单选题 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 discussion lively by describing his own combat experiences 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 the war. Last year, after The Boston Globe carried accounts of Ellis's experiences in the Vietnam war, someone who knew the truth about Ellis dropped a dime (揭发). 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. He'd also overstated his role in the anti-war 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 (剽窃), fictionalising 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. "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."

单选题 What is said about Ellis in the first paragraph?

A. He was more famous when he taught at Mount Holyoke College.
B. He has told both students and reporters about his own experiences of the war.
C. His book on the Vietnam War has won two important prizes.
D. He has written a best-seller for a newspaper—The Boston Globe.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】根据题干直接将本题出处定位于文章第1段。该段第2、3句提到，埃利斯经常在曼荷莲学院描述他自己在越南的战争经历，从而使课堂讨论气氛活跃。声名鹊起后，他开始向地方和全国报刊的记者讲述他的战争经历。B(他向学生和记者都讲述了他的战争经历)与此相符，故为答案。由第1段前3句可知，埃利斯在成为畅销书作家之前就已经很有名，成为畅销书作家之后更有名，故A不正确。由第1段第3句可知，帮助埃利斯获得两个重要奖项的书是关于美国的开国者，而非C中所说的越战。D属于张冠李戴。

单选题 It is not revealed by the passage that Ellis lied about ______.

A. his role in the anti-war movement
B. his athletic records in high school
C. his family background
D. his own war experiences in Vietnam

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】根据题干中的lied将本题出处定位于第2段。该段第2、3句提到，这位著名的历史学家(指前句提到的埃利斯)虽然在军队服过役，但是他的战争岁月不是在东南亚的丛林中度过的，而是在西点军校讲授历史。他还夸大了自己在反战运动中的作用，甚至夸大了他在中学的体育运动记录。由此可知，文中没有提到的是埃利斯是否在自己的家庭背景上撒了谎，而其他三项都提到了，故答案为C。

单选题 By "success and truthfulness don't always go hand in hand" (Lines 6～7, Para. 2), the author means ______.

A. all the successful people are liars
B. once people become famous, they start lying
C. distinguished people tend to lie about their military experiences
D. sometimes even a prominent man may lie about his achievements

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】根据题干将本题出处定位于第2段第5句。该句意为“但是，成功与诚实似乎并不总是密切相连”，接着下一句作了解释：“甚至在获得卓越成就的人中，也有十分之一的人在蒙骗”，由此可知答案为D。A中的all与第2段第6句的one in ten不符。B(人们一旦成名，就开始撒谎)过于绝对，且与第2段倒数第二句提到的“名人一旦成名就经常会美化自己的过去”有所差别。文中所举的埃利斯在自己的越战经历上说谎的例子不足以说明C(名人都倾向于在自已的军事经历上说谎)。

单选题 What does Ernest Brod mean by "climb the ladder"?

A. To go further in beautifying one's past.
B. To become more successful.
C. To cover one's serious offenses.
D. To inquire into one's background.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】根据题干中的climb the ladder将本题出处定位于第2段最后一句。句中的they指代的是前面提到的prominent people，该句指出，他们这么做不像是为了攀爬社会阶梯。再结合前文提到的这些杰出人士都是在出名后才做出这些撒谎或欺骗的事情以反第3段中对他们这么做的原因的进一步分析来看，这里的climb the ladder指在当前的基础上取得更大的成功，是针对前文的famous言的，故答案为B。A(更进一步美化自己的过去)和C(掩饰自己的严重错误)无法体现“攀爬社会阶梯”的含义。进行背景调查是欧内斯特·布罗德开展的，而不是这些说谎的名人，故D不正确。

单选题 What does Dennis Shulman say about successful people who lie about themselves?

A. They are vulnerable.
B. They have no sense of their shortcomings.
C. They take pride in their weaknesses.
D. They look weak to other people.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】根据题干中的Dennis Shulman将本题出处定位于最后一段倒数第二句。该段最后一句引用丹尼斯·舒尔曼原话“但是在内心深处，他们(指名人)觉得空虚和茫然”，A(他们内心脆弱)是对此的同义转述，故答案为A。B(他们意识不到自己的不足)和C(他们以自己的不足为荣)与最后一段第3句提到的“他们被自己的不足所困扰”相矛盾。D(在别人看来他们很弱)与原文的these people look anything but fragile(他们看起来一点儿也不脆弱)矛盾，anything but表示一种否定。