Change Has Come to America
November, 04, 2008, Barack Obama
Hello, Chicago.
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen.
A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Sen. McCain. Sen. McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.
I congratulate him; I congratulate Gov. Palin for all that they've achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady Michelle Obama.
Sasha and Malia I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the new White House.
To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.
And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best -- the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.
To my chief strategist David Axelrod who's been a partner with me every step of the way.
To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.
【小题1】 Why did Sen. McCain make a phone call to the writer?

When I was 19 years old, I was at a dance club. As we were walking to my car one cold night, a man walked up to us. Behind him was a woman carrying a small child. The child had a jacket on but it wasn’t buttoned up（扣上）. The man began to tell us he wanted to borrow some money for the night to get his wife and kid into a hotel. He had a job but no place to live in and was waiting for he first paycheck. He said he could get our mailing address and mail the money back.
The guy I was with reached into his pocket to give this man a $20 bill. As the other man was extending his hand out to take the money, I put my hand on my new friends’ hand and said, “ Can I talk to you for a minute?”
I told him that every day people asked my mother for money on her way to work. She said they made more money than she did, simply begging for money. These people were scamming those with soft hearts. And if they were truly worried about their child suffering from the cold, they would have at least buttoned his jacket or covered him with his blanket.
My new friend looked at me with disappointment and said, “Michelle, I know there are people out there that take advantage of others. I also know there are people out there that are one paycheck away from being homeless. If I give $ 20 to 10 people and only one of them really needs it and uses it for the right thing, it is worth it.”
I am now 37 years old and have never forgotten what he said to me. I don’t even remember his name. But I do remember that that experience changed the way I look at different situations.
56. What do we know about the stranger according to the passage?
A. He had been begging for a long time near the dance club.
B. He would spend the cold night at an expensive hotel.
C. He was careless and didn’t take good care of his child.
D. He might be just lying in order to get some money.
57. Why did the author put her hand on her new friends’ hand?
A. She wanted to tell him to give some more money to the stranger.
B. She believed her mother had already given the stranger some money.
C. She wanted to warm him not to be cheated by the stranger.
D. She asked her friend to pay more attention to the baby instead.
58. Which of the following can take the place of the underlined word “ scamming ” in the 3rd paragraph?
A. cheating                     B. respecting            C. disappointing                D. understanding
59. We can safely say that the author’s friend was_________.
A. funny                           B. kind                         C. rich                         D. brave

Like any awards ceremony of its age, the Oscars, now in its 85th year, has been trying hard to change.
So how did that go this year? When host Seth MacFarlane noted in his opening speech that it was the first time the Academy Awards had a theme, I thought: “well, that’s a good start.”
But when he revealed that the theme was a tribute to(向…致敬) musicals, I was less sure. After all, it’s not the first time that musicals have featured at the Oscars.
In 2007, the cast of Dream-girls gave a special performance directed by movie director and musical veteran(经验丰富的老手) Bill Condon. Then there was the memorable 2009 show hosted by Hugh Jackman, who screams musicals. With Beyonce Knowles and Anne Hathaway, he performed several hit songs from move musical. And in 2010, how did Neil Patrick Harris introduce the hosts? By performing a musical number.
So I guess the Oscars could have done better this year. But I must admit, there were more music performances in the three-and-a –half-hour show than ever before. This suggests the Oscars has dropped some of its arrogance and wants to offer audiences more entertainment.
It’s a timely move as the Golden Globes, also known as the “big party,” has become a threat to the Oscars, stealing viewers and even its reputation. Just look at the Oscars’ winning list this year.
You can’t blame the academy for wanting to stick it to the Golden Globes. While they hired Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to host the show—certainly more audience-friendly than MacFarlane— and Bill Clinton was invited as a presenter, who did viewers get at the Oscars? The First Lady of the US, Michelle Obama.
Way to go, Oscar! We know you’re struggling to look fresh and young, but don’t lose the pride and dignity that made you one biggest honor in the movie industry. Don’t ever let that change.
【小题1】Examples are given in Para.4 to show that__________.

第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，掌握其大意，然后从16—35各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Robert Moody, 52, is an experienced police officer. Much of his work involves dealing with  16  an gang (团伙)problems in the schools of his community. Knowing that many kids often  17   trouble, he decided to do something about it. So in 1991 he began to invite small groups of kids to go fishing with him on his day   18    .
Those fun trips had a(n) 19  impact. A chance encounter in 2000 proved that. One day,  20  working security at a school basketball game, Moody noticed two young guys   21   .He sensed trouble between them.  22   one of them headed toward Moody and gave him a hug.”I 23   you. You took me    24   when I was  in fifth grade. That was one of the  25   days of my life .”
Deeply touched by the boy’s word, Moody decided to create a foundation（基金会）that  26  teenagers to the basics of fishing in camping programs. “As a policeman, I saw  27  there was violence, drugs were always behind it. They have a damaging  28  on the kids,” says Moody.
By turning kids on to fishing, he  29  to present an alternative way of life, “When you’re sitting there waiting for a  30 ,”he says, “you can’t help but talk to each other, and such  31  can be pretty deep.”
“Talking about drugs helped prepare me for the peer（同龄人）pressures in high school,” says Michelle, 17 who  32  the first program. “And I was able to help my little brother  33  drugs.”
Moody faces 34 in three years, when he hopes to run the foundation full-time.”I’m living a happy life and I have a responsibility to my  35 to give back,” Moody says.”If I teach a kid to fish today, he can teach his brother to fish tomorrow.”
16. A. drinking       B．drug        C．security          D．smoking
17. A. ran into       B．got over     C．left behind       D．looked into
18. A．ahead       B．away         C．off             D．out
19. A．immediate    B．damaging     C．limited         D．lasting
20. A．once        B．while         C．since           D．until
21. A．quarreling    B．complaining   C．talking          D．cheering
22. A．Slowly      B．Suddenly     C．Finally          D．Secretly
23. A．understand    B．hear         C. see              D．remember
24. A．fishing      B．sailing        C．boating         D. swimming．
25. A．quietest     B．longest        C．best            D．busiest
26. A．connects     B．introduces     C．reduces         D．commits
27. A．where       B．unless        C．as              D．whether
28. A．impression   B．burden        C．decision         D．impact
29. A．asked       B．intended      C．pretended         D．agreed
30. A．solution      B．change      C．bite              D．surprise
31. A．concerns     B．interests      C．conversations      D．emotions
32. A. participated in   B. worked out    C. approved of        D. made up
33. A. misuse         B. avoid         C. tolerate           D. test
34. A. unemployment  B. challenge      C. competition        D. retirement
35. A. team          B. school        C. family            D. community

Dear Michelle:

     Why can't my daughter manage her life better? She is 17 and an honor student, but she seems to be wasting her life away with a boyfriend who is holding her back.

    He consumes every waking, minute of her precious time and smooth-talks her as well.

    His goal is to get her to agree to go to the college of his choice, not her choice, and because his grades are lower, his choice will be limited.

    I feel like I want to rescue her, but she pushes me away and shuts me out. She has only brought us pride and joy; and now this! Help!

                                                            A worried mother

Dear Mother of a 17-year-old Girl:

    Hmmmmm. What's the matter with kids today? Remember that song from "Bye Bye

Birdie"?

    Well if you do not, let me fill you in about teenagers and their life-management skills.Do not expect too much too soon because at the ripe age of 17, life-management is not within their reach, not should it be.

    Life experience creates both the conditions and the skills for management, and if management went before experiene, there would be tittle of it.

    Your daughter is an honor student for good reasons. She is smart, studies with

intelligence and you have given her good Values.

    When the time comes for her to apply for college, and she visit the ones that were specifically desigened for student the top of their grade, she will most likely break away from her boyfriend's influenee.

    It is rare for an honor student to change the path of their academic career for puppy love. That being said, them might be some adoldscent wisdom in her behavior after all.

    Perhaps she is choosing to worry you, her parents, for unconscious reasons. Being such a good girl and being a steady source of joy might have become a bit too much for her.

    Let your daughter have her own private moment of 11^th grade rebellion. She deserves a break from perfection.

Michelle

From the mother's letter we can learn that her daughter             

    A. is being fooled by the boy      B. has fallen behind in her studies

    C. doesn't talk much with her mother  D. has chosen which college to attend

According to Michelle; 17-year-teenagers               .

    A. are too young to manage their life

    B. are old enough to live their own life

    C. should have managemnent before experience

    D. have reached the age of an adult

The underlined word"puppy-love"refer to          

     A. false love     B. foolish love     C. pure love       D. adolescent love

Michelle seems to believe that the daughter will finally          

     A. come up with the right decision

     B. follow her boyfriend's advice

     C. worry her parents for unconscious reasons

     D. influence her boyfriend's behavior

The best title for the passage would be          

     A. College of kids' own choice

     B. How can I help my girl?

     C. How to manage teenagers' life?

     D. A 17-year-old girl and her mother