One of the executives gathered at the Aspen Institute for a day-long leadership workshop using the works of Shakespeare was discussing the role of Brutus in the death of
Julius Caesar. "Brutus was not an honourable man，" he said. "He was a traitor（叛徒）.And he murdered someone in cold blood." The agreement was that Brutus had acted with cruelty when other options were available to him.He made a bad decision，they said - at least as it was presented by Shakespeare - to take the lead in murdering Julius Caesar.And though one of the executives acknowledged that Brutus had the good of the republic in mind，Caesar was nevertheless his superior. "You have to understand，" the executives said，"our policy is to obey the chain of command."
During the last few years，business executives and book writers looking for a new way to advise corporate America have been exploiting Shakespeare's wisdom for profitable ends.None more so than husband and wife team Kenneth and Carol Adelman，well-known former advisers to the White House，who started up a training company called "Movers and Shakespeares".They are amateur Shakespeare scholars and Shakespeare lovers，and they have combined their passion and their high-level contacts into a management training business.They conduct between 30 and 40 workshops annually，dealing with half a dozen different plays，mostly for corporations，but also for government agencies.
The workshops all take the same form，focusing on a single play as a kind of case study，and using individual scenes as specific lessons.In Julius Caesar，for example，Cassius's sly provocation（狡詐的挑唆）of Brutus to take up arms against Caesar was the basis for a discussion of methods of team building and grass roots organizing.
Although neither of the Adelmans is academically trained in literature，the programs contain plenty of Shakespeare tradition and background.Their workshop on Henry V，for example，includes a helpful explanation of Henry's winning strategy at the Battle of Agincourt.But they do come to the text with a few biases（偏向）：their reading of Henry V minimizes his misuse of power.Instead，they emphasize the story of the youth who seizes opportunity and becomes a masterful leader.And at the workshop on Caesar，Mr.Adelmans had little good to say about Brutus，saying "the noblest Roman of them all" couldn't make his mind up about things.
Many of the participants pointed to very specific elements in the play that they felt to be related.Caesar's pride，which led to his murder，and Brutus's mistakes in leading the traitors after the murder，they said，raise vital questions for anyone serving in a business when and how do you resist the boss？
（1）According to paragraph 1，what did all the executives think of Brutus？AA
A．Cruel.
B．Superior.
C．Honourable.
D．Rude.
（2）According to the passage，the Adelmans set up "Movers and Shakespeares" toBB .
A．help executives to understand Shakespeare's plays better
B．give advice on leadership by analyzing Shakespeare's plays
C．provide case studies of Shakespeare's plays in literature workshops
D．guide government agencies to follow the characters in Shakespeare's plays
（3）Why do the Adelmans conduct a workshop on Henry V？AA
A．To highlight the importance of catching opportunities.
B．To encourage masterful leaders to plan strategies to win.
C．To illustrate the harm of prejudices in management.
D．To warn executives against power misuse.
（4）It can be inferred from the passage thatDD.
A．the Adelmans' program proves biased as the roles of characters are maximized
B．executives feel bored with too many specific elements of Shakespeare's plays
C．the Adelmans will make more profits if they are professional scholars
D．Shakespeare has played an important role in the management field
【答案】A；B；A；D
【解答】
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發(fā)布：2024/4/20 14:35:0組卷：13引用：2難度：0.5
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1．British children's writer Roald Dahl ate chocolates and sweets "pretty much every mealtime"，remembers daughter Ophelia Dahl．
After dinner，whether dining alone or entertaining guests，Dahl would pass around a little red plastic box full of Mars Bars，Milky Ways，Maltesers，Kit Kats and much more．
He knew the history of all the sweets and could tell you exactly when they were invented．1937 was a big year when Kit Kats （his favorite），Rolos and Smarties （his dog，chopper's favorite） were invented．He wrote a history of chocolate，lecturing schoolchildren to commit such dates to memory（熟記），such as 1928 when "Cadbury's Fruit and Nut Bar popped up on the scene"，saying． "Don't bother with the Kings and Queens of England．All of you should learn these dates instead．Perhaps the Headmistress（女校長）will see from now on that it becomes part of the major teaching in this school．"
According to Dahl，the Golden Years of Chocolate were 1930-1937．In 1930，Roald Dahl was 14 years old．He was a student at Repton，a famous boys' boarding school in England．It was a tough environment：those in authority were more interested in controlling than educating the students．
Ironically（諷刺地），it was at this difficult period that chocolate became Dahl's passion．Near Repton was a Cadbury chocolate factory．Every so often，Cadbury would send each schoolboy a sampler（樣品）box of new chocolates to taste and grade．They were using the students---"the greatest chocolate bar experts in the world to test out their new inventions．
This was when Dahl's imagination took flight．He pictured factories with inventing rooms with pots of chocolate and fudge（軟糖）and "all sorts of other delicious fillings bubbling away on the stoves"．
"It was lovely dreaming those dreams…when I was looking for a plot for my second book for children．I remembered those little cardboard boxes（紙盒）and the newly invented chocolates inside them，and I began to write a book called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory．"
For the record，Roald Dahl did not like chocolate cake or chocolate ice cream．He said， "I prefer my chocolate straight．"
（1）What's the purpose of the first paragraph？
A．To introduce the main topic---Roald Dahl．
B．To introduce Dahl's love for chocolate．
C．To introduce main character's daily life．
D．To introduce some important characters．
（2）What can we infer from the passage about Roald Dahl？
A．He treated himself with various chocolate after dinner secretly．
B．He has a good knowledge of chocolate，especially its history．
C．He used to lecture schoolchildren of a boys' boarding school．
D．He only wrote some books related to the history of chocolate．
（3）What happened during the Golden Years of Chocolate？
A．It was a great time for children to get educated．
B．Those years stopped Dahl's interest in chocolate．
C．Students could become chocolate experts then．
D．Roald Dahl's passion for chocolate was lit up then．
（4）gave Roald Dahl inspiration to write Charlie and Chocolate Factory．
A．the dream about chocolates．
B．Factories with chocolate and fudge．
C．Those boxes with chocolate．
D．Chocolate cakes and ice cream發(fā)布：2025/1/30 8:0:1組卷：0引用：1難度：0.5 -
2．Recently，a film star has been giving away free books on the London Underground．If you're a bookworm，a Harry Potter fan and a London Underground user，then it's been an exciting month for you．
Emma Watson，who starred in films based on the novels about a fictional schoolboy wizard，has been hiding books on the Tube for passengers to read through．
It's part of he Book On The Underground movement，which has a simple aim：to get more people burying themselves in literature．Books are left on trains for passengers to pick up，dip into and then leave for another lucky reader to skim．
The movement started in 2012 and drops off about 150 books a week in stations across London．Talking about Watson's participation in the project，the manager of Books On The Under ground，Cornelia Oxley，said， "The reaction has been great．It must be a mixture of how much everyone admires Emma，and how exciting it is to find something as wonderful as a new book on your journey．"
The 100 or so books Watson left for passengers to read were even more special because she left a hand-written inscription（題詞）．The books were Kaya Angelou's Mom & Me & Mom．
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So．Why not take a leaf out of Emma Watson's book and leave a copy of your favorite book on a train？It could make a stranger's life richer．
（1）What does Books On The Underground aim to do？
A．To get more readers to buy their books．
B．To leave books on trains．
C．To find lucky readers．
D．To get more people to read．
（2）Which of the following statements is NOT true？
A．People's admiration for Emma Watson contributes to the success of the movement．
B．There is a golden ticket to the world's greatest chocolate factory in the book．
C．To find something wonderful on a journey is exciting．
D．Emma Watson left hand-written inscriptions on the books．
（3）What's the author's attitude towards Emma Watson's leaving books on the train？
A．critical
B．indifferent
C．supportive
D．pessimistic發(fā)布：2025/1/30 8:0:1組卷：0引用：1難度：0.5 -
3．It can be really hard to learn a new language．I had always enjoyed learning languages in school，but only recently did I start learning German．I found that I could understand and learn individual words easily，but when it came to literature，I really struggled．That was when my tutor at university suggested reading some children's books printed in the target language．
At first，I felt a bit silly going on a hunt for a book designed for someone half my age，but then I realised that everyone has to start somewhere．As children，we are given these basic texts to familiarise our brains with certain vocabulary and writing structures，and from there，we can learn and develop．I started with books which are taught to us as children in the UK．I managed to find Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl．
The beauty of reading books that were introduced to you as a child is that you are already familiar with the plot．Therefore you can work out some words with your knowledge of the story．At first，I used to read with the book in one hand and a dictionary in the other，but this did not work well．The method I would recommend is to read a chapter first and at the end of that chapter，highlight the new words and then look up the definitions．If you can wait a bit before using a dictionary，you may be surprised what you can understand merely from the context．Additionally，a lot of children's books have pictures which may give you a clue as to what or to whom the passage is referring．
If you can find a translation of the books you have read as a child，I would strongly advise reading those if you are a complete beginner．However，if you feel a bit more confident reading in English，I would personally recommend the series of 'Harry Potter' books by J．K．Rowling or any of the Roald Dahl children's books．
（1）What makes it hard for the author to learn German？
A．The author had a poor memory．
B．The author had no interest in it．
C．The author had no one to ask for help．
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（2）What did the author think of reading children's books in the target language at first？
A．Interesting．
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D．Boring．
（3）What does the author try to express mainly in Paragraph 3？
A．How to deal with new words while reading．
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（4）Why does the author write this text？
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D．To share the author's stories of learning a new language．發(fā)布：2025/1/30 8:0:1組卷：5引用：1難度：0.5