广东学位英语阅读理解

Passage A

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. (11)He was not at all popular. (12)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. (14)At the end there was little applause. Lincoln turned

to a friend and remarked, "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 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

【答案】 B。 答案可以在第一段的第四句话找到： “He was not at all popular.” 此题干扰

项为 A。 “critical” 指“挑剔的， 苛刻的” 。 not at all popular=unpopular。

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

【答案】 C。 答案在第一段“He was not at all popular. He had been invited to speak at

Gettysburg only out of politeness.” 当时林肯一点也不受欢迎， 他被邀请去演讲仅仅上出于礼

貌。 ” 因为他是总统。

3. 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

【答案】 D。 答案可以在文章的第二段找到。 “At the end there was little applause.” 最后

几乎没有什么掌声。 所以他的演讲开始没有被大家接受， D 为正确答案。 A， B， C 均不符

合文章的内容。

4. 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 Stats.

【答案】 D。 答案可以在文章的第三段和第四段找到。 “他的演讲含义深刻、 风格简朴；

如今美国所有的在校的学生都能背诵他的演讲； ” 文章又谈到： “现在所有的人都认为他的

演讲是美国历史上最好的演讲之一。 ” 而不是美国最好的演讲。 所以 D 是错误的。