同等學力英語閱讀及翻譯專項練習 10

Even before Historian Joseph Ellis became a best-selling author, he was famous for his vivid lectures. In his popular courses at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts , he would often make classroom discussions lively by describing his own combat experience in Vietnam . But as Ellis's reputation grew — his books on the Founding Fathers have won both the prestigious National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize — the history professor began to entertain local and national reporters with his memories of war. Last year, after The Boston Globe carried accounts of Ellis's experience in the Vietnam war, someone who knew the truth about Ellis dropped a dime ( 揭發 ). Last week The Boston Globe revealed that Ellis, famous for explaining the nation's history, had some explaining to do about his own past.

“Even in the best of lives, mistakes are made,” said a wretched Ellis. It turned out that while the distinguished historian had served in the Army, he'd spent his war years not in the jungles of Southeast Asia, but teaching history at West Point ( 西點軍校 ). He'd also overstated his role in the antiwar movement and even his high-school athletic records. His admission shocked colleagues, fellow historians and students who wondered why someone so accomplished would beautify his past. But it seems that success and truthfulness don't always go hand in hand. Even among the distinguished achievers, security experts say, one in ten is deceiving — indulging in everything from empty boasting to more serious offenses such as plagiarism ( 剽竊 ), fictionalizing military records, making up false academic certificates or worse. And, oddly, prominent people who beautify the past often do so once they're famous, says Ernest Brod of Kroll Associates, which has conducted thousands of background checks. Says Brod: “It's not like they use these lies to climb the ladder.”

Then what makes them do it? Psychologists say some people succeed, at least in part, because they are uniquely adjusted to the expectations of others. And no matter how well-known, those people can be haunted by a sense of their own shortcomings. “From outside, these people look anything but fragile,” says Dennis Shulman, a New York psychoanalyst. “But inside, they feel hollow, empty.”

1. Which of the following is TRUE about Ellis?

A. He is a famous professor of history at West Point .

B. His book on the Vietnam war has won two important prizes.

C. He has told both students and reporters about his own experience of war.

D. He has written a bestseller for a newspaper — The Boston Globe .

2. While Ellis served in the Army, he ______.

A. combated in Vietnam B. taught at a military school

C. exaggerated his part as a historian D. made mistakes in the antiwar movement

3. What did Ellis lie about?

A. His war experience in Vietnam . B. His athletic records in high school.

C. His role in the antiwar movement. D. All of the above.

4. What does “to climb the ladder” in the second paragraph mean?

A. To become more successful. B. To inquire into one's background.

C. To cover one's serious offenses. D. To go further in beautifying one's past.

5. According to psychologists, successful people who lie about themselves ______.

A. take pride in their weaknesses B. feel weak in their hearts

C. think nothing of others D. look weak to others

甚至就在史學家約瑟夫·埃利斯成為暢銷書作家之前，他就以生動的演講而聞名。他在馬薩諸塞州 Mount Holyoke 大學講授的課程很受歡迎，通過描述他自己在越南的戰斗經歷，他經常使得課堂討論氣氛活躍。但是，隨著艾利斯的名聲逐漸擴大——他有關《開國者》的書獲得了享有聲譽的國家書籍獎和普利策獎金， 歷史 教授開始向地方和全國報刊的記者講述他的戰斗經歷。去年，《波士頓環球報》刊登了有關艾利斯在越南的戰斗經歷的報導后，某個了解艾利斯真實情況的人揭發了他。上星期，《波士頓環球報》透露，以解釋國家歷史而聞名的艾利斯將為他自己的過去做一些解釋。

“即使在生命的鼎盛時期，人們也會犯錯誤，”可憐的艾利斯說。原來是這樣：著名的歷史學家雖然在軍隊服過役，但是他的戰爭歲月不是在東南亞的叢林中度過的，而是在西點軍校講授歷史。他還夸大了他在反戰運動中的作用，甚至夸大了他中學的體育運動記錄。他的陳述使他的同事、史學界的同僚以及學生震驚——這些人感到奇怪的是，如此有成就的人為什么還要美化他的過去。但是，成功與坦率似乎并不總是密切相連。保密專家說，甚至在卓越的成就者中，也有十分之一的人在蒙騙——縱情于空虛的吹噓和更嚴重的犯罪等，比如剽竊、把軍事記錄編成小說、制作假學術文憑或更糟的行為。“克羅爾會員”的歐內斯特·博德說，令人感到奇怪的是，那些美化過去的著名人物一旦成名就經常這樣做——“克羅爾會員”進行了成千上萬次的背景核查。博德說，“他們似乎不像是在利用這些謊言去攀爬社會階梯。”

那么，是什么驅使他們這樣做呢？心理學家說，一些人成功了，至少部分成功了，因為他們只是迎合了別人的期望。無論多么著名，那些人都可能為自己的不足感而困擾。“從外表上看，這些人除了顯得脆弱外一切都很正常，”丹尼斯·撒爾曼說，他是一名紐約的心理分析學家。“但是，在內心深處，這些人覺得沒有內涵，感到空虛。”

參考答案 ： 1 ． C 2 ． B 3 ． D 4 ． A 5 ． B