What I Want for You and Every Child in America

　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　 by President-Elect Barack Obama

Dear Malia and Sasha,

I know that you’ve both had a lot of 　1 these last two years during the campaign, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn’t have let you have. But I also know that it hasn’t always been easy for you and Mom, and that although you are both excited about that new puppy(幼犬), it doesn’t 2 for all the time we’ve been apart. I know 3 I’ve missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me--about how I’d 4 my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my 5 　with all your curiosity and mischief （捣乱） and those smiles that never 6 to fill my heart and light up my day. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. That’s why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

I want all our children to go to schools 7 of their potential---schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill （灌输） in them a sense of 8 about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college 9 their parents aren’t rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them have time to spend time with their own 10 .

I want us to 11 back the boundaries(界限) of discovery so that you’ll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach 12 the divides(分水岭) of race and region, gender and religion that 13 us from seeing the best in each other.

That was the 14 your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for 15 because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean 16 .

She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better and that the 17 work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It’s a duty we pass on to our children.

These are the things I want for you--- to 18 in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach. And I want every child to have the same 19 to learn and dream and grow that you girls have. That’s why I’ve taken our family on this great adventure.

I am so proud of both of you. I love you 20 you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, confidence, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Love, Dad

1. A. play　　　　　　 B. fun　　　　　　 C. pain　　　　　　 D. gain

2. A. take up　　　　　 B. pick up　　　　 C. make up　　　　　 D. put up

3. A. how much　　　 B. how many　　　 C. how soon　　　　 D. how long

4. A. lose　　　　　　 B. make　　　　　 C. take　　　　　　　 D. walk

5. A. world 　　　　　 B. family　　　　 C. position　　　　　 D. place

6. A. succeed　　　　 B. come　　　　　 C. tend　　　　　　　 D. fail

7. A. worth　　　　　 B. worthless　　　　 C. worthwhile　　　　 D. worthy

8. A. humor　　　　　 B. hatred　　　　　 C. wonder　　　　　 D. sadness

9. A. even if　　　　 B. as if　　　　　　 C. as long as　　　　 D. if

10. A. friends　　　　 B. kids　　　　　　 C. boys　　　　　　 D. girls

11. A. rush　　　　　 B. catch　　　　　 C. push　　　　　　 D. pull

12. A. to　 　　　　 B. in　　　　　　 C. into　　　　　　　 D. beyond

13. A. keep　　　　　 B. let　　　　　　 C. make　　　　　　 D. warn

14. A. way　　　　　 B. method　　　　　 C. means　　　　　 D. lesson

15. A. quantity　　　 B. quality　　　　　 C. equality　　　　　 D. quarter

16. A. everything　　 B. something　　　 C. anything　　　　　 D. nothing

17. A. unfinished　　 B. finished　　　　 C. unfinishing　　　　 D. finishing

18. A. wake up　　　 B. grow up　　　　 C. come up　　　　　 D. get up

19. A. difficulty　　　 B. barriers　　　　 C. anxiety　　　　　 D. chances

20. A. rather than　　 B. other than　　　　 C. less than　　　　 D. more than

One of Britain’s bravest women told yesterday how she helped to catch suspected(可疑的) police killer David Bieber--and was thanked with flowers by the police. It was also said that she could be in line for a share of up to ￡30,000 reward money.

Vicki Brown, 30, played a very important role in ending the nationwide manhunt.

Vicki, who has worked at the Royal Hotel for four years, told of her terrible experience when she had to steal into Bieber’s bedroom and to watch him secretly. Then she waited alone for three hours while armed police prepared to storm the building.

She said,” I was very nervous. But when I opened the hotel door and saw 20 armed policemen lined up in the car park I was so glad they were there.”

The alarm had been raised because Vicki became suspicious(怀疑) of the guest who checked in at 3 pm the day before New Year’s Eve with little luggage and wearing

sunglasses and a hat pulled down over his face. She said, He didn’t seem to want to talk too much and make any eye contact(接触). Vicki, the only employee on duty, called her bosses Margaret, 64, and husband Stan McKale, 65, who phoned the police at 11 pm.Officers from Northumbria Police called Vicki at the hotel in Dunston, Gateshead, at about 11:30 pm to make sure that this was the wanted man. Then they kept in touch by phoning Vicki every 15 minutes.

“It was about ten past two in the morning when the phone went again and a policeman said ‘Would you go and make yourself known to the armed officers outside?’ My heart missed a beat.”

Vicki quietly showed eight armed officers through passages and staircases to the top floor room and handed over the key.

“I realized that my bedroom window overlooks that part of the hotel, so I went to

watch. I could not see into the man’s room, but I could see the passage. The police kept shouting at the man to come out with his hands showing. Then suddenly he must have come out because they shouted for him to lie down while he was handcuffed(带上手铐).”

The underlined phrase “be in line for” (paragraph 1) means _______.

A. get     B. be paid       C. ask for       D. own

Vicki became suspicious of David Bieber because _______.

A. the police called her  B. he looked very strange

C. he came to the hotel with little luggage

D. he came to the hotel the day before New Year’s Eve

Vicki’s heart missed a beat because _________.

A. the phone went again     B. she would be famous

C. the policemen had already arrived  D. she saw 20 policemen in the car park

David Bieber was most probably handcuffed in ________.

A. the passage B. the man’s room C. Vicki’s bedroom D. the top floor room

The whole event probably lasted about _______ hours from the moment Bieber came to the hotel to the arrival of some armed officers.

A. 6 B. 8 C. 11       D. 14

I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt’s house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which listened every morning. I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving, I thought about all the places I was going to see—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then.

The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism(乐观主义), but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times”.

My responsibilities(职责) in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.

From my experiences I have learned one important rule: almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.

1. How did the author get to know America?

A. From her relatives.     B. From her mother.    C. From books and pictures.   D. From radio programs.

2. For the first two years in New York, the author       .     .

A. often lost her way                   B. did not think about her job    

C. studied in three different schools        D. got on well with her new friends

3.What can we learn from the author from Paragraph 3 ?

A. She worked as a translator.               B. She attended a lot of job interviews.

C. She paid telephone bills for her family .     D. She helped her family with her English.

4.The author believes that     .

A. her future will be free from troubles .         B. it is difficult to learn to become patient.

C. there are more good things than bad things.    D. good things will happen if one keeps trying.

Fifty-two years ago in the USA, a little black girl named Ruby Bridges arrived at her new primary school. The school was in New Orleans, Louisiana.
As she walked toward the school’s front door, an angry crowd of people shouted at her. United States marshals walked with her. A marshal is a police officer. They were there to protect the first grader. That’s because the people didn’t want Ruby to go inside the school. But the 6-year-old walked into the school anyway. As she did, she marched into history books.
The day was Nov. 14, 1960. On that morning, little Ruby became one of the first African Americans to attend an all-white primary school in the South.
Before then, the law in many states said that black children could not attend the same schools as white children. People of different races also had to use separate public restrooms. It was called segregation. That is when people of different races are kept separate.
U.S. leaders worked to end segregation. They helped bring civil rights to all Americans. Those are the rights mean that all people should be treated equally. A few months before Ruby started school, a federal court (联邦法庭) had just ordered an end to school segregation in New Orleans.
By the time Ruby started the second grade, there were no more angry people outside her school. There were other African American students in her class. Today, children of all races go to school together.
Bridges said she was never scared to go to school during the first grade. She wasn’t really afraid and she didn’t really know what was going on at the time.
【小题1】Why was Ruby Bridges famous in the American history?

Section B (10 marks)

     Directions: Read the following passage, Answer the questions according to the

information given in the passage.

Secret Santas

      On Christmas morning, Linda wakes up, and tries to imagine the wide-eyed surprise of children in another household as they unwrap the presents she carefully chose for them. Linda has never met the children, but that’s all part of the joy of giving as secret Santas, she says.

      "It's an amazing feeling to buy gifts on an anonymous (匿名的) basis," says Linda.

"It brings a whole new meaning to the holidays."

      Linda and Tony are an American couple living in Toronto, Canada, and Linda did charitable work as a member of the American Women's Club of Toronto. As the name suggests, members are U.S. citizens living in Toronto, who join together for fellowship and community service.

      To find her "adopted" family, Linda goes to the local schools and requests a wish list for a family that's struggling to survive. Last year she helped a single mother with three children. The mother works as a cleaning lady in a nursing home.

      "The list is always heartbreaking. They have an opportunity to ask for anything and do just the opposite, asking for basic clothes or simple toys," she says. "We always buy the kids a new winter coat, hats, and gloves." She also buys gifts for the parents.

      Last year Linda asked the mother for a second wish list--one that didn't include the basics. "Every child should have a Christmas that sticks with them for a lifetime." She purchased iPods for the two older children and a video game system for the youngest."I have learned a very valuable lesson in all of this," says Linda. "Pay attention to what's going on in your own backyard--no matter where you live."

      The joy of giving as secret Santas is much sweeter when the gift is anonymous.

81. What reaction does Linda imagine the children will have?

      (No more than 5 words)                                       (2 marks)

______________________________________________________________________________                                                                          

82. Why did Linda join the American Women's Club of Toronto?

      (No more than 10 words)                                         (2 marks)

______________________________________________________________________________                                                                          

83. Why did Linda ask for a second wish list?

      (No more than 15 words)                                         (3 marks)

______________________________________________________________________________                                                                         

84. What kind of people does "secret Santas" in the passage refer to?

      (No more than 12 words)                                         (3 marks)