Mark Twain has been called the inventor of the American novel．And he surely deserves additional praise：the man who popularized the clever literary attack on racism．
I say clever because anti-slavery fiction had been the important part of the literature in the years before the Civil War．H．B．Stowe's Uncle Tom'sCabin is only the most famous example．These early stories dealt directly with slavery．With minor exceptions, Twain planted his attacks on slavery and prejudice into tales that were on the surface about something else entirely．He drew his readers into the argument by drawing them into the story．
Again and again, in the postwar years, Twain seemed forced to deal with the challenge of race．Consider the most controversial, at least today, of Twain's novels, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn．Only a few books have been kicked off the shelves as often as Huckleberry Finn, Twain's most widely read tale．Once upon a time, people hated the book because it struck them as rude．Twain himself wrote that those who banned the book considered the novel “trash and suitable only for the slums(贫民窟)．” More recently the book has been attacked because of the character Jim, the escaped slave, and many occurences of the word nigger．(The term Nigger Jim, for which the novel is often severely criticized, never appears in it．)
But the attacks were and are silly-and miss the point．The novel is strongly anti-slavery．Jim's search through the slave states for the family from whom he has been forcibly parted is heroic．As J．Chadwick has pointed out, the character of Jim was a first in American fiction-a recognition that the slave had two personalities, “the voice of survival within a white slave culture and the voice of the individual：Jim, the father and the man．”
There is much more．Twain's mystery novel Pudd’nheadWilson stood as a challenge to the racial beliefs of even many of the liberals of his day．Written at a time when the accepted wisdom held Negroes to be inferior(低等的)to whites, especially in intelligence, Twain's tale centered in part around two babies switched at birth．A slave gave birth to her master's baby and, for fear that the child should be sold South, switched him for the master's baby by his wife．The slave's lightskinned child was taken to be white and grew up with both the attitudes and the education of the slave-holding class．The master's wife's baby was taken for black and grew up with the attitudes and intonations of the slave．
The point was difficult to miss：nurture(养育), not nature, was the key to social status．The features of the black man that provided the stuff of prejudice－manner of speech, for example-were, to Twain, indicative of nothing other than the conditioning that slavery forced on its victims．
Twain's racial tone was not perfect．One is left uneasy, for example, by the lengthy passage in his autobiography(自传)about how much he loved what were called “nigger shows” in his youth－mostly with white men performing in black-face-and his delight in getting his mother to laugh at them．Yet there is no reason to think Twain saw the shows as representing reality．His frequent attacks on slavery and prejudice suggest his keen awareness that they did not．
Was Twain a racist? Asking the question in the 21st century is as wise as asking the same of Lincoln．If we read the words and attitudes of the past through the “wisdom” of the considered moral judgments of the present, we will find nothing but error．Lincoln, who believed the black man the inferior of the white, fought and won a war to free him．And Twain, raised in a slave state, briefly a soldier, and inventor of Jim, may have done more to anger the nation over racial injustice and awaken its collective conscience than any other novelist in the past century．
(1)
How do Twain's novels on slavery differ from Stowe's?
[ ]
A．
Twain was more willing to deal with racism．
B．
Twain's attack on racism was much less open．
C．
Twain's themes seemed to agree with plots．
D．
Twain was openly concerned with racism．
(2)
Recent criticism of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn arose partly from its ________．
[ ]
A．
target readers at the bottom
B．
anti-slavery attitude
C．
rather impolite language
D．
frequent use of “nigger”
(3)
What best proves Twain's anti-slavery stand according to the author?
[ ]
A．
Jim's search for his family was described in detail．
B．
The slave's voice was first heard in American novels．
C．
Jim grew up into a man and a father in the white culture．
D．
Twain suspected that the slaves were less intelligent．
(4)
The story of two babies switched mainly indicates that ________．
[ ]
A．
slaves were forced to give up their babies to their masters
B．
slaves’ babies could pick up slave-holders’ way of speaking
C．
blacks’ social position was shaped by how they were brought up
D．
blacks were born with certain features of prejudice
(5)
What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 7 refer to?
[ ]
A．
The attacks．
B．
Slavery and prejudice．
C．
White men．
D．
The shows．
(6)
What does the author mainly argue for?
[ ]
A．
Twain had done more than his contemporary writers to attack racism．
B．
Twain was an admirable figure comparable to Abraham Lincoln．
C．
Twain's works had been banned on unreasonable grounds．
D．
Twain's works should be read from a historical point of view．
On the first day of school we were challenged to get to know a new classmate．I was looking around, when a gentle hand touched my shoulder．I found a little old lady with a warm smile．
She said, “Hi, handsome! I'm Rose．I'm 87 years old．Can I give you a hug(拥抱)?” I laughed and heartily responded, “Of course!”
“Why are you in college at such a young, innocent(天真的)age?” I asked．
She jokingly replied, “I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have children, and then travel around．”
“No, seriously,” I asked．I was curious why she took on this challenge at this age．
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!” She told me．We became instant friends．
Over the year, Rose became a campus icon(偶像)and she easily made friends wherever she went．She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the attention from the other students．She was living it up．
At the end of the term we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet．I'll never forget what she taught us．
“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing．Here are the secrets to staying young．You have to laugh and find humor every day．You've got to have a dream．When you lose your dreams, you die．We have many people walking around who are dead, and they don't even know it!” she said．
“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up．Anybody can grow older．That doesn't take any talent or ability,” she added．“But growing up requires finding the opportunity in change．The elderly usually don't have regrets for what they did, but rather for things they did not do．”
One week after graduation that year, Rose died peacefully in her sleep．She taught us by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be．
(1)
Rose started college at the age of 87 in order to ________．
[ ]
A．
marry a rich man
B．
travel around the world
C．
make more friends
D．
realize her dream
(2)
Which of the following best explains “she was living it up” in the seventh paragraph?
[ ]
A．
She was living a long life．
B．
She was enjoying herself．
C．
She was spending a lot of money．
D．
She was killing time．
(3)
When you lose your dreams, you die because ________．
Now that the Spring Festival is over, I only have school to look forward to．It’s 1 funny, I find myself looking forward more and more to school．
As usual, 2 can get little work 3 during the winter vacation．For one thing, the Spring Festival is always a big distraction(使人快乐之事), and for days before and after 4 can get any work done．It’s all right if you really have a nice time, as I used to．But now I find myself 5 it less and less．I 6 enjoying fireworks and firecrackers years ago．The firecrackers especially get on my nerve．I really think we should stop making them, as every year many children have their eyes hurt or even 7 ．Even worse, sometimes fires 8 out and whole buildings get 9 down．Still I suppose we’ll continue to make them 10 there is a market for them．
And the 11 ! People spend days buying．The result－too much and too rich which does nobody any good：chicken, duck, fish, meat and so on．What’s 12 , they become 13 , too, too much of a good thing, as we say, and this visiting business too．It’s all right for a few really good friends 14 together and chat over some tea or drinks．But mere acquaintance and the usually not too neighborly neighbors dropping 15 to say hello, but I find them a pain in the neck(讨厌的家伙)．Usually there is nothing to talk about 16 some meaningless words．
Oh yes, I 17 myself skating on the nearby lake 18 a few times．The ice is not too good now and getting very 19 ．I stopped going before the Spring Festival．But there are people who are 20 too reckless(不计后果的)or too ignorant or both, and we hear about people falling through thin ice every year．
“There is a senseless idea that children, grow up and leave home when they are 18, and the troth is far from that,” says sociologist Lary Bumpass of the University of Wisconsin．Today, unexpected numbers of young adults are living with their parents．“There is a major shift in the middle class,” declares sociologist Allasan Schnailberg of Northwestern University, whose son, 19, moved back in after an absence of eight months．
Analysts cite a variety of reasons for this remm to the nest．The marriage age is rising, a condition that makes home and its pleasantness particularly attractive to young people．A high divorce rate and a declining remarriage rate are sending economically pressed and emotionally hurt survivors back to parental shelters．For some, the expense of an away-from-home college education has become so excessively great that many students now attend local schools．Even after graduation, young people find their wings cut by skyrocketing housing costs．
Living at home, says Knighton, a school teacher, continues to give her security and moral support．Her mother agreed, “It’s ridiculous for the kids to pay all that money for rent．It makes sense for kids to stay at home．” But sharing the family home requires adjustments for all．There are the hassles over bathrooms, telephones and privacy．Some families, however, manage the delicate(微妙的)balancing act．But for others, it proves too difficult．Michelle Del Turco, 24, has been home three times and left three times．“What I considered a social drink, my dad considered an alcohol problem,” she explains．“He never liked anyone I dated, so I either had to hide away or meet them at friends’ houses．”
Just how long should adult children live with their parents before moving on?Most psychologists feel lengthy homecomings are a mistake．Children, struggling to establish separate identities, can end up with “a sense of inadequacy, defeat and failure．” And again parents, who should be enjoying some financial and personal freedom, find themselves stuck with responsibilities．Many agree that brief visits, however, can work beneficially．
(1)
What apparent trend appears in the U．S．?
[ ]
A．
Young adults leave their parents and live independently．
B．
Middle class young adults stay with their parents．
C．
Married young adults move back home after a lengthy absence．
D．
Young adults get jobs nearby in order to live with their parents．
(2)
The word “hassles” in the passage probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
agreements
B．
worries
C．
disadvantages
D．
quarrels
(3)
According to the passage what is the best for both parents and children?
[ ]
A．
They should adjust themselves to shanng the family expenses．
B．
Children should leave their parents when they are grown-up．
C．
Adult children should visit their parents from time to time．
D．
Parents should support their adults children when they are in trouble．
As people continue to grow and age, our body systems(系统)continue to change．At a certain point in your life your body system will begin to weaken．Your strength may become weaker．It may become more difficult for you to see and hear．The slow change of aging causes our bodies to lose some of their ability to bounce back from disease and injury．In order to live longer, we have always tried to slow or stop this change that leads us toward the end of our lives．
Many factors(因素)decide your health．A good diet plays an important role．The amount and type of exercise you get is another factor．Your living condition is yet another．But scientists studying aging problem want to know：Why do people grow old?They hope that by studying the aging medical science they may be able to make the length of life longer．
There is nothing to be afraid of as old age comes．Many consider the later part of life to be the best time for living．Physical activity may become less, but often you get better understanding of yourself and the world．
What we consider old age now may only be middle-aged some day soon．Who knows, with so many advances in medical science happening so quickly, life length may one day be measured in centuries, rather than in years!
(1)
When people become aging, they will lose some of their ability to bounce back from dis ease and injury, “bounce back”here means ________．
[ ]
A．
to escape from disease and injury
B．
to improve one's health after one's disease and injury
C．
to jump backward
D．
to run fast
(2)
In order to live longer ________．
[ ]
A．
we have to try to improve our food
B．
we should try to do more exercise
C．
we should slow down the change of aging
D．
we should keep in high spirits
(3)
Many consider the later part of life to be the best time of living because ________．
[ ]
A．
they consider their life has been a successful one
B．
they have come through the battle of life safely
C．
they have less misunderstanding of themselves and the outside world
D．
they have nothing to do all day long only to watch their grandchildren growing up around them
(4)
It may be inferred from the passage that our life length may become ________．