May : Happenings from the Past
May 5 , 1884
Isaac Murphy , son of a slave and perhaps the greatest horse rider in American history, rides Buchanan to win his first Kentucky Derby. He becomes the first rider ever to win the race three times.
May 9 , 1754
Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette produces perhaps the first American political cartoon , showing a snake cut in pieces , with the words “Join or Die” printed under the picture.
May 11 , 1934
The first great dust storm of the Great Plains Dust Bowl, the result of years of drought (干旱) , blows topsoil all the way to New York City and Washington , D. C.
May 19, 1994
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, former first lady and one of the most famous people of the 1960s, died of cancer in New York City at the age of 64.
May 24, 1844
Samuel F. B. Morse taps (轻敲) out the first message, “What hath God wrought,” over the experimental long-distance telegraph line which runs from Washington, D. C, to Baltimore, Md.
【小题1】We know from the text that Buchanan is _______________.

May : Happenings from the past  
May 5,1884
Isaac Murphy , son of a slave and perhaps the greatest horse rider in American history , rides Buchanan to win his first Kentucky Derby . He becomes the first rider ever to win the race three times .
May 9 , 1754
Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette produces perhaps the first American political cartoon （漫画）, showing a snake cut in pieces, with the words “ Join or Die” printed under the picture.
May 11,1934
The first great dust storm of the Great Plains Dust Bowl , the result of years of drought（干旱），blows topsoil all the way to New York City and Washington , D.C. .
May 19, 1994
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis , former first lady and one of the most famous people of the 1960s , died of cancer in New York City at the age of 64 .
May 24, 1844
Samuel F.B. Morsr taps out the first message , “ What Hath God Wrought ,” over the experimental long-distance telegraph line which runs from Washington, D.C. , to Baltimeore , Md .
1. We know from the text that Buchanan is_____________.
A Isaac”s father                 B a winnning horse
C.a slave taking care if horses      D.the first racing horse in Kentucky
2. What is the title of the first American political cartoon ?
A.Join or Die                   B.Pennsylvania Gazette
C.What Hath God Wrought        D.Kentucky Derby
3. In which year did the former first lady Jacqueline die ?
A. 1934        B. 1960       C . 1964       D. 1994
4.Which of the following places has to do with the first telegram in history ?
A. Washington , D. C.             B. New York City
C. Kentucky.                    D.  Pennsylvania

May : Happenings from the past  

May 5,1884

Isaac Murphy , son of a slave and perhaps the greatest horse rider in American history , rides Buchanan to win his first Kentucky Derby . He becomes the first rider ever to win the race three times .

May 9 , 1754

Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette produces perhaps the first American political cartoon （漫画）, showing a snake cut in pieces, with the words “ Join or Die” printed under the picture.

May 11,1934

The first great dust storm of the Great Plains Dust Bowl , the result of years of drought（干旱），blows topsoil all the way to New York City and Washington , D.C. .

May 19, 1994

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis , former first lady and one of the most famous people of the 1960s , died of cancer in New York City at the age of 64 .

May 24, 1844

Samuel F.B. Morsr taps out the first message , “ What Hath God Wrought ,” over the experimental long-distance telegraph line which runs from Washington, D.C. , to Baltimeore , Md .

1. We know from the text that Buchanan is_____________.

A Isaac”s father                 B a winnning horse

C.a slave taking care if horses      D.the first racing horse in Kentucky

2. What is the title of the first American political cartoon ?

A.Join or Die                   B.Pennsylvania Gazette

C.What Hath God Wrought        D.Kentucky Derby

3. In which year did the former first lady Jacqueline die ?

A. 1934        B. 1960       C . 1964       D. 1994

4.Which of the following places has to do with the first telegram in history ?

A. Washington , D. C.             B. New York City

C. Kentucky.                    D.  Pennsylvania

May : Happenings from the Past

May 5 , 1884

Isaac Murphy , son of a slave and perhaps the greatest horse rider in American history, rides Buchanan to win his first Kentucky Derby. He becomes the first rider ever to win the race three times.

May 9 , 1754

Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette produces perhaps the first American political cartoon , showing a snake cut in pieces , with the words “Join or Die” printed under the picture.

May 11 , 1934

The first great dust storm of the Great Plains Dust Bowl, the result of years of drought (干旱) , blows topsoil all the way to New York City and Washington , D. C.

May 19, 1994

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, former first lady and one of the most famous people of the 1960s, died of cancer in New York City at the age of 64.

May 24, 1844

Samuel F. B. Morse taps (轻敲) out the first message, “What hath God wrought,” over the experimental long-distance telegraph line which runs from Washington, D. C, to Baltimore, Md.

1.We know from the text that Buchanan is _______________.

2.What is the title of the first American political cartoon?

3.In which year did the former first lady Jacqueline die?

4.Which of the following places has to do with (与...有关)the first telegram in history?

A. Washington, D. C.

B. New York City

C. Kentucky

D. Pennsylvania

For many of us, cartoon strips are simply one of our pastimes. The popular Japanese manga(漫画) provides us with an escape from reality into a world of fantasy, adventure and romance.With much less text and pictures running for pages, it fits perfectly into today’s fast, throwing away city lifestyle.
But Tsai Chih-chung,a famous Taiwanese illustrator (漫画家), doesn’t agree.He believes cartoons can be a bridge connecting traditional Chinese culture and wisdom with the modern  world in a much wittier and more acceptable way.
He has interpreted Lao Zi, Confucius, Mencius，Zhuang Zi and Sun Zi and made their works accessible to a global audience. He has also produced two books about Zen (禅宗), introducing oriental philosophy. His cartoons are humorous yet full of wisdom and are admired as an easy way to learn Chinese classics.
After avoiding the public for ten years, Tsai made a comeback in late April with seven new works. But does his age, 61, work as a gap between him and his young readers? Tsai doesn’t think so. The topics he has covered range from philosophy in a time of individuality to the learning and memorizing techniques used at school. “Every child is a genius and has the potential beyond his own imagination, ” he said.
If popular Japanese manga is purely for entertainment, Tsai’s work, to a large extent, is to light the power of thinking in a light-hearted way. Tsai uses differenr forms of water to refer to people. In his eyes some people are like an ocean, some are like vapor, while others may be ice or
rain. But in essence(本质上)they share a similarity-human being’s forever chasing for the true and the good. “The person who thinks over life issues is not necessarily a scholar or a philosopher,” he said. “I’ve dedicated my whole life to thinking and individual freedom, not making a living.”
【小题1】What is the main idea of the first paragraph in the passage?