On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery. The Civil War was still going on. There was much criticism of President Lincoln at the time. He was not at all popular. He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness. The principal speaker was to be Edward Everett, a famous statesman and speaker of the day. Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere.

　　It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg. Late that night, alone in his hotel room and tired out, he again worked briefly on the speech. The next day Everett spoke first. He spoke for an hour and 57 minutes. His speech was a perfect example of the rich oratory of the day. Then Lincoln rose. The crowd of 15,000 people at first paid little attention to him. He spoke for only nine minutes. At the end there was little applause. Lincoln turned to a friend and said , "I have failed again." On the train back to Washington, he said sadly, "That speech was a flat failure, and the people are disappointed."

　　Some newspapers at first criticized（批评）the speech. But little by little as people read the speech they began to understand better. They began to appreciate its simplicity and its deep meaning. It was a speech which only Abraham Lincoln could have made.

　　Today, every American school child learns Lincoln's Gettysburg Address by heart. Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given in American history.

1..

 In 1863, Abraham Lincoln was_________.

　　A. very critical

　　B. unpopular

　　C. very popular

　　D. very courteous （礼貌）

2..

. Lincoln was invited to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery because he was_________.

　　A. a famous speaker

　　B. a very handsome man

　　C. President of the country

　　D. a popular statesman

3..

 It can be inferred from the text that_________.

　　A. Lincoln prepared his speech very carefully before he went to Gettysburg

　　B. Lincoln was very busy at the time and didn't have much time to prepare his speech

　　C. Lincoln's speech was full of rich words

　　D. Lincoln's speech was very long

4..

It was a fact that Lincoln's speech was _________.

　　A. an immediate success

　　B. warmly applauded

　　C. a total failure

　　D. not well-received at first

5..

 Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

　　A. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address has deep meaning.

　　B. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is simple in style.

　　C. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is memorized by every American school child.

　　D. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is the greatest speech ever delivered in the United        States.

 

 

I didn’t cry when I learned I was the parent of a mentally handicapped (弱智的) child.

“Go ahead and cry” the doctor 1 kindly. But I couldn’t cry then nor during the months that followed.

We sent her to a kindergarten in our neighborhood at age seven. I worried that she was the “ 2 ” child among twenty five?year?olds.

3 ，positive things began to happen to Kristi in her school，and to her schoolmates，too. When talking big of their own accomplishments，Kristi’s classmates always took 　4 to praise her as well，“Kristi got all her spelling words right today.” No one would say that her spelling list was easier than anyone else’s.

During Kristi’s second year in school，she 　5 a very special challenge. The big public event of the term was a 　6 based on the final outcome of the year’s music and physical education activities. Kristi was 　7 in both. My husband and I felt 　8 about the day as well.

On the day of the program，Kristi 　9 to be sick. Desperately I wanted to keep her home. Why let Kristi fail in a gymnasium 10 with parents，students and teachers？What a simple 　11 ！But I finally got her onto the school bus.

Just as I had forced my daughter to go to school，now I forced myself to go，too. Then I knew Kristi’s 　12 . Her class was divided into relay teams. With her slow and clumsy reactions，she would surely 13 her team.

But as Kristi’s turn to 　14 neared，a change took place in her team. The tallest boy in the line stepped 15 Kristi and placed his hands on her waist. Two other boys stood a little ahead of her. The 　16 the player in front of Kristi stepped from the sack(bag)，the two boys seized it and held it open while the tall boy 17 Kristi and dropped her neatly into the sack. A girl ahead took her hand and supported her until she gained her 　18 .Then off Kristi hopped (跳跃)，smiling and proud.

At the cheers of the crowd，I slipped out to thank Heaven for the warm and considerate people making it possible for my 19 daughter to be like her fellow human beings. Then I finally 20 .

1．A. demanded B．requested C．advised 　　　　 D．joked

2．A. common 　 B．different C．excellent 　 D．casual

3．A. Thus 　　 B．Therefore C．Eventually 　　 D．However

4．A. pains 　　 B．time 　　 C．efforts 　　　　 D．measures

5．A. failed 　 B．accepted C．faced 　　　 D．shared

6．A. competition B．conclusion 　 C．conference 　　 D．ceremony

7．A. stupid 　 B．slow 　　 C．serious 　　　　 D．awkward

8．A. annoyed 　　 B．anxious 　　 C．guilty 　　　　 D．tough

9．A. wanted 　 B．happened C．pretended 　 D．proved

10．A. filled 　　 B．jammed 　　　 C．covered 　　　　 D．burdened

11．A. approach 　 B．method 　　　 C．key 　　　　 D．solution

12．A. worry 　 B．disaster 　　 C．choice 　　　　 D．error

13．A. hold on 　　 B．hold out 　　 C．hold over 　 D．hold up

14．A. participate B．operate 　　 C．practise 　　　 D．show

15．A. around 　　 B．off 　　　　 C．behind 　　　　 D．beside

16．A. interval 　 B．moment 　　　 C．chance 　　　　 D．point

17．A. caught 　　 B．lifted 　　　 C．protected 　 D．hid

18．A. access 　　 B．position 　　 C．speed 　　　 D．balance

19．A. nervous 　　 B．slim 　　 C．disabled 　　　 D．delicate

20．A. recovered 　 B．cried 　 C．prayed 　　　　 D．applauded

 

It's hard being an astronaut's son．I mean, everybody　 1 you to be special or perfect, and I'm just a （n）　 2　 student, and I'm also ordinary, too…when it　 3　 basketball, football, soccer and baseball．

I often wonder how my father 4 had a son like me．I mean he is so special and so good at everything． 5 I used to dream about doing something unusual to 6 my father and make him proud of me．

In one class, my teacher 7 a Father's Day essay contest for us and the winner's essays would be read in front of all the parents and students．After school, I walked home, 8 about my father, who I would write about in my essay．

He sat with me in the 9 when I was a kid and had a nightmare （恶梦）．He 10 me with a new puppy （小狗） at my eighth birthday party．He sat and tried to 11 death to me when Grandpa Bob died．To me, he wasn't a world famous astronaut, 12 my dad．

I wrote about all these 13　 in my essay．

One of our neighbors said, "I 14 you will win the contest, David．You are the only one in town who could write about being the son of an astronaut．”I 15 ．

I hadn't shown anyone the essay, but now I almost hoped I wouldn't win．I didn't want to win just 16 my father was an astronaut．

I won the second prize．When I finished reading my essay, the audience （听众） applauded．I saw my father blowing his　 17 ．I went back to my seat．Dad nodded to me, 18 his throat and put his hand on my shoulder．"Son, this is the 19 moment of my life, he said．

It was the proudest moment of my life, too．Maybe I'll never be a great hero or win a Nobel Prize, but just then, it was 20 just to be my father's son．

1．A．hopes　　　 　　　　　 B．expects 　C．imagines　　　　 　　　 D．supposes

2．A．average　　　 B．excellent C．stupid　　　 　　　　　　　 D．bright

3．A．refers to　　　 B．relates to 　C．occurs to　　　　 　　　 D．comes to

4．A．ever　　　　　 B．never C．just　　　 　　　　　　　　 D．already

5．A．For　　　　 　　　 B．As　　　　 　　　 C．But D．So

6．A．influence　　 B．appeal 　C．impress　　　　 　　　 D．interest

7．A．announced　　 B．offered 　C．reminded　　　　 　　　 D．confirmed

8．A．caring　　　　 B．worrying 　C．thinking　　 　　　　　　　 D．talking

9．A．panic　　　　 B．dark 　C．sadness　　 　　　　　　 D．distance

10．A．pleased　　　 B．supported 　C．encouraged　　　 　　　 D．inspired

11．A．account　　　 B．explain C．declare　　　 　　　　　　 D．claim

12．A．still　　　　　 B．already C．thus　　　 　　　　　　　 D．just

13．A．memories　 　 B．affairs C．accidents　　　　 D．experiences

14．A．deny　　　　 B．bet 　C．argue　　　　　 　　　 D．guess

15．A．shrugged　　 B．stared C．nodded　　 　　　　　　　　 D．smiled

16．A．because　　　 B．like C．while　　　　 　　　　　　 D．if

17．A．mouth　　　　 B．face C．nose　　　　 　　　 D．eyes

18．A．cleaned　　　 B．cut 　C．cleared　　　 　　　　　 D．opened

19．A．proudest　　　 　　 B．best C．biggest　　　 　　 D．fittest

20．A．hopeful　　　 　　 B．enough 　C．natural　　　　　 D．happy