“The first and best of victories is for a man to conquer himself; to be conquered by himself is, of all things, the most shameful,” says Plato. Self-control is at the root of all the advantages. Let a man give in to his impulses and feelings, and from that moment he gives up his moral freedom.
A single angry word has lost many a friend. When Socrates found in himself any temper or anger, he would check it by speaking low in order to control himself. If you are conscious of being angry, keep your mouth shut so that you can hold back rising anger. Many a person has dropped dead in great anger. Fits of anger bring fits of disease “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad.” “Keep cool,” says George Herbert, “for fierceness makes error a fault.”
To be angry with a weak man is to prove that you are not strong your self. “Anger,” says Pythagoras, “bring with folly and ends with regret.” You must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings he conquers, not by the power of those which conquer him.
Self-control is man’s last greatest victory.
If a man lacks self-control he seems to lack everything. Without it he can have no patience, no power to govern himself; he can have no self-confidence, for he will always be controlled by his strongest feeling. If he lacks self-control, the very backbone and nerve of character are lacking also.
【小题1】What does the reader learn from the first paragraph ?
The greatest victory for a man is to conquer everything except himself.
One’s moral freedom is based on the control of himself.
To control oneself is the most difficult in one’s life.
If a person is too stubborn, he will feel most shameful.
【小题2】What is the correct interpretation of “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad”?
If the gods want to kill you, they make you crazy first.
If you always lose your temper, you will soon be finished.
If you cannot control yourself, you will bee crazy.
If you are mad, you will be punished by the gods.
【小题3】If a man lacks self-control, he lacks all of the following EXCEPT .
the very backbone and nerve of character
the patience and power to control himself
strong feelings
self-confidence
【小题4】 The author’s main purpose in writing this article is to .
explain that self-control is the key to success
teach people how to control everything in order to make a great success
distinguish all kinds of self-control and suggest ways for keeping it
advise people not to lose temper so as to make and keep more friends B
网友回答
(答案→)B
解析：
【小题1】细节理解题。从Let a man give in to his impulses (冲动) and feelings, and from that moment he gives up his moral (道德的) freedom. 可以看出“一个人道德上的自由是建立在自我控制的基础上的”。其他选项没有很好的把握本段的大意。
【小题2】段落大意理解题。文章的第二段主要论述了“生气”、“发脾气”给一个人身体造成的危害，例子中可以看出严重的甚至会带来死亡。其他各项都是作者所列举的例子，不能概括本段大意。
【小题3】细节理解题。文章最后一段介绍了“如果一个人失去了自失，那么他将失去一切，包括耐心、自信、甚至骨气。而一个人的自控意识是受自己强烈的感情控制的。”其他各项都符合文章的表述。
【小题4】主旨归纳题。纵观全文作者写这篇文章的主要目的就是要向读者解释一个问题：自控很重要，它是通向成功的钥匙。其他三项不能概括全文的大意。