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. Why did Sen. McCain make a phone call to the writer?
| A．To inform the writer of something important. |
| B．To share his happiness with the writer. |
| C．To congratulate the writer on his success. |
| D．To give him some good ideas on making a successful speech.. |
If Sen. McCain won the election, What would Palin do?
| A．She would be a governor. |
| B．She would be the vice president-elect of the United States. |
| C．She would be the nation's next first lady. |
| D．She would be the campaign manager of Sen. McCain’s. |
How many people did the writer thank in his speech?
| A．5 | B．6 | C．7 | D．8 |
What did the writer imply by saying “I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to?”
| A．He is a failure rather than a success. |
| B．He still doesn’t know who this victory truly belongs to. |
| C．He thinks highly of his supporters. |
| D．He considers his success as people’s victory. |
For many years Henry had been a journalist. He had worked on many international newspapers and magazines and traveled over the world.
Henry had witnessed war and natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes ( 火山爆发).
He had reported on serious accidents such as major fires and airline crashes.
He had seen every kind of terrible crime and strange event there was.
He had met and written about some of the most unusual people in the world.
In fact, there wasn’t much that Henry had not seen or done.
Now he was retired from journalism(新闻业). He owned a very expensive restaurant and spent his days talking to his wealthy and important customers. He liked to say that nothing surprised him.
One day he was sitting at the bar in his restaurant when a big gorilla(大猩猩) walked in and asked for a table.
Henry showed no surprise. He took the gorilla to a table and handed him a menu. He treated him politely and pretended there was nothing at all strange about having a gorilla in his restaurant.
The gorilla looked through the menu and ordered a salad.
Henry served the gorilla his salad personally, knowing that his waiters and waitresses would be too frightened.
At last the gorilla finished his salad and asked for the bill.
Henry wrote out the bill and handed it to the big animal.
The gorilla studied it, shook his head sadly then gave Henry fifty dollars.
“Thank you,” Henry said, and then to make conversation, he added, “we don’t get many gorillas in this restaurant.”
“At fifty dollars for a salad,” the gorilla said, “I’m not surprised.” According to the story, Henry had________.
| A．had the most exciting experiences |
| B．told the longest stories |
| C．made history |
| D．caused accidents |
One day when a gorilla came into the restaurant, Henry was_____.
| A．very surprised by the gorilla |
| B．not disturbed(烦忧) by the gorilla |
| C．very interested in the gorilla |
| D．scared of the gorilla |
From the sentences “Henry served the gorilla his salad personally, knowing that his waiters and waitresses would be too frightened” you can learn that______.
| A．his staff were not brave people |
| B．Henry didn’t normally serve customers |
| C．the gorilla had eaten there before |
| D．the gorilla was careful with his money |
Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive (欺骗)? When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important information that should be included, he can give you a false picture.
For example, someone might say, I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery (彩票). It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!
This guy's a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought $ 200 worth of tickets, and only one was a winner. He’s really a big loser!
He didn’t say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose. That’s called a half-truth. Half truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.
Some politicians often use this trick. Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she seeks another term. One of her opponents (对手) says, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state lost one million jobs!” That’s true. However, an honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state had a net gain of two million jobs.”
Advertisers (广告商) will sometimes use half-truths. It’s against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth. An advertisement might say, “Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache.” It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company.
This kind of deception happens too often. It’s a sad fact of life: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well.How much did the lottery winner lose?
| A．One hundred dollars. | B．Two hundred dollars. |
| C．Three hundred dollars. | D．Four hundred dollars. |
We may infer that the author believes people should ______.
| A．buy lottery tickets |
| B．make use of half-truths |
| C．not take anything at false value |
| D．not trust the Yucky Company |
What do the underlined words net gain in Paragraph 5 mean?
| A．final increase | B．big advantage |
| C．large share | D．total saving |
What can we know from the example of the Yucky Pill advertisement?
| A．False statements are easy to see through. |
| B．Half-truths are often used to mislead people. |
| C．Doctors like to act in advertisements. |
| D．Advertisements are based on facts. |
Hillary Diane Clinton arrived at the White House after serving as First Lady of Arkansas for twelve years. During that time she worked as a full-time partner of a law firm, chaired an education committee that set public school standards in Arkansas, managed a home, and cared for her husband and child.
Hillary Diane Rodham, daughter of Hugh and Dorothy Rodham, was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 26, 1947. She and her younger two brothers grew up in Park Ridge, Illinois, as a close-knit family. As an excellent student, she was also a Girl Scout and a member of the local Methodist youth group. Hillary also enjoyed sports and was always interested in politics. She entered Wellesley College in 1965. Graduating with high honors, she moved on to Yale Law School, where she served on the Board of Editors of the Yale Review of Law and Social Action. While at Yale, she developed her special concern for protecting the best interests of children and their families. It was there that she met Bill Clinton, a fellow student.
In 1973, Hillary became a lawyer for the Children’s Defense Fund. In 1975 Hillary left Washington and followed her heart to Arkansas（阿肯色州）, marrying Bill Clinton. The couple taught together in the University of Arkansas. Their daughter, Chelsea, was born in 1980.
As First Lady of Arkansas, Hillary continued to work tirelessly on behalf of children and families. In addition to chairing the Arkansas Education Standards Committee, she founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. She introduced a pioneering program called Arkansas Home Instruction for Preschool Youth, which trained parents to work with their children in preschool preparedness and literacy. Hillary also served on the board of the Arkansas Children's Hospital. In recognition of her professional and personal accomplishments, Hillary was named Arkansas Woman of the Year in 1983 and Arkansas Mother of the Year in 1984.
Women’s International Center proudly presents the Living Legacy Award to Hillary Rodham Clinton for her vast contributions in so many fields, especially honoring her work for women and children. Hillary did all the following things before going to college EXCEPT .
| A．joining the local Methodist youth group |
| B．taking an active part in sports |
| C．showing great interest in politics |
| D．beginning to care for the interests of children |
The topic sentence of the fourth paragraph is .
| A．sentence 1 | B．sentence 2 | C．sentence 4 | D．sentence 5 |
What is the main reason why Hillary won the Living Legacy Award?
| A．Her being Arkansas Woman of the Year in 1983. |
| B．Her tireless work for woman and children. |
| C．Graduating with high honors from Yale. |
| D．Being a perfect wife and caring for her child |
What do we know about Hillary from this passage?
A She and Bill Clinton were schoolmates at Yale.
B. She was in her thirties when she married Bill Clinton.
C. She has been a full-time lawyer for more than 20 years.
D. She once worked as a doctor in the Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
Most Americans believe that someone isn’t grown-up until the age of 26 and they should complete their education, have a full-time job, have a family to support and be financially independent. They also believe that becoming a real grown-up is a process which begins at about the age of 20 and takes about five years, according to the report from the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center.
The findings are based on a representative sample of 1,398 people over the age of 18 who were surveyed in person. The survey found that people expect the transitions to grown-up status to be completed at the following ages: age 20.9 self-supporting; age 21.1 no longer living with parents; age 21.2 having a full-time job; age 22.3 education completed; age 24.5 being able to support a family financially; age 25.7 getting married; and age 26.2 having a child.
“There is a large degree of agreement across social groups on the relative importance of the seven transitions,” said Tom Smith, director of the survey. The only obvious pattern of differences is on views about supporting a family, having children and getting married. Older adults consider these more important than younger adults do. This probably shows in large part a change in values across generations away from traditional family values. The most valued step toward reaching adulthood, the survey found, is completing education, followed by full-time employment, supporting a family, financial independence, living independently, and marriage.According to the first paragraph, someone is a grown-up when he _______.
| A．has found a full-time job |
| B．has finished his study in university |
| C．can make money and support himself after completing his education |
| D．can support a family and be financially independent after graduation |
A young man of 24 may be busy ________.
| A．finding a job | B．finding a girl friend |
| C．making money | D．preparing for his wedding |
The underlined word “status” in the second paragraph probably means “________”.
| A．position | B．rank | C．level | D．situation |
From the passage, we learn that _________.
| A．being grown-up is just a matter of age |
| B．being grown-up is a process which takes some time |
| C．all people think completing education means being grown-up |
| D．the survey found everyone had a different view about being grown-up |
The best title for the passage should be “________”
| A．It takes a long time to grown up. |
| B．Are we grown-up yet? |
| C．Getting married means being grown-up. |
| D．Completing education means being grown-up. |
From their beginnings New England towns had a special democratic system of government. At a stated time all the citizens would assemble at a town meeting, where they would discuss local problems and express opinions freely. They also elected the town’s officials at these gatherings and made decisions about the taxes they would pay and about other community matters. These meetings were usually held at the town hall, which was located in the central square.
In the eighteenth-century town meetings, only men who owned property and who were church members actually voted, although everyone present was allowed to express their opinions. Later, all citizens were allowed to vote. Thus the town meeting became truly democratic. Town meetings are still common in New England communities.
In recent years the town meeting idea has been widely imitated. There are open sessions of this kind on radio and television. Occasionally a meeting of this type is called by a government agency in order to give an opportunity for free and open discussion on current problems and policies.At a town meeting, people do the following things EXCEPT __________.
| A．express their opinions about the government |
| B．elect officials of the towns |
| C．make a decision about whom they should marry |
| D．discuss some community matters |
In the 18th century, who had the right to vote?
| A．All the citizens. |
| B．All the men except those who were church members. |
| C．The rich. |
| D．The rich men and the church members. |
Why has the town meeting been widely imitated?
| A．Because many people are interested in it. |
| B．Because it is very democratic. |
| C．Because many people enjoy themselves at town meetings. |
| D．Because sometimes government agencies call them. |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Citizens can elect the officials in the town meeting. |
| B．In recent years, town meetings are often called by a government agency. |
| C．People can say what they want to say at the town meeting. |
| D．Nowadays this kind of meeting is also held on radio and television. |
This passage mainly talks about _______.
| A．the New England town meeting | B．modern town meetings |
| C．a democratic meeting | D．New England towns |
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