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

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

　　阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A，B，C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　I went to Beijing this National holiday, and it was an interesting experience of my life.

　　My friends told us that taking the “hard　 36　 ”to Beijing would be really terrible. So we didn’t know what to　 37　. But we were pleasantly surprised when we finally boarded the

　 38　 , which was relatively modern and　 39　 . During the 14 - hour ride we ate peanuts and talked. It was not　 40　 at all.

　　It was morning when we arrived. We stepped out of the railway station, having sat in hard seats and not getting much　 41　 . However, We had energy, First we tried to get teturn tickets to Shanghai, but the tickets seller　 42　 us that tickets would not be on　 43　 for another two days. We were a little worried about getting　 44　 , but we made up our minds to　 45　 for the hotel to put our bags down. After fighting our way　 46　 the“ gypsy”taxi drivers that tried to　 47　 us one hundred yuan for the ride, we found a taxi and it　 48　 cost us thirty yuan to get　 49　 we had planned to go. When we reached the hotel, there was a window for airplane and train tickets.　 50　 the man behind the counter could get tickets that day, which we

　 51　 . The most important lesson about China I ever　 52　 , is to get someone to do your work for you, and it seems to work out much　 53　 . We were not able to get tickets, but the

　 54　 agents（代理）could.

While in Beijing we saw a lot of places of interest, most of which were very　 55　 . It was fun to be with thousands of people in one place, There aren’t any words to describe it.

36．A. chair                       B. bed                         C. seat                         D. bench

37．A. provide                   B. expect                     C. happen                    D. think

38．A. plane                             B. bus                         C. ship                        D. train

39．A. quick                             B. clean                       C. simple                     D. long

40．A. bad                         B. good                       C. easy                        D. hard

41．A. trouble                    B. food                        C. sleep                       D. help

42．A. promised                 B. informed                 C. advised                    D. persuaded

43．A. time                        B. show                       C. duty                        D. sale

44．A. behind                    B. out                          C. through                   D. back

45．A. start                        B. ask                          C. look                        D. pay

46．A. towards                   B. into                         C. across                      D. past

47．A. offer                       B. charge                     C. bargain                    D. share

48．A. even                       B. still                         C. also                         D. only

49．A. what                       B. which                      C. where                      D. how

50．A. Somehow                B. However                 C. Therefore                D. Otherwise

51．A. wouldn't                  B. couldn't                   C. shouldn't                  D. needn't

52．A. learned                    B. taught                     C. offered                    D. heard

53．A. harder                     B. earlier                     C. later                        D. easier

54．A. business                  B. transport                  C. travel                             D. hotel

55．A. interesting                      B. crowded                  C. famous                    D. noisy

In Europe people hold the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right throughout the meal, a system that is generally agreed to be more efficient than the American zigzag（曲折的）method. Americans hold both the fork and the knife in their right hands throughout the meal, so they continually change their forks to the left hand when they have to cut their meat. It seems to be funny for the Europeans to see Americans busy changing their dinner sets, making a lot of noises. A few explanations for this American style are as follows:?

(1)Americans are practical and efficient. Since most of us are right-handed, it is reasonable to keep our working tools at all times in the right hand that can use them most efficiently.?

(2)Americans, the master of the New World are rebels（叛逆者）.They use the zigzag method to break the rules in the Old World and in this way they are thumbing their nose at Mother England. Americans are a restless kind. They do not like to sit in one spot for very long when dining.

(3)Forced to do so, they respond by “playing” with the silver.?

Whatever the reason for the practice, it is now certainly as American as apple pie. Europeans recognize this and are quick to attack it as evidence of American innocence（无知）of form. Arguments against the zigzag method rest not only on grounds of efficiency but also on those of tradition. In Old World dining, the knife is held in the right hand continually because it can serve as an instant defense against the uninvited intruders（入侵者）.However, such alertness（警觉） is out of place in the New World, as every American believes that this is the home of the brave. Americans juggle their silverware, perhaps, to show that they are not afraid and that one of them holding a fork is worth any number of them holding blades（刀）.?

Americans use _______ to hold their fork to pick up the salad.?

A. the right hand    B. the left hand?

C. both hands  D. either of the two hands?

As the masters of the New World, Americans use a different cutting method from that in the Old World to _______.?

A. show their independence of Mother England?

B. show their disrespect to Mother England?

C. add a new tradition to those in Mother England?

D. show off their creativeness to Mother England?

In the sentence, the word “juggle” probably means _______.?

A. hold   B. play with　　　C. pick up      D. lay down?

Which of the following statements is NOT true??

A. European people hold the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right hand.

B. The zigzag eating method is related to American characteristics.?

C. The zigzag eating method has become an American feature.?

D. European people will use the American method because of its efficiency.

Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly boost happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found on Thursday.

    Their experiments on more than 630 Americans showed they were measurably happier when they spent money on others—even if they thought spending the money on themselves would make them happier.

   “We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn,” said Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia. They asked their 600 volunteers first to rate their general happiness, report their annual (yearly) income and detail their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, girls for others and donations to charity.

   “Regardless of how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not,” Dunn said in a statement.

   Dunn’s team also surveyed 16 employees at a company in Boston before and after they received an annual profit-sharing bonus of between $3,000 and $8,000. “Employees who devoted more of their bonus to pro-social spending experienced greater happiness after receiving the bonus and the manner in which they spent that bonus was a more important predictor of their happiness than the size of the bonus itself” they wrote in their report, published in the journal Science.

　　They gave their volunteers $5 or $20 and half got clear instructions on how to spend it. Those who spent the money on someone or something else reported feeling happier about it.

   “These findings suggest that very minor alterations (changes) in spending allocations (shares)—as little as $5—may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day，”Dunn said.

1. What is the general idea of the passage?

A. The more you earn, the greater happiness you will get.

B. Spending more money on yourself will make you happier.

C. Money can buy happiness, but only if you spend it on someone else.

D. You can spend only 5$ a day to get happiness.

2.The underlined word “boost” in the first paragraph probably means_______.

A. help to find     B. help to bring    C. help to increase     D. help to get

3.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Those who spend more money on others can get much more bonus.

B. People usually think spending money on themselves will make them happier.

C. Very small changes in spending your money may be enough to gain happiness.

D. Researchers think that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn.

4.It can be inferred from the 6th paragraph that ______.

A. the volunteers not given 5$ or 20$ spent their own money on themselves.

B. those who spent the money on someone or something else felt happier about it.

C. the volunteers were given 5$ or 20$ as a reward for the experiment.

D. half of the volunteers could spend the money as they liked.

On June 17, 1774, the officials from Maryland and Virginia held a talk with the Indians of the Six Nations. The Indians were invited to send boys to William and Mary College. In a letter the next day they refused the offer as follows:

We know that you have a high opinion of the kind of learning taught in your colleges, and that the costs of living of our young men, while with you, would be very expensive to you. We are sure that you mean to do us good by your proposal（提议）; and we thank you heartily. But you must know that different nations have different ways of looking at things, and you will therefore not be offended（冒犯） if our ideas of this kind of education happen not to be the same as yours. We have had some experience of it. Several of our young people were formerly brought up at the colleges of the northern provinces: they were taught all your sciences; but when they came back to us, they were bad manners, ignorant（无知的）of every means of living in the woods–they were totally good for nothing.

　We are, however, not the less thankful by your kind offer, though we refuse to accept it; and, to show our grateful sense of it, if the gentlemen of Virginia will send us a dozen of their sons, we will take care of their education, teach them in all we know, and make men of them.

1.The tone(语气) of the letter as a whole is best described as________.

2.The Indian chief’s purpose of writing the letter seems to be to ____.

3.According to the letter, the Indians believed that ____.

4.Different from the officials’ view of education, the Indians thought ____.