Throughout this long, tense election, everyone has focused on the presidential candidates and how they’ll change America. Rightly so, but selfishly, I’m more fascinated by Michelle Obama and what she might be able to do, not just for this country, but for me as an African-American woman. As the potential First Lady, she would have the world’s attention. And that means that for the first time people will have a chance to get up close and personal with the type of African-American woman they so rarely see.
Usually, the lives of black women go largely unexamined. The prevailing theory seems to be that we’re all hot-tempered single mothers who can’t keep a man. Even in the world of make-believe, black women still can’t escape the stereotype of being eye-rolling, oversexed females raised by our never-married, alcoholic (酗酒的) mothers.
These images have helped define the way all women are viewed, including Michelle Obama. Before she ever gets the chance to commit to a cause, charity or foundation as First Lady, her most urgent and perhaps most complicated duty may be simple to be herself.
It won’t be easy. Because few mainstream publications have done in-depth features on regular African-American women, little is known about who we are, what we think and what we face on a regular basis. For better or worse, Michelle will represent us all.
Just as she will have her critics, she will also have millions of fans who usually have little interest in the First Lady. Many African-American blogs have written about what they’d like to see Michelle bring to the White House—mainly showing the world that a black woman can support her man and raise a strong black family. Michelle will have to work to please everyone—an impossible task. But for many African-American women like me, just a little of her poise (沉着), confidence and intelligence will go a long way in changing an image that’s been around for far too long.
1.Why does Michelle Obama hold a strong fascination for the author?
A.She serves as a role model for African women.
B.She possesses many admirable qualities becoming a First Lady.
C.She will present to the world a new image of African-American women.
D.She will pay closer attention to the interests of African-American women.
2.What is the common stereotype of African-American women according to the author?
A.They are victims of violence.
B.They are of an inferior violence.
C.They use quite a lot of body language.
D.They live on charity and social welfare.
3.What do many African-Americans write about in their blogs?
A.Whether Michelle can live up to the high expectations of her fans.
B.How Michelle should behave as a public figure.
C.How proud they are to have a black woman in the White House.
D.What Michelle should do as wife and mother in the White House.
4.What does the author say about Michelle Obama as a First Lady?
A.However many fans she has, she should remain modest,
B.She shouldn’t disappoint the African-American community.
C.However hard she tries, she can’t expect to please everybody.
D.She will give priority to African-American women’s concerns.
5.What do many African-American women hope Michelle Obama will do?
A.Help change the prevailing view about black women.
B.Help her husband in the task of changing America.
C.Outshine previous First Lady.
D.Fully display her fine qualities.
One day, Jack threw some papers on my desk. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Next time you want to change anything, ask me first,” he said, and left. I had made just one small change. But it’s not that I hadn’t been warned. My colleagues had said he was responsible for the resignations of the two previous secretaries. As the weeks went by, I came to look down on Jack.
After another of his episodes had left me in tears I stormed into his office. “what?” he said suddenly. “Jack, the way you’ve been treating me is wrong. I’ve never had anyone speak to me that way. As a professional, it’s wrong for me to allow it to continue,” I said. Jack smiled nervously, “Susan, I make you a promise that I will be a friend. I will treat you as you deserve to be treated, with respect and kindness.”
Jack avoided me the rest of the week, and never questioned my work again. I brought cookies to the office one day and left some on his desk. Another day I left a note: ”Hope your day is going great. ” Over the next few weeks, there were no more Jack episodes. One year later
I discovered I had breast cancer, and was scared. The statistics were not great for my long-term survival.
One day, however, Jack visited me in the hospital and silently handed me a bundle with several bulbs inside. “Tulips(郁金香),” he said. I smiled, not understanding. “If you plant them when you get home, they’ll come up next spring. I think you will be there to see them when they come up. Next spring you will see the colours I picked out for you.” Tears clouded my eyes and he left. I have seen those red and white striped（有条纹的） tulips push through the soil every spring for over ten years now. This past September the doctor declared me cured. At a moment when I was praying for just the right word, a man with very few words said all the right things. After all, that’s what friends do.
1.Jack became angry that day because__________.
A. he was feeling unwell
B. Susan had failed to keep his office clean
C. he felt Susan changed too much about the papers
D. Susan had changed something without his permission
2.Susan stormed into jack’s office to tell Jack that__________.
A. he wasn’t worthy of respect
B. he should apologize to her right away
C. she would treat him the way he treated her
D. one should show others respect and kindness
3.Which of the following describes Susan?
A. Moody but firm.
B. Shy and demanding
C. Confident and friendly.
D. Tough and troublesome.
4.From the passage, we can conclude that__________.
A. Jack cares about his employees
B. Jack gets along well with his employees
C. Jack is always particular about his work
D. Jack doesn’t care about the feelings of others
5.We can infer from the passage that__________.
A. a friend in need is a friend in deed
B. a few words can be as meaningful as many
C. a friend who says little must be a good friend
D. we must treat disrespectful people with disrespect
Imagine living in a city made of glass. No, this isn’t a fairy tale. If you could grab your diving gear and swim down 650 feet into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Washington State, you would witness the secret world of glass reefs.
The reef you’d be looking at is made up of glass sponges(海绵). But how can animals be made of glass? Well, glass is formed from a substance called silica. The sponges use the silica found in ocean waters to build glass structures that will give them shape and support. Be careful! Some of the fragile creatures are up to 200 years old.
When sponges die, new ones grow on top of the pile of old ones. Over centuries, a massive and complex reef takes shape. Some sponges look like wrinkled trumpets, while others look like overgrown cauliflower or mushrooms.
Dr. Paul Johnson, who discovered the Washington reef in 2007, also found other surprises such as bubbles of methane(甲烷) gas flowing out of the seafloor nearby. The methane feeds bacteria, and the bacteria feed the glass sponges.
“It’s a new ecosystem we know nothing about,” said Dr. Johnson.
The reef of yellow and orange glass sponges is crowded with crabs, shrimp, starfish, worms, snails, and rockfish. The glass reef is also a nursery for the babies of many of these creatures and was called a “kindergarten” by scientists.
Many animals that live in the reef hang around for a long time, just like the sponges. Rockfish, for example, live for more than 100 years. Scientists are just beginning to study all the species that call the reef home.
The Washington coast isn’t the only place where a living glass reef has been found. The first was discovered in Hecate Strait off the coast of British Columbia in 1991. Scientists all over the world were stunned to see it.
1.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. Man-made cities under the sea B. The world under the sea
C. Glass “cities” under the sea D. Creatures under the sea
2.It can be learned that the glass reef _______.
A. is made up of a kind of materials called sponges
B. is a work of art made by some American scientists
C. is a new ecosystem people are not familiar with
D. was first discovered off the coast of Washington State
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The sponges must feel soft.
B. Silica comes from animals’ body fluid.
C. Methane is harmful to glass sponges.
D. Glass sponges depend on the bacteria for a living.
4.Why did scientists call the glass reef a “kindergarten”?
A. Because the babies of many sea creatures grow well there.
B. Because thousands of children visit it every year.
C. Because it is crowded with snails and rockfish, etc.
D. Because all the species call the reef home.
5.What does the underlined word “stunned” in the last paragraph mean?
A. Greatly surprised. B. Extremely scared.
C. Highly satisfied. D. Very pleased.
Long ago, in a far-away place, an old tribal chief found himself terminally ill. So he called three most promising young villagers to his bedside and said, “As I ____1.____(leave) you soon, I hope you can do one more thing for me. Young men, you three are all ____2.____(usual) strong and resourceful, so I’d like you to strive to climb that high mountain we have always been worshipping _____3._____ a sacred place. Try to reach the top and then turn back to tell me about your findings.
Three days later, the first young man returned smartly dressed and said ___4.____(smile),
“Lord, I’ve been to the mountaintop____5.____I saw flowers of all sorts, spring water and singing birds. That’s a real nice place.”
The old tribal chief replied with a smile, “Son, I’ve been there before. it's not the mountaintop ____6.____the foot of the mountain. You can leave now.”
A week later, the second young man also returned. “Lord, I’ve been to the mountaintop ___7.___ a forest of tall pine trees and vultures circling in the air. That’s a really nice place.”
“What a pity!” said the chief. “Son, you’ve been halfway up the mountain rather than to the summit. Now you can leave .”
A month later, the third young man showed up in rags, his hair off-colored but his eyes clear and bright.
“Lord, I succeeded in reaching the summit. There was nothing there but the highland wind and the blue sky ___8.___(hang) over the land.”
“So you saw nothing at all? Not even ___9.___butterfly?”
“No, Lord, nothing. All you can see is yourself. You just feel how insignificant you are in this infinite universe ___10.__ standing at the top!”
“Son, you’ve reached the real mountaintop. Congratulations! You will be undoubtedly made our new tribal chief!”
When I walk through the streets of San Francisco’s business districts, white people stare at me as if I were a circus clown.
Their staring eyes don’t see that I get ____1____ A’s in school, or that I am a captain of the football team, or that I belong to ___2____youth organizations. All they see is that I am 6-foot-4, young ,black, and male-----a potential ____3____to them.
White men look at me as if I am up to no good, or as if they are ____4____to me. White women just look at me with____5____, say, sometimes they cross the street when they see my friends and me coming, or walk in the street and only get back on the sidewalk after we ____6____.
Many people come to San Francisco to get away from the stereotypes(成见) of the cities they were born and ____7_____ in. The majority of the blacks and Latinos who live in this city don’t have that luxury.
How can you feel at home when people are_____8_____telling you to get back to Africa or Mexico ----or just back to “where you belong”?
My way of dealing with this kind of thing has _____9_____over the years. In the past, when my friends and I would walk the streets and a hundred pairs of white eyes would look at me as if we were the lowest form of dirt, it would make us angry enough to hurt or ____10____them.
Now I’m more likely to use ____11____ to defend myself against those eyes. To women who clutch their purse in terror, I’ll say, “Man, I ain’t gonna do anything to you, I got money in my pocket!” My cousin has even started wearing a T-shirt ____12_____ in big letters, “NO, WHITE LADY, I DON'T’ WANT YOUR PURSE.”
The most painful thing is when we get those___13____ stares from black people, especially elderly ones. I want o say to them, “We’re black too. Why would we do something to you?”
Usually I react more ____14____to all of this than a lot of my friends do. Some of them, so brainwashed, just think it’s part of life and that there is nothing you can do.
But for me, that’s not good enough. I just can’t stand it when every day a hundred pair of eyes tell you you’re not_____15_____.
1.A. almost B. mostly C. merely D. particularly
2.A. social B. local C. positive D. new
3.A. danger B. treasure C. gift D. neighbor
4.A. better B. close C. perfect D. superior
5.A. fear B. interest C. honor D. despair
6.A. run B. walk C. pass D. move
7.A. known B. developed C. raised D. located
8.A. honestly B. constantly C. hopefully D. freely
9.A. changed B. formed C. strengthened D. increased
10.A. kill B. rob C. damage D. steal
11.A. actions B. deeds C. signs D. words
12.A. writing B. printing C. telling D. saying
13.A. fearful B. doubtful C. pitiful D. impressive
14.A. strongly B. actively C. disappointedly D. casually
15.A. sincere B. mature C. welcome D. gentle
Just as the doctor _________, your wife is not exactly fat, but rather well-built for her age.
A. gets it B. makes it C. means it D. puts it
