阅读理解
What does it mean to say that we live in a world of persuasion? It means that we live among
competing interests.Your roommate's need to study for an exam may take priority(优先) over pizza.
Your instructor may have good reasons not to change your grade. And the object of your romantic
interest may have other options.
In such a world, persuasion is the art of getting others to give fair and favorable consideration to our
point of view. When we persuade, we want to influence how others believe and behave. We may not
alwaysprevail-other points of view may be more persuasive, depending on the listener, the situation, and
the merit of the case. But when we practice the art of persuasion, we try to ensure that our position
receives the attention it deserves.
Some people, however, object to the very idea of persuasion. They may regard it as an unwelcome
interruption into their lives. Just the opposite, we believe that persuasion is unavoidable-to live is to
persuade. Persuasion may be ethical(合乎道义的) or unethical, selfless or selfish, inspiring or
degrading. Ethical persuasion, however, calls for sound reasoning and is sensitive to the feelings and
needs of listeners. Such persuasion can help us apply the wisdom of the past to the decisions we now
must make.
Therefore, the most basic part of education is learning to resist the one kind of persuasion and to
encourage and practise the other.
Beyond its personal importance to us, persuasion is indispensable to society. The right to persuade
and be persuaded is the bedrock of the American political system, guaranteed by the First Amendment
to the Constitution(美国宪法).
1. According to the passage, persuasion means ________.
A. changing others' points of view
B. exercising power over other people
C. getting other people to consider your point of view
D. getting people to agree with you and do what you want
2. The underlined word "prevail" in the second paragraph means ________.
A. win
B. fail
C. speak
D. listen
3. The passage states that some people object to persuasion because they think it is ________.
A. a danger to society
B. difficult to do well
C. unwelcome behavior
D. never successful
4. The passage mainly discusses ________.
A. how people persuade
B. why people persuade
C. that persuasion is both good and bad
D. that persuasion is important and it is all around us
5. We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. if you are right, you can always be successful in your persuasion
B. persuasion is a necessary and important act in any society
C. any persuasion is from a selfish and annoying point of view
D. persuasion is hard to do and hard to succeed

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