to understand that_______.
A. winning isn’t everything
B. without strong competition he wouldn’t have won
C. without strong competition he wouldn’t have worked so hard
D. there is a prize for being Mister Two
（本題分值：2分）【正確答案】C
C
Do you find getting up in the morning so difficult that it is painful? This might be called laziness, but Dr. Klaitman has a new explanation. He has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle.
During the hours when you labor through your work, you may say that you’re “hot”. That’s true. The time of the day when you feel most energetic is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak. For some people the peak comes during the forenoon. For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. No one has discovered why this is so, but it leads to such familiar monologues(獨(dú)白)as: “Get up, John! You will be late for work again!” The possible explanation to the trouble is that John is at his temperature and energy peak in the evening. Much family quarrelling ends when husbands and wives realized what these energy cycles mean, and which cycle each member of the family has.
You can’t change your energy cycle, but you can learn to make your life fit it better. Habit can help, Dr. Klaitman believes. Maybe you’re sleepy in the evening but feel you must stay up late anyway. Counteract(阻礙)your cycle to some extent by habitually staying up later than you want to. If your energy is low in the morning but you have an important job to do early in the day, rise before your usual hour. This won’t change your cycle, but you’ll get up steam and work better at your low point.
64. If a person finds getting up early difficult, a problem most probably is______.
A. he is a lazy person
B. he refuses to follow his own energy cycle
C. he is not sure when his energy is low
D. he is at his peak in the afternoon or evening
（本題分值：2分）【正確答案】D
65. Which of the following may lead to family quarrels according to the passage?
A. Unawareness of energy cycles.
B. Familiar monologues.
C. A change in a family member’s energy cycle.
D. Attempts to control the energy cycle of other family members.
（本題分值：2分）【正確答案】A
66. If one wants to work more efficiently at his low point in the morning, he should_______.
A. change his energy cycle
B. overcome his laziness
C. get up earlier than usual
D. go to bed earlier
（本題分值：2分）【正確答案】C