You might say that Barack Obama was elected President of the US because he knows how to give a speech. In 2004, the little-known Obama gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention (民主党全国会议). It was a great speech — poetic, and inspiring. The people who heard it would remember it for a long time.

Since 2004, Obama has written and delivered thousands of speeches. There are usually praised for two reasons: he treats the audiences like intelligent adults, and he is able to express complicated ideas in a straightforward, natural way.

Before becoming President, Obama was a lawyer, a college professor, and a successful writer – his two memoirs (回忆录) have become best sellers. The skills he needed to succeed in his previous jobs have also contributed to his success as a speechmaker.

As a lawyer, Obama learned how to make strong, convincing arguments. As a professor, he learned how to explain complex subjects in ways that helped students understand without boring them. As a writer, he learned how to use languages to have a powerful influence on his audience. A famous American musician even turned one of Obama’s early speeches into a song during the election campaign.

Secret weapons of Obama

Writing team: Obama has a team of people who write his speeches. The writers chat with Obama for hours about what he wants to say. Then listen to recordings of past presidential addresses and seek advice from advisers. Obama usually edits and rewrites the drafts several times.

Make fun of the guests: Obama starts his speech by gently making fun of his guests. His opening lines attract the audience’s attention while giving them an opportunity to relax and laugh at themselves and each other.

Make fun of himself: Obama laughs at his past mistakes and is never afraid of showing them to the public.

Obama delivers speeches to audiences large and small. He can make his audiences laugh or cry. His speeches are always thoughtful, well written and just right for each occasion.

1.The third and fourth paragraph mainly talk about _______.

2.What do we know about Obama’s writing team according to the passage?

3.When delivering a speech, Obama __________.

4.What’s the author’s attitude towards Obama’s speeches?

Molly was a peasant girl. Her parents did not have much money and Molly did not have many nice clothes.

One day Molly’s father said to her, “Molly, take this pot of milk to market and sell it. You may keep the money.”

Molly was very happy. She put the pot of milk on her head and started her journey to market. While she was walking alone she began to think. “I will get quite a lot of money for this milk,” she thought. “What will I do with the money? I will buy a lot of eggs. I will take the eggs home with me. One of our hens will sit on them. Then there will be lots of little chickens. I will not sell the chickens. They will grow into hens. Then there will be more eggs. And these eggs will give me still more chickens. Soon I will have hundreds of hens. Then I will sell them all. They will bring me a lot of money. I will be rich. I will buy lots of new clothes. I will always wear nice clothes. Then a rich man will marry me. We will have a beautiful house, a big car and nice children...”

Molly was very happy. She jumped into the air. The pot of milk fell from her head onto the road. And that was the end of all her dreams.

In English there is a proverb. It says: Do not count your chickens before they are hatched(孵化).

1.Molly was happy to go to market because ________.

2.On her way to market, Molly began to________.

3.What was the end of all Molly’s dreams?

4.The proverb: “Do not count your chicken before they are hatched.” means ____.

It was my birthday last Thursday. I decided to 36 it by inviting a few friends out to supper. I chose a restaurant in a _37_ part of town. It is one of my favorite restaurants because the food is good and the waiters are friendly. It is _38_ ever crowded, because not many people know about it, so it is not usually _39_ to book a table. In _40_ case, Thursday is not a busy evening.

When we entered the restaurant, we were surprised to find it completely __41_ . I___42__but not a singletable was free. One of the waiters recognized me. He came across and explained the situation. "A party of tourists came in about half an hour ago.” he said. "It was like an invasion (侵略). Suddenly the place was full! We can hardly_ 43_ ."

The waiter then pointed to a table in the corner. "The people there are about to _44_ ." he said, "Just hold on and you'll  _45 _a place there." He was right. Fifteen minutes later, the people_46  the corner table paid their  _47_ , got up and left. I led my friends across and we all sat down.

__48__ our table was almost out of sight. We tried to draw the attention of the waiter _49_ sent us there, but he, like all the other waiters, was busy  50_ the party of tourists. They ordered lots of food. At last, an hour later, the tourists were finishing their meal and looking very _51_ with life. The waiter now very tired, appeared at our table. I advised my friends about the best dishes and finally the waiter went off with our _52_ .

A few moments later he returned to our table. We could tell from his face that he had _53_ for us.  54_ a little sorry he told us that there was  _55_ left. "All we can offer you" he said, "is an omelet (煎蛋卷) !"

They reacted violently _____ the news on yesterday’s newspaper.

Do you still remember the chicken farm _______ we visited last year?

Whether we can finish the task on time or not will _______ the weather.

One thousand people died in the disaster, two hundred and fifty-five children ____.

----- What’s that terrible noise?

----- The neighbors ________ for a party.

We were going out for a Christmas meal together ____ the accident happened.

Jack had to call a taxi because the box was _______ heavy to carry all the way home.