【解析】推理判断题。由倒数第二段中的His teachers and parents thought he was slow, so he was expelled from school and couldn't get into the Zurich Polytechnic School. 可推断出爱因斯坦被退学, 最可能的原因就是老师认为他很笨。

4. What do the people in the passage have in common?

A. They are all Americans.

B. They are known for their writings.

C. They were born in the same century.

D. They all suffered failure before they succeeded.

【答案】D

【解析】推理判断题。由第一段中的Many of the world's most well-known people were once successful failures. Here are the stories of a few of them. 可推断出这些人们的共同之处在于他们在成功之前都遭遇了失败。

　　　B

　　Since Brandon was a kid, he has loved playing baseball. For him, baseball, was and still is his life and his impetus and drive for staying in school.

　　But as Brandon got older, he started making bad choices. He cut classes, hung out with the wrong friends and got suspended(被停学)often. His grandmother took care of the family and his mom worked 12-hour shifts at a car lot, doing everything she could to provide for the family.

　　Dr. Decmona Warren, a teacher of a Communities In Schools(CIS), saw the signs but when she tried to help, Brandon wouldn't take it. "When I heard her call my name, I would nearly run away. "Brandon said later.

　　His GPA(平均成绩)fell to a 1. 4 and Brandon was kicked out of the baseball team. He knew if he wanted to play baseball, he had to stop acting like that. Determined to become successful both on the field and in the classroom, Brandon decided to embrace the support from Communities In Schools. He turned to Dr. Warren, who welcomed him as a CIS student with open arms. From tutoring to parent-teacher conferences, he allowed Dr. Warren to become his"school mom", and slowly, things started to turn around.

　　"CIS of Atlanta has made a big difference in my life. This program has taught me to think before I act and make better choices in choosing friends. Before CIS it seemed like every week I was either out of school or in school suspension. Once when I was an honor student in middle school, I found myself failing miserably in almost all of my classes as a freshman in high school. But with the help of CIS I am now back on track, more focused and determined to do better in my academics and behavior. "

　　He's back on the team now playing in the Catcher position, with a 2. 8 GPA. He is already looking at colleges for baseball scholarships.

5. What does the underlined word "impetus" in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A. Need. 　　 B. Excuse.

C. Thought. D. Motivation.

【答案】D

【解析】词义猜测题。第一段中"For him, baseball, was and still is his life and his impetus and drive for staying in school. "意为: "对他来说, 棒球一直以来都是他的生命, 也是驱使他留在学校的动力。"所以猜测这个单词意义是 motivation"动机, 动力", 所以答案选D。

6. What made Brandon decide to accept Dr. Warren's help?

A. His poor GPA.

B. Dr. Warren's enthusiasm for helping him.

C. His great devotion to playing baseball.

D. His poor performance when playing baseball.

【答案】C

【解析】细节理解题。根据第四段"Determined to become successful both on the field and in the classroom, . . . He turned to Dr. Warren. "可知, 决定在球场上和学习上能获得成功, 他向 Dr. Warren寻求帮助。