2008年大学英语六级冲刺模拟题（试卷2）速读

PartⅡ Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)
How to Be a Leader
At a moment when we are waiting to see whether we have elected a President or a leader, it is worth examining the differences between the two. For not every president is a leader, but every time we elect a President we hope for one, especially in times of doubt and crisis. In easy times we are ambivalent----the leader, after all, makes demands, challenges the status quo, shakes things up.

Leadership is as much a question of timing as anything else. The leader must appear on the scene at a moment when people are looking for leadership ,as Churchill did in 1940, as Roosevelt did in 1933, as Lenin in 1917. And when he comes, he must offer a simple, eloquent message.

Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who cut through argument, debate and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand and remember. Churchill warned the British to expect “blood, toil, tears and sweat”, FDR told Americans that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself “; Lenin promised the war-weary Russians peace, land and bread. Straightforward but potent messages.

It also helps for a leader to be able to do something most of us can’t: FDR overcame polio; Mao swam the Yangtse River at the age of 72. We don’t want our leaders to be “just like us.” We want them to be like us but better, special, more so. Yet if they are too different, we reject them. Adlai Stevenson was too cerebral. Nelson Rockfeller, too rich.



Above all, he must dignify our desires, convince us that we are taking part in the making of great history, give us a sense of glory about ourselves. Winston Churchill managed, by sheer rhetoric, to turn the British defeat and the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940 into a major victory. FDR’s words turned the sinking of the American fleet at Pearl Harbour into a national rallying cry instead of a humiliating national scandal. A leader must stir our blood, not appeal to our reason.

For this reason, businessmen generally make poor leaders. They tend to be pragmatists who think that once you’ve explained why something makes sense, people will do it. But history shows the fallacy of this belief. When times get tough, people don’t want to be told what went wrong, or lectured, or given a lot of complicated statistics and plans (like Carter’s energy policy)they don’t understand. They want to be moved, excited, inspired, consoled, uplifted---in short, led!

A great leader must have a certain irrational quality, a stubborn , infectious optimism, the ability to convince us that all is not lost even when we’re afraid it is.Confucius suggested that, while the adviser of a great leader should be as cold as ice, the leader himself should have fire, a spark of divine madness.

He won’t come until we’re ready for him, for the leader is like a mirror, reflecting back to us our own sense of purpose, putting into words our own dreams and hopes, transforming our needs and fears into coherent policies and programs.
Our strength makes him strong ; our determination makes him determined; our courage makes him a hero; he is , in the final analysis, the symbol of the best in us, shaped by our own spirit and will. And when these qualities are lacking in us, we can’t produce him; and even with all our skill at image building, we can’t fake him. He is, after all, merely the sum of us.

1. In this passage the author is mainly talking about __________________.
A) the differences between a President and a leader
B) specific ways to become a leader
C) the makings (素质)of a leader
D) the relationship between personality and leadership

2. In the first two paragraphs the author emphasizes ___________________.
A) the necessity of distinguishing a leader from a President
B) the role of a leader in times of doubt and crisis
C) timing as a crucial factor in the rise of a leader
D) people’s expectation of their President as a leader

3. The author points out in this article that virtually all great leaders are __________.
A) outstanding speakers, witty and eloquent
B) able to come up with explicit and unquestionable solutions to problems or crises.
C) Good at expressing their ideas in a simple, clear an effective way, bringing home their forceful messages to all people.
D) Both B) and C)

4. According to the author, what other qualities should a leader have?
A) He is special, able to do something most of us can, but should not be too different from us.
B) He knows well how to use power and has a way of showing how to exercise leadership
C) He has the grace of a good dancer and knows how to appear relaxed and confident
D) All of the above

5. Reagan’s training as an actor is mentioned as an example to show _________.
A) stage performance B) a good sense of humor
C) an easy and graceful manner D)personal charm

6. The difficulty in finding a good leader lies in the fact that _____________.
A) People know so little about leadership and they can only be led where they want to go.
B) People want their leader to be one of them and a step ahead of them
C) a leader will not emerge until leadership is needed
D) most potential leaders are too rational to be regarded as qualified leaders

7. Which of the following may serve to explain why businessmen can hardly make good leaders?
A) Practically-minded, they tend to appeal to people’s reason rather than to their emotion in resolving any problem and crisis.
B) Concerned with actual results, they attach too much importance to basic facts and well-founded plans.
C) They are too rational to arouse in people’s outbursts of enthusiasm.
D) All of the above

8. In difficult times instead of being told what went wrong being given a lot of complicated statistics and plans, people want to be _______________________.
9. The passage tells that a great leader must possess such irrational qualities as___________________________
And the ability to convince us that all is not lost even when we’re afraid it is.
10. In the last paragraph, the author informs us of the fact a leader, in the final analysis, is _____________________
Shaped by our own spirit and will.

8. moved, excited, inspired, consoled, uplifted
9. a stubborn , infectious optimism
10. the symbol of the best in us