Question

【题目】 Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves. At the age of six months she was acquired, along with her sister, by John Ashley, a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholders. She became known as “Mumbet” or “Mum Bett.”

For nearly 30 years Mumbet served the Ashley family. One day, Ashley’s wife tried to strike Mumbet’s sister with a spade. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. Furious, she left the house and refused to come back. When the Ashleys tried to make her return, Mumbet consulted a lawyer, Theodore Sedgewick. With his help, Mumbet sued(起诉) for her freedom.

While serving the Ashleys, Mumbet had listened to many discussions of the new Massachusetts constitution. If the constitution said that all people were free and equal, then she thought it should apply to her. Eventually, Mumbet won her freedom---- the first slave in Massachusetts to do so under the new constitution.

Strangely enough, after the trial, the Ashleys asked Mumbet to come back and work for them as a paid employee. She declined and instead went to work for Segdewick. Mumbet died in 1829, but her legacy lived on in her many descendants(后裔). One of her great-grandchildren was W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the founder of the NAACP, and an important writer and spokesperson for African American civil rights.

Mumbet’s tombstone still stands in the Massachusetts cemetery where she was buried. It reads, in part: “She was born a slave and remained a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal.”

【1】 What do we know about Mumbet according to Paragraph 1?

A. She was born a slave

B. She was a slaveholder

C. She had a famous sister

D. She was born into a rich family

【2】 Why did Mumbet run away from the Ashleys?

A. She found an employer

B. She wanted to be a lawyer

C. She was hit and got angry

D. She had to take care of her sister

【3】 What did Mumbet learn from discussions about the new consititution?

A. She should always obey her owners’ orders

B. She should be as free and equal as whites

C. How to be a good servant

D. How to apply for a job

【4】 What did Mumbet do after the trial?

A. She chose to work for a lawyer

B. She found the NAACP

C. She continued to serve the Ashleys

D. She went to live with her grandchildren

【5】 What is the test mainly about?

A. A story of a famous writer and spokesperson

B. The friendship between a lawyer and a slave

C. The life of a brave African American woman

D. A trial that shocked the whole world

Answer 1

【答案】【1】A

【2】C

【3】B

【4】A

【5】C

【解析】人物传记类---介绍了美国历史上一位勇于追求自由的女性黑奴Elizabeth Freeman.

【1】 由文中第一句知，她出生于奴隶家庭，天生为奴隶。B项slaveholder(奴隶主)错误；C项famous错误；D项rich错误。

【2】 由第二段第二行“One day, Ashley’s wife tried to strike Mumbet’s sister….refused to come back.”可知，选C.(挨打且生气)其他选项均未提及。

【3】 由文中第三段“If the constitution said that all people were free and equal,then she thought it should apply to her.”可知，答案选B. A项：她总是服从主人的命令；C项：如何成为一个好仆人；D项：如何申请工作。均未涉及。

【4】由倒数第二段前两行“after the trial,…..to come back and work for them as a paid employee.She declined and instead went to work for Sedgewick.”以及第二段最后可知，Sedgewick是一名律师。故答案选A(她选择为律师而工作)，其他选项均曲解文意。

【5】主旨大意题：文章主要讲了Elizabeth Freeman为平等自由而战的一生。通读全文不难选出C项。A项张冠李戴；B项以点代全；D项未涉及。