President Abraham Lincoln’s first call for volunteers to fight in the Civil War

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President Abraham Lincoln’s first call for volunteers to fight in the Civil War was for whites only.The Civil War was a white man’s war，northern whites insisted.Its purpose was to preserve the Union.It was not being fought to end slavery.But by September of 1862，the sentiment toward black volunteers had changed.Lincoln had hoped that the war would be short，but it had already lasted for a year and a half.Union manpower had fallen dangerously.
Lincoln had a plan.He issued the Emancipation Proclamation.It stated that as of January 1,1863，all slaves living in the rebellious southern states would be forever free.And starting immediately，Union armies would accept black volunteers.
The southern rebels’response to Lincoln’s call for black troops was a deadly one.Captives (俘虏) of any Union regiment (团) with black troops were to be given “no quarter”．They were to be put to death immediately.
AfricanAmerican troops throughout the war distinguished themselves (表现突出) in battle at places like Milliken’s Bend，Fort Wagner，and the Crater at St.Petersburg.As to their conduct on the battlefield，Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson wrote，“Nobody knows anything about these men who has not seen them in battle.No officer in this regiment now doubts that the successful process of the war lies in the unlimited employment of black troops.” By the war’s end,186,000 black men had participated.They made up nearly 10 percent of Union forces.These black soldiers saw action in more than 250 battles.Black soldiers also gave their lives.By the war’s end，about 38,000 black soldiers had died.They died from disease，in battle，and after capture by rebel troops.
小题1:This passage is mainly about________.

A．cause of the Civil War

B．the Emancipation Proclamation

C．black soldiers in the Civil War

D．why Lincoln was a good president

小题2:What does the underlined word “sentiment” in the first paragraph mean?

A．Whites.

B．People who keep watch.

C．Rebels.

D．Thought and feeling.

小题3:What can we conclude from the passage?

A．Lincoln acted too late to free the slaves.

B．Blacks fought well for the Union cause.

C．The Civil War changed American history.

D．The southern rebels nearly won the Civil War.

小题4:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The Civil War’s purpose was to drive the black away.

B．The Civil War ended just in one year with the help of the blacks.

C．All slaves were set free by September of 1862.

D．Black captives of any Union regiment were killed after Lincoln’s call.

答案

小题1:C
小题2:D
小题3:B
小题4:D

解析

小题1:C
解析　主旨大意题。通读本文可知，本文主要围绕美国内战中的黑人士兵展开，黑人的参战对内战的胜利起到了非常重要的作用。
小题2:　D
解析　词义猜测题。联系上下文可知，起初林肯只号召白人参战，由于战争需要，他开始意识到武装黑人可以增大战斗力，他的想法开始转变。故sentiment意义与D项最接近。
小题3:B
解析　推理判断题。根据最后一段中Colonel所述及最后几句可推知，黑人对联邦军的事业、对内战的胜利做出了重大贡献。
小题4:D
解析　细节理解题。由文章第三段可知，在林肯发出吸纳黑人入伍的号召后，南方叛军只要抓到黑人俘虏就会将他们***害。

举一反三

While we are on the subject of crime, our listener question this week comes from Mohamad Firouzi in Iran. He wants to know about the history of Alcatraz Island and the prison that once operated there.
Alcatraz Island is in the harbor of San Francisco, California. It is best known for being a federal prison, which was also called “The Rock.” It was once the most famous prison in America.
Alcatraz was a military prison from the late eighteen fifties until the nineteen thirties. Then it became a federal prison for the country’s worst criminals. These included murderers, bank robbers and kidnappers. One of the main reasons federal officials chose Alcatraz Island to detain these prisoners was because they thought it would be impossible for prisoners to escape.
Cold, deep and dangerous waters surround the island. Also, the distance between the island and San Francisco is too far for most humans to swim. No prisoner was ever officially reported to have successfully escaped.
However, in nineteen sixty-two, three men broke out of the prison. Each man worked very hard at night for many months to cut through the stone wall of his cell. They made false heads out of paper, paint and hair. On the night of June eleventh, the men placed the heads in their beds to make it look as if they were sleeping. Then, the prisoners escaped through the holes in their cells to get to the water. The men were never seen or heard from again. It is believed that they drowned while trying to swim to San Francisco.
The prison closed in nineteen sixty-three because of the high cost of keeping prisoners there and the need for major repairs. The last prisoners were moved to other jails.
In nineteen seventy-two, the United States Congress passed a bill creating the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Alcatraz Island and the old prison are part of this area.
Each year, more than one million people visit Alcatraz to see the prisoners’ cells and listen to stories about the jail’s history. But unlike the prisoners who once lived there, visitors can escape from the prison whenever they want and return back across the harbor to San Francisco.
小题1:The text mainly tells us________.

A．about the history of Alcatraz Island and the prison there.

B．about the history of Alcatraz Island.

C．about a military prison.

D．about the subject of crime.

小题2:Why did federal officials make Alcatraz the most famous prison in America?

A．Because no prisoner successfully escaped from the prison.

B．Because Alcatraz was Alcatraz Island.

C．Because Alcatraz was a military prison.

D．Because cold, deep and dangerous waters surround the island.

小题3:Paragraph 5 is written to ________.

A．tell us the three prisoners escaped the prison.

B．prove prisoners couldn’t successfully escape from the prison .

C．tell us how prisoners escaped the prison.

D．tell us the three prisoners could make false heads out of paper, paint and hair.

小题4:Now Alcatraz ________.

A．is a place of interest .

B．detains some prisoners.

C．is where the United States Congress is.

D．is still the most famous prison.

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Who give us life, raise us and are our constant support and wellwishers？Our mothers. That’s why millions of people across the world take Mother’s Day as an opportunity to express thanks and send best wishes to their moms.
However, the celebration of Mother’s Day is not the recent thing that many believe it to be. It was the ancient Greeks who started the tradition by celebrating their annual spring festival in honor of Rhea, the mother of many gods and goddesses.
Later, in the 1600s, Mothering Sunday came to be celebrated in England. On the fourth Sunday of Lent (大斋期), children brought flowers and special fruitcakes to show their respect for their mothers. It may be the root of the modern Mother’s Day.
Thanks to the great efforts of Julia Ward Howe and Anna Jarvis, Mother’s Day became an official festival in the US. It is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Later, many countries began to celebrate this day as Mother’s Day.
Today, Mother’s Day is an international festival honoring mothers. It is celebrated all over the world in different ways. In Western countries，the most common way is to treat mothers with breakfast in bed .Kids often allow their mothers to sleep till late in the morning while they prepare her favorite breakfast with their fathers. Some also make handmade gifts or buy beautiful carnations (康乃馨). It is the day when you acknowledge your mothers contribution in your life and pay a tribute (礼品) to her, often with flowers and gifts. It complements Father’s Day, the celebration honoring fathers.
Today, Mother’s Day is a day celebrated on various days in many places around the world.
小题1:Why do people across the world celebrate Mother’s Day?

A．Because they want to express thanks and send best wishes to their mothers.

B．Because they want to express thanks and send best wishes to Rhea.

C．Because Mother’s Day is an official festival in the US.

D．Because Mother’s Day is an international festival.

小题2:The modern Mother’s Day came from________.

A．Greece

B．China

C．America

D．England

小题3:From the passage we can learn that________.

A．Rhea is the mother of many gods and goddesses of England

B．many people wrongly believe Mother’s Day has a short history

C．in America Mother’s day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent

D．on Mother’s day fathers have to get up early to prepare breakfast

小题4:The passage mainly wants to tell us________.

A．how to celebrate Mother’s day

B．what to do on Mother’s day

C．the historical change of Mother’s day

D．the meaning of Mother’s day

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Do you read newspapers in modern times while we have TV and other media? The first newspaper was written by hand and put up on walls in public places. The earliest daily newspaper was started in Rome in 59 BC. In the 700s the world’s first printed newspaper was published. Europe didn’t have a regularly published newspaper until 1609, when one was started in Germany.
The first regularly published newspaper in English was printed in Amsterdam in 1620. In 1621, an English newspaper was started in London and was published once a week. The first daily English newspaper was Daily Current, which came out in March 1702.
　 In 1690, Benjamin Harris printed the first American newspaper in Boston. But not long after it was first published, the government stopped the paper. In 1704, John Campbell started Boston Newspaper, the first newspaper published daily in the American Colonies. By 1760, the colonies had had more than thirty daily newspapers. There are now about 1,800 daily papers in the United States.
　 Today, as a group, English language newspapers have the largest circulation in the world. But the largest circulation for a newspaper is that of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun. It sells more than eleven million copies every year.
小题1:The first regularly printed European newspaper was started ______.

A．in Rome in 59 BC	B．in Germany in 1609
C．in Amsterdam in 1620	D．in England in 1621

小题2:The first daily English newspaper was started in _______.

A．1702　

B．1760　　

C．1620　

D．1621

小题3:What can we learn from the passage_______?
A. The earliest daily printed newspaper was started in Rome in 59 BC.
B. The first regularly published English newspaper was printed in Boston.
C. The first daily English newspaper was printed in the American Colonies.
D. The first American newspaper was stopped before 1704.
小题4:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage_______?
A. Newspapers have the longest history in the United States.
B. One English language newspaper has the largest circulation in the world.
C. The first English newspaper was printed in Rome in 59 BC.
D. There are all kinds of newspapers all over the world today.
小题5:What is the best title of the passage_______?

A．History of newspapers.　　

B．History of daily newspapers.

C．The beginning of daily newspapers.　　

D．The beginning of newspapers.

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The oldest stone buildings in the world are the pyramids(金字塔). They have stood for nearly 5, 000 years, and it seems likely that they will continue to stand for thousands of years yet. There are over eighty of them scattered(散布)along the banks of the Nile, some of which are different in shape from the true pyramids. The most famous of these are the “Step” pyramid and the “Bent” pyramid.

　　Some of the pyramids still look as much alike as they must have been when they were built thousands of years ago. Most of the damage suffered by the others has been at the hands of men who were looking for treasure or, more often, for stones to use in modern buildings. The dry climate of Egypt has helped to keep the pyramids in good condition, and their very shape has made them less likely to fall into ruin. These are good reasons why they can still be seen today, but perhaps the most important is that they were planned to last forever.
　　The “Step” pyramid had to be on the west side of the Nile, the side on which the sun sets. This was for spiritual reasons. It also had to stand well above the level of the river to protect it against the regular floods. It could not be too far from the Nile, however, as the stones to build it needed to be carried in boats down the river to the nearest point. Water transport was, of course, much easier than land transport. The builders also had to find a rock base, which was not likely to crack(破裂)under the great weight of the pyramid. Finally, it had to be near the capital, or better still near the king’s palace so that he could visit it easily to personally check the progress being made on the final resting place for his body.
小题1:According to the passage, the “Step” pyramid　　　　.

A．is unlikely to fall into ruin in the near future

B．was built on the sand along the Nile

C．is one that was built later than the true pyramids

D．is the most famous of the true pyramids

小题2: The most important reason why some pyramids remain in good condition is that　　　　.

A．people have taken good care of them

B．it doesn’t rain often in Egypt

C．they were well designed

D．the government has protected them from damage

小题3:Most of the damage to the pyramids has been caused by　　　.

A．the regular floods

B．the dry climate of Egypt

C．people searching for gold

D．people in search of building materials

小题4:The Egyptians built the pyramids along the banks of the Nile because　　　　.

A．they believed in their god

B．it was difficult to find a large rock base far from the Nile

C．the river helped a lot in the transport of building materials

D．it was not easy to choose a suitable place for the pyramids

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History is full of cases where dreams have been a pathway to creativity and discovery.A striking example is provided by Dr.Otto Loewi，a pharmacologist and winner of a Nobel Prize.Loewi had spent years studying the chemical transmission of nerve impulses (脉搏)．A tremendous breakthrough in his research came when he dreamed of an experiment three nights in a row.The first two nights he woke up and wrote down the experiment quickly and untidily on paper.But the next morning，he couldn"t tell what the notes meant.On the third night，he got up after having the dream.This time，instead of making notes he went straight to his laboratory and performed the crucial experiment.Loewi later said that if the experiment had occurred to him while awake he would have rejected it.
Loewi"s experiment gives some insight into using dreams to produce creative solutions.Inhibitions (拘谨) are reduced during dreaming，which may be especially useful in solving problems that require a fresh point of view.
Being able to take advantage of dreams for problem solving is improved if you “set” yourself before retiring.Before you go to bed，try to think intently about a problem you wish to solve.Bury yourself in the problem by stating it clearly and reviewing all relevant information.Then use the suggestions listed in the previous section to catch your dreams.Although this method is not guaranteed to produce a novel solution or a new insight，it is certain to be an adventure.About half of a group of college students using the method for a week recalled a dream that helped them solve a personal problem.
小题1:The main idea of this passage is that ________.

A．very little is really known about the meaning of dreams

B．it is possible to “catch” one"s dreams by planning before going to sleep

C．dreams can be useful in producing creative solutions to one"s problems

D．Loewi"s experiment helped in the study of transmision of nerve impulses

小题2:The first paragraph is mainly organized by ________.

A．classifying types of experiments

B．summarizing the work of one researcher

C．comparing and exploring historical cases

D．telling in time order about one man"s research

小题3:If Loewi had thought of the experiment while awake，he would have ________.

A．asked someone else to do it

B．thought it was a bad idea

C．tried it out on his own

D．thought it was a wise idea

小题4:The author probably thinks that ________.

A．Loewi should not have conducted his experiment

B．dreaming is of very little value to most people

C．inhibitions may stop someone thinking of useful ideas

D．college students should not try out dream experiments

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