Maya Angelou, the American poet and author, died at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Wednesday. She was 86. Her son, Guy B Johnson, confirmed the news in a statement. He said Angelou "passed away quietly in her home" sometime before 8 am on Wednesday.
Angelou’s failing health was reported as recently as Tuesday, when she canceled an appearance honoring her with a Beacon of Life Award for “health reasons”. The ceremony was part of the 2014 MLB Beacon Award Luncheon, in Houston, Texas, part of Major League Baseball’s Civil Rights Games. Last month, forced to cancel an appearance at a library in Arkansas, she wrote: "An unexpected condition put me into the hospital. I will be getting better and the time will come when I can receive another invitation from my state and you will recognize me for I shall be the tall Black lady smiling. "
Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson, in St Louis, Missouri, in 1928.She survived several personal trials: she was a child of the Depression, grew up in the segregated(种族隔离的) south, and gave birth as a teenager. She wrote seven autobiographies, including the 1969 memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and was a playwright, director and novelist.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was a condemnation(谴责) of the racial discrimination she experienced during her childhood. "If growing up is painful for the southern black girl," she wrote, "being aware of her displacement is the rust(铁锈) on the razor that threatens the throat. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” has had a wide appeal and continues to appear on school and university reading lists in the US and the UK.
In 1993, she read her poem On the Pulse of the Morning at President Clinton's first inauguration(就职演说), a performance that made the poem a bestseller. The poem celebrates the diversity of ethnic groups in the US, and calls on the nation to leave behind cynicism and look forward to a new pride in itself, and a new belief for the country. Clinton on Wednesday said he would "always be grateful for all the years of friendship that followed. America has lost a national treasure, and Hillary and I a beloved friend."
Angelou was a long-time Clinton supporter. One month before his inauguration, she told the New York Times: “Since the election, I have found it easier to wake up in the morning.” And her loyalty to Hillary Clinton has been steadfast, even as Barack Obama campaigned to be America's first black president.
The mayor of Winston-Salem, Allen Joines, said the town would probably remember Angelou best for her commitment to health and theatre. She supported the founder of the National Black Theater Festival, and eventually became its first chairperson in 1989. In 2012, the Maya Angelou Women’s Health and Wellness Center opened in the city. Despite her many accomplishments, the mayor said small moments seemed to touch the poet. In April 2008, the town threw Angelou an 80th birthday party. Despite entertainers and speakers present at the party, the mayor said, “The thing that seemed to touch her the most was a group of little kids.”

Maya Angelou was ________ .

A．originally named Marguerite Annie Johnson and a black female poet.

B．first confirmed to be ill last month in Arkansas and put into hospital.

C．honored with Civil Rights Award in Major League Baseball Games.

D．described as the national treasure by the mayor of her hometown.

We can NOT infer from the passage that ________.

A．Angelou's unhappy experience as a black girl in the south inspired her writings.

B．I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and On the Pulse of the Morning were among her most famous works.

C．Angelou supported Barack Obama when he campaigned to be President

D．Angelou died peacefully in her home on a Wednesday morning in 2014.

The underlined sentence "...being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat." implies that ________

A．Her being away from her parents is like a sharp razor that brings much pain.

B．Her realization that she doesn't belong here makes her feel emotionally painful.

C．People who think she is different from others threaten to kill her with a razor.

D．People's refusal to accept her makes her want to cut her throat with a razor.

Which one is true according to the passage?

A．In America, Angelou's accomplishments in health and theatre were best remembered.

B．Angelou was the founder and chairperson of the National Black Theater Festival.

C．A group of children moved her the most on her 80th birthday party.

D．Clinton's performance of the poem On the Pulse of the Morning made it a bestseller.

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