单选题 In the 400s BC, the Sophists, a group of wandering teachers, began to teach in Athens. The Sophists claimed that they could teach any subject or skill to anyone who wished to learn it. They specialized in teaching grammar, logic, and rhetoric, subjects that eventually formed the core of the liberal arts. The Sophists were more interested in preparing their students to argue persuasively and win arguments than in teaching principles of truth and morality.
Unlike the Sophists, the Greek philosopher Socrates sought to discover and teach universal principles of truth, beauty, and goodness. Socrates, who died in 399 BC, claimed that true knowledge existed within everyone and needed to be brought to consciousness. His educational method, called the Socratic method, consisted of asking probing questions that forced his students to think deeply about the meaning of life, truth, and justice.
In 387 BC Plato, who had studied under Socrates, established a school in Athens called the Academy. Plato believed in an unchanging world of perfect ideas or universal concepts. He asserted that since true knowledge is the same in every place at every time, education, like truth, should be unchanging. Plato described his educational ideal in The Republic, one of the most notable works of Western philosophy. Plato"s Republic describes a model society, or republic, ruled by highly intelligent philosopher-kings. Warriors make up the republic"s second class of people. The lowest class, the workers, provide food and other products for all the people of the republic. In Plato"s ideal educational system, each class would receive a different kind of instruction to prepare for their various roles in society.
In 335 BC Plato"s student, Aristotle, founded his own school in Athens called the Lyceum. Believing that human beings are essentially rational, Aristotle thought people could discover natural laws that governed the universe and then follow these laws in their lives. He also concluded that educated people who used reason to make decisions would lead a life of moderation in which they avoided dangerous extremes.
In the 4th century BC Greek orator Isocrates developed a method of education designed to prepare students to be competent orators who could serve as government officials. Isocrates"s students studied rhetoric, politics, ethics, and history. They examined model orations and practiced public speaking. Isocrates"s methods of education directly influenced such Roman educational theorists as Cicero and Quintilian.

单选题 Which of the following is true of the Sophists?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 该题为细节题。根据第一段第三句“They specialized in teaching grammar, logic, and rhetoric, subjects that eventually formed the core the of liberal arts.”可知，诡辩家教授的课程后来形成了文科课程的核心，选项D“他们对后世产生了可观的影响”，与原文意思相符，为正确选项。选项A称“他们的教学方式是劝导性的”，后面提到诡辩家们对于帮助学生准备有力的辩论，并赢得辩论更感兴趣，而不是教授真理和道德原则，A选项与原文意思相悖；选项B称“他们的学校大多位于雅典”，原文只是说他们开始是在雅典教学，并未提到他们的学校大多位于雅典；选项C称“他们破坏了当时社会的道德”，原文并未提到这一点，故选D。

单选题 Plato held that a perfect society should be one marked, among other things, by

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 该题为推理题。由第三段第5～8句“Plato"s Republic describes a model society, or republic, ruled by highly intelligent philosopher-kings...each class would receive a different kind of instruction to prepare for their various roles in society.”可知，柏拉图的《理想国》描述了一个由极具智慧的哲学王统治的理想社会，这个社会等级分明，每个阶层都会接受其独特的教育，以便为了他们各自的社会角色做好准备，由此可以推断，柏拉图所认为的理想社会应以智力差异和等级制度为显著特点，故选C。

单选题 Which of the following would have been one of Plato"s dislikes?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 该题为推理题。由第三段第5～8句“Plato"s Republic describes a model society, or republic, ruled by highly intelligent philosopher-kings...each class would receive a different kind of instruction to prepare for their various roles in society.”可知，柏拉图倡导一个由智者领导的、等级分明的社会，每个阶层都遵从统治者领导，接受独特的教育，扮演各自的社会角色，因此可推断，对阶级分化的挑战应该是柏拉图不赞成的。选项B“维持政治秩序”，选项C“服从统治者”和选项D“接受各自社会角色”都是柏拉图所提倡的观点，与题干设问相反，故选A。

单选题 The followers of Isocrates might have shown little interest in

单选题 Who might share a similar teaching focus to the Sophists?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 该题为推理题。由第一段第三句“They specialized in teaching grammar, logic, and rhetoric, subjects that eventually formed the core of the liberal arts.”可知，诡辩家们专业教授语法、逻辑和修辞学，这些课程后来形成了文科课程的核心。由第五段第二句“Isocrates"s students studied rhetoric, politics, ethics, and history.”可知，伊索克拉底的学生学习修辞法、政治、道德和历史，伊苏科拉迪与诡辩家教授的内容有相似之处，故选B。