Barack Obama In the past hundred years, the U.S. presidency has turned more and more to the left – not in policy, but in handedness. Barrack Obama is the latest to join a long list of left

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Barack Obama

In the past hundred years, the U.S. presidency has turned more and more to the left – not in policy, but in handedness. Barrack Obama is the latest to join a long list of left – handed presidents from the 20th century: James Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Henry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton were all southpaws.

What makes lefties so electable? Some experts think left-handed people have a greater aptitude for language skills, which may help them craft the rhetoric necessary for political office. And as for the bout of recent left-handed presidents, some think it’s because teachers only recently stopped working to convert lefties to rightist at an early age.

Bill Gates

Claiming the nation’s richest man among their number is a source of considerable pride for America’s society of southpaws. In fact, the Microsoft titan and philanthropist(巨头兼慈善家) is one of a surprising number of U.S. business moguls to be left-handed, including Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and former IBM head Lou Gerstner. But the club seems to be a guys-only fraternity — research suggests that while left-handed men tend to earn more than their right-handed colleagues, there is no similar advantage for women. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research floated the idea that left-handed men favor "divergent" thinking, a form of creativity in which the brain moves "from conventional knowledge into unexplored association." Maybe that’s what it takes to develop a net worth estimated at $ 57 billion.

Oprah Winfrey

The talk-show queen doesn’t need much more to set her apart from the rest — what with her estimated $ 2.7 billion fortune and a magic ability to sell books just by glancing at them — but she also has the distinction of being a member of the left-handed club. Since men are more likely to be left-handed than women, that makes Oprah doubly impressive. She’s in good company: Other show-business ladies of the left – handed persuasion include Whoopi Goldberg, Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie

Marie Curie

Not only was atomic scientist Marie Curie left-handed, but she was the matriarch of a whole family of accomplished, southpaw scientists. Curie, who discovered the principles of radioactivity and won two Nobel Prizes, was married to fellow lefty Pierre Curie, who was instrumental in helping Marie’s atomic research and shared one of her Nobel awards. Historians believe their daughter, Irene, was also left-handed. Irene went on to win a Nobel Prize of her own with her husband — who, you guessed it, was also left-handed.

59．The underlined word “southpaws” in the last sentence of Paragraph 1 means_______.

A．people coming from the south B．powerful presidents

C．people who use their left hand D．forceful speakers

60．What makes it so easy for lefties to be elected as presidents according to the passage?

A．Their great gift for foreign language.

B．Their great language skills to make speeches.

C．The need of left – hinders in the political office.

D．Teachers stopping to force them to use their right hand.

61．It can be implied that Bill Gates, Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and Lou Gerstne_______.

A．have creative thinking B．have formed a special club.

C．earn more money than their wives D．are wealthy philanthropists

62．The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 “She is in good company” means “_______”.

A．she works in a very good company B．she has many good friends

C．she has got on well with others D．she is among many female lefties

【答案】

59—62 CBAD

【解析】略

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US President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize October 9 for his calls to reduce the world's nuclear weapons and work for world peace.

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The prize, worth $1.4 million, will handed over to Obama in Norway on December 10. Obama will also get a gold medal and a diploma.

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" Only every rarely has a person to the same extent(程度) Obama captured(引起) the world's attention and given its people hope for better future," the Nobel Committee said.

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B
The year was 1985. Ronald Reagan was president. Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the USSR. Back to the Future was boffo at the box office. “Born in the USA” was climbing the charts. Philanthropy(慈善业) and pop culture combined with LiveAid and “We Are the World.” And “.com”, which few people outside of the military or universities knew, came into this world.
Looking back, few could have predicted “.com” would become one of the biggest cultural touchstones of the century. In March 1985, the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California assigned the first .com domain address to symbolics.com. That seemingly nominal（象征性的） event set into motion forces that would change our world forever.
.com wasn’t the birth of the Internet, but it was the budding computer network’s coming-out party. It made it pretty and inviting. It did away with the need to have complex “maps” that were the equivalent of writing a phone number on your hand, and opened it up for a mainstream audience.
After 1985, all it takes is a simple .com name to get into business. “.com” became part of our daily lexicon and drove its own economic boom and depression. It helped create a whole new family of industries, facilitated global commerce and connected people around the world in ways never before possible.
It’s now 2010. Barack Obama is president, thanks in part to his smart use of the Internet. There is no USSR. A computer-generated Avatar has set new box office records. “TiK ToK” tops the charts. We’re sending robots to find water on Mars. And that once-obscure computer communications system is one of our civilization’s most prominent features.
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A. the change of American presidency
B. the development of entertainment
C. the 25thanniversary of .com
D. the anniversary of the internet
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A. Successful.     B. Changeable.     C. Tough.       D. Novel.
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A. It gave birth to the Internet.
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C. It made the Internet accessible to ordinary people.
D. It helped produce more domain addresses.
64. We can infer that before 1985, getting on-line was _____.
A. impossible     B. complex     C. expensive     D. popular
65. The first and last paragraphs were intended to _______.
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C. list arguments                D. stimulate readers’ interest

US President Barack Obama ________ a national speech at the 10th anniversary of 9/11 terror attacks．

A．addressed B．delivered

C．spoke D．recited

You might say that Barack Obama was elected President of the US because he knows how to give a good speech. In 2004, the little-known Obama gave a speech at the Democratic national Convention(民主党全国会议). It was a great speech---poetic, and inspiring. The people who heard it would remember it for a long time.

Since 2004, Obama has written and delivered thousands of speeches. These are usually praised for two reasons: he treats the audiences like intelligent adults, and he is able to express difficult ideas in a straightforward, natural way.

Before becoming President, Obama was a lawyer, a college professor, and a successful writer---his two memoirs have become best-sellers. The skills he needed to succeed in his previous jobs have also contributed to his success as a speechmaker.

As a lawyer, Obama learned how to make strong, convincing arguments. As a professor, he learned how to explain complex subjects in ways that helped students understand without boring them. As a writer, he learned how to use language to have a powerful influence on his audience.

Secret weapons of Obama

Writing team: Obama has a team of people who write his speeches. The writers chat with Obama for hours about what he wants to say. They listen to recordings of past presidential addresses and seek advice from advisers. Obama usually edits and rewrites the drafts several times.

Make fun of the guests: Obama starts his speech by gently making fun of his guests. His opening lines attract the audiences’ attention while giving them an opportunity to relax and laugh at themselves and each other.

Making fun of himself: Obama laughs at his past mistakes and is never afraid of showing them to the public.

Obama delivers speeches to audiences large and small. He can make his audiences laugh or cry. His speeches are always thoughtful, well written, and just right for each occasion.

1... The third and fourth paragraphs mainly talk about _____.

A. why Obama’s speeches are praised B. how Obama acquired his speaking ability C. what subjects Obama’s speeches about D. Obama’s success as a writer and a lawyer

2.. When delivering a speech, Obama ______.

A. usually starts with some famous sayings B. sometimes turns his speech into a song

C. sometimes shares a joke with the audience D. is very strict most of the time

3.. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Obama won the election campaign. B. Obama is a brilliant speechmaker

C. Obama had taken a couple of jobs. D. Obama is good at writing.

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