Memphisisthelargestcityintheso-优题课

History Has Arrived
Nine-year-old Barack Obama was looking through a magazine But the African-American boy was shocked by a series of photos. The pictures were of a black man who destroyed his skin with chemicals that promised to make him white.
For the first time, the boy began to doubt who he was. “I stood in front of the mirror and wondered if something was wrong with me,” Obama said.
However, now the boy who used to struggle with his identity doesn’t see it as a problem any more, but an advantage for his career. In January, 2009, Obama made history by being elected as the first black president of the US. He defeated John MaCain in a landslide(压倒性的) victory.
Obama’s story starts in opposite corners of the world. His white mother was born in the heartland of the US. His black father grew up in a tiny village in Kenya. They met in Hawaii, but his father left the family when Obama was just two years old and his mother moved to Indonesia.
At 10, Obama moved back to live with his white grandparents in Hawaii where his sense that he didn’t belong grew. At his class a white boy asked Obama if his father ate people. Out of embarrassment, Obama lied to his classmates that his father was prince. “I kept asking who I am and I ended up trying drugs and drinking,” Obama recalled.
Things came to change after the young man made friends with those with a similar background at college. Their experiences back in Africa helped Obama to finally face up to his African origin. He worked hard to become a star at Harvard Law School and the third black senator(参议员) in US history.
At the beginning of his campaign for the White House, few people viewed Obama favorably(赞同地).Many doubted his unusual background, which left him neither “ black” enough nor white enough.
But Obama turned his pain of growing up into a tool to make Americans believe: “There is not a black America, an Asian America. There’s the United States of America.”
Barack Obama’s victory is “a historic victory that promised change and overcame centuries of prejudice(偏见)。 His success fulfilled Martin Luther King’s dream that a man be judged not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character,” wrote ABC news.
60. From the above passage we can know that Barack Obama was born in _____.
A. Kenya, Africa B. Hawaii, the USA C. Indonesia, Asia D. an unknown city, in Latino America
61. He lied to his classmates that his father was prince because _______.
A. he felt ashamed of his African origin B. he had unusual background—neither black nor white
C. his black father deserted him when he was very young
D. he didn’t have the sense of belonging
62. Put the following things in order of time.
a. Obama is the third black senator in US history
b. Obama’s mother settled down in Indonesia with Barack Obama
c. Obama stood out among his classmates in Harvard Law School
d. Obama lived with his white grandparents in Hawaii.
e. Obama’s balck father left him and his mother.
A. c,d,a,b,e B. e, d, b, c, a C. d, b, a, e, c D. e, b, d, c, a
63. What does the title “History has arrived” probably mean?
A. Barack Obama eventually defeated his white opponent, John MaCain in a landslide victory.
B. Barack Obama’s victory has given blacks and other minorities a true national role model.
C. Barack Obama has become the first African-American President, overcoming centuries of prejudice(偏见).
D. Through his great efforts, Barack Obama became the third black senator in the US history.

IV. 阅读理解：
Farris Hassan, a 16-year-old high school student from Florida, decided to visit Iraq and left for the country on December 11th, 2005 alone, without having informed his parents.
After catching a connecting flight in Amsterdam, he arrived in Kuwait City on December 13th. He called his parents on the telephone and informed them of where he was and his intention to visit Iraq. This was the first time his parents learned of his plans. He then attempted to cross the Kuwait –Iraq border by taxi, because of tight security for the upcoming elections he was unable to pass though and spent a week in Beirut, Lebanon. Then on December 25th, he flew to Baghadad International Airport. Relatives picked him up from the airport and put him at a hotel known to frequently house American citizens.
He paid for the trip and made all the arrangements himself with money that he had saved up. The inspiration for his journey was the result of attending a class on “step into journalism” at his school. He was working on an assignment on the war in Iraq and he wished to experience his subject matter first-hand.
Hassan’s parents were born in Iraq, but he does not speak any Arabic, making him easily stand out as a foreigner in Iraq, where kidnappings(绑架)of Americans and violence are an everyday occurrence. His parents planned to take him to see Iraq once the war was over.
He turned in his assignment via e-mail and was due to be back home over the New Year’s Day weekend.
56. From the passage, we can know _____.
A. Farris Hassan can speak only a little Arabic
B. Farris Hassan’s parents have learned of his plan before
C. Farris Hassan successfully finished his assignment
D. Farris Hassan made arrangements for his trip with the help of his teacher
57. The underlined word “house” in the second paragraph probably means “_____”
A. a building for people to live in B. all the visitors living together
C. provide a place for people to live in D. provide a place for people to visit
58. Why did Farris Hassan travel to Iraq?
A. Because his parents wanted him to do so
B. Because he wanted to experience the war in Iraq
C. Because he wanted to get some information for his assignment
D. Because he had saved enough money for his journey to Iraq.
59. What’s the passage mainly about?
A. An American teenager’s life in Iraq
B. A brave American teenager in Iraq
C. The best way to complete an assignment is to experience it
D. An American teenager’s experience about trying to go to Iraq

An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money. Only a very expensive operation could save him now and there was no one to lend them the money.
When she heard her daddy say to her tearful mother, “Only a miracle can save him now,” the little girl went to her bedroom and pulled her money from its hiding place and counted it carefully.
She hurried to a drugstore with the money in her hand.
“And what do you want?” asked the salesman. “It’s for my little brother,” the girl answered. “He’s really, really sick and I want to buy a miracle.” “Pardon?” said the salesman.
“My brother Andrew has something bad growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So how much does a miracle cost?” “We don’t sell a miracle here, child. I’m sorry,” the salesman said with a smile.
“Listen, if it isn’t enough, I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs.”
A well-dressed man heard it and asked, “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?”
“I don’t know,” she answered with her eyes full of tears. “He’s really sick and mum says he needs an operation. But my daddy can’t pay for it, so I have brought all my money.”
“How much do you have?” asked the man. “$ 1.11, but I can try and get some more,” she answered.
“Well, what luck,” smiled the man. “$ 1.11, the price of a miracle for little brothers.”
He took up the girl’s hand and said, “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”
That well-dressed man was Dr Carlton Armstrong, a famous doctor. The operation was successful and it wasn’t long before Andrew was home again.
How much did the miracle cost?
What was the trouble in the little girl’s family?
A．Her brother was seriously ill. B．They had no money.
C．Nothing could save her brother. D．Both A and B.
In the eye of the little girl, a miracle might be .

A．something interesting	B．something beautiful
C．some wonderful medicine	D．some good food

The little girl said again and again “...I can try and get some more.” That shows .

A．she had still kept some money

B．she hoped not to be refused

C．There was no need to worry about money

D．she thought money was easy to get

What made the miracle happen?

A．The girl’s love for her brother．	B．The girl’s money.
C．The medicine from the drugstore.	D．Nobody can tell.

From the passage we can infer(推断) that .

A．the doctor didn’t ask for any pay

B．a miracle is sure to happen if you keep on

C．the little girl is lovely but not so clever

D．the doctor had great sympathy for the girl’s little brother

Nothing is more pleasing and romantic as flowers in the bedroom. Now, a new study says that the sweet smells of flowers in the bedroom can also lead to sweet dreams.
Researchers in Germany have carried out the study and have found that sleeping with flowers in the bedroom may encourage sweet dreams, a major finding they claim could help nightmare sufferers to and extent.
They came to the conclusion after an analysis of the sleep patterns of 15 female volunteers for a period of nearly 30 nights, a leading British newspaper reported on Monday.
The researchers pumped scents of rotten eggs, roses or no scent under their noses for nearly ten seconds while the women were in the Rapid Eye Movement period of sleep when a dream occurs.
The subjects were then woken up and asked to record their dreams. The smells had an effect on the emotions of the dreams but did not become part of the dream in that the women exposed to roses did not dream about roses the study found.
There was a correlation between the negative smells and negative emotional scores the sleepers reported from their dream.
According to the researchers, it’ll be interesting to study nightmare sufferers and if positive smells can actually influence the mood of their dreams as a form of treatment in the future.
The study has been presented at the 2008 American Academy of Otoblaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting in Chicago.
What is the best title for the text?

A．A recent study on dreaming

B．Smells influence one’s dreams

C．Do you want to have a good dream?

D．Flowers in the bedroom lead to sweet dreams.

What is the right order of the events related to the experiment?
a. The female volunteers get to sleep. b. The researchers wake up the sleeping women.
c. A particular smell is pumped under dreamers’ noses d. The dreamers are asked to describe their dreams.
A. a, c, b, d B. d, c, b, a C. a, c, d, b D, d, b, c, a
The underlined word “correlation” in paragraph 6 can be replaced by _______

A．combination

B．coincidence

C．connection

D．cooperation

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．People are very sensitive to smells at night.

B．The subjects were tested on when they dreamed

C．Pleasant smells get sleepers to dream of roses.

D．The experiment is designed to treat sleeplessness.

What is the future perspective（前景）of the study?

A．Sleeplessness can be cured in the near future.

B．Nightmare sufferers are likely to recover soon.

C．The finding can give hope to nightmare sufferers.

D．Roses will become more popular among patients.

When my family moved to America from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.
I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive(敏感) Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.
In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.
However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.
After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words.
Jack brought the couple their food very fast because .

A．the manager asked him to do so

B．he respected the elderly

C．the couple wanted him to do so

D．he wanted more pay

When Jack called the couple “elderly”, they became .

A．nervous	B．satisfied
C．unhappy	D．excited

In Jack’s hometown,.

A．people dislike being called “old”

B．people are proud of being old

C．many people reach the age of seventy or eighty

D．the elderly are the first to get food in restaurants

After this experience, Jack .

A．lost his job in the restaurant

B．made friends with the couple

C．no longer respected the elderly

D．changed his way with older people

Which of the following is TRUE?

A．The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got.

B．Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience.

C．The manager went back to the table and apologized to the couple.

D．From this experience, Jack learned more about American culture.

A．How to fight against slavery	B．National Civil Rights Museum
C．Memphis	D．A black mayor