暑假过后，新初三生们迎来了初中最重要的一年——初三。为方便2013年中考考生及家长查询相关信息，出国留学网中考频道特别搜集汇总了中考英语阅读素材以供参考：
A young man asked Socrates the secret of Success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning.
They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him towards the river.
When the water got up to their necks, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water.
The man struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until he started turning blue. The young man struggled hard and finally managed to get out and the first thing he did was to gasp and take deep breath.
Socrates asked, “What you wanted the most when you were there?” The man replied, “Air.”
Socrates said, “that’s the most secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted air, you will get it. There is no other secret.”
一个年轻男子向苏格拉底(公元前469―公元前399，古希腊哲学家――译者注)请教成功的秘诀。苏格拉底告诉他次日早晨在河边相见。
两人如期而遇。苏格拉底要这个年轻男子和他一起向河中走去。
当河水漫到他们脖子的时候，苏格拉底突然抓住该男子并把他猛按入水中。
男子挣扎着想出来，但是苏格拉底非常强壮有力，一直摁着该男子，直到他脸色变青。年轻男子拼命挣扎并最终冲出了水面，紧接着就是大口喘气与呼吸。
苏格拉底问道：“在水里时，你最想得到什么?”男子答道：“空气。”
苏格拉底说：“这就是成功的最佳秘诀。当你像渴望空气一样迫切渴望成功时，你将会成功。没有其他的秘诀。”
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