单选题 A self-described socialist and former shop steward, Sir Alex was an odd fit with the centrist Mr. Blair. Yet he was much less impressed by Blair's successor, Gordon Brown—though he was also born in Glasgow and is a lifelong football fan. Nor could Sir Alex quarrel with New Labour's embrace of the market. English football has become the world's best because it pays the most: the average weekly wage in the premiership rose by 1,500% between 1992 and 2010. Sir Alex was well rewarded, too; he named his mansion Fairfields, after the ship-making factory where his father once laboured.
Sir Alex's success was based on his enthusiastic embrace of globalisation, something too many people in Labour are still uncomfortable with. He inherited a team that contained 2 Danes, 4 Irishmen and 18 Britons. He leaves a squad with players from a dozen countries, including Serbia, Ecuador and Japan. In public-policy terms, United runs both a superb domestic education system and a liberal immigration policy. This is a lesson Labour's current leader, Ed. Miliband, badly needs to learn—having expressed regret, in a vague but toe-curling (令人厌恶的) way, that his New Labour forebears let so many foreigners in.
Oddly, perhaps the politician Sir Alex most resembles was not of Labour at all; but rather its Tory female, Margaret Thatcher. He claimed to dislike her. Yet they are similar. Both won global successes through a combination of simple truths and constant drive. Both shared aspiration and opportunity. Both made Britain great.
Sir Alex would now do well to avoid Lady Thatcher's biggest mistake: by lingering at the scene of his triumph. He plans to stay on at United as a director and perhaps instructor to his successor, David Moyes, another able manager and working-class Scot. But such arrangement rarely work. It would be better, after such a glorious career, if he conceded that Fergie time is now over.

单选题 Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?

A.Mr. Blair is a conservative who supports Alex's career.
B.Gordon Brown is a team member of Sir Alex.
C.Sir Alex has enjoyed substantial reward.
D.Sir Alex has quarreled with New Labour.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。选项与原文对比。A原文：Sir Alex was an odd fit with the centrist Mr. Blair.原文提到Mr. Blair是centrist(中立派)，而非conservative(保守党派)。故A错误。B原文：He was much less impressed by Blair's successor, Gordon Brown—though he was also born in Glasgow and is a lifelong football fan.文章说到Gordon是Blair的继承者，而非Alex的队员，故B错误。C原文：Sir Alex was well rewarded, too；故该选项是对的。D项Nor could Sir Alex quarrel with New Labour's embrace of the market. nor一词很关键，D选项把这个词漏掉了，故错误。

单选题 Alex's mansion was named after ______.

A.the house where he was born
B.the football team that he leads
C.the football team that he favors
D.the factory where his father once worked

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。选项与原文对比。考点在于第一段最后一句：...he named his mansion Fairfields, after the ship-making factory where his father once laboured，可见他的宅邸的命名是来自他父亲工作过的造船厂，故D是正确的。

单选题 Alex's success depends on ______.

A.his persistence in his career
B.his team and their collaboration
C.his enthusiasm in accepting globalization
D.his insistence in making his dream come true

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。选项与原文对比。原文：Sir Alex's success was based on his enthusiastic embrace of globalisation答案很明显，为C，C是对该句的同义转换。其中enthusiastic=enthusiasm；embrace=accept。而其余三项在文中未能找到对应内容，故错误。

单选题 Margaret Thatcher and Sir Alex share all these common points except ______.

A.similar personality
B.worldwide triumph
C.ambition and chance
D.continuous endeavor

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。选项与原文对比。题目问的是Thatcher和Alex的共同点，体现在第三段的yet they are similar这一转折句之后。之后的连续三个both体现了两者的共同点，其中global success(全球性成功)=B．worldwide triumph(世界性胜利)；constant drive(不断前进)=D项continuous endeavor(不断努力)；aspiration and opportunity(渴望和机会)=C项ambition and chance(抱负与机遇)。A未提及，故A为答案。

单选题 What is the author's attitude towards Alex's decision to stay at United?

A.Complete agreement.
B.Slight objection.
C.Warm welcome.
D.Little indifference.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 观点态度题。选项与原文对比。定位到文章尾段。前两句的do well to avoid mistake，triumph等词似乎都表明是好的。但观点态度题要特别注意虚拟情态以及转折处，文章but之后才体现了作者的态度，关键词是rarely work(没有用)，if he conceded(如果他让步)以及is now over(已经结束了)，这些词都表明作者对于Alex决定留在联合队是否定的。所以A、C两项是明显错误的。作者的态度也并非D选项的“有点冷漠”，而是B选项的“有点反对”。