You might say that Barack Obama was elected President of the US because he knows how to give a good 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. These are usually praised for two reasons: he treats the audiences like intelligent adults, and he is able to express difficult ideas in a straightforward, natural way.

  Before becoming President, Obama was a lawyer, a college professor, and a successful writer---his two memoirs 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 language to have a powerful influence on his audience.

     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. They 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 audiences’ attention while giving them an opportunity to relax and laugh at themselves and each other.

     Making 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 paragraphs mainly talk about _____.

     A. why Obama’s speeches are praised       B. how Obama acquired his speaking ability     C. what subjects Obama’s speeches about    D. Obama’s success as a writer and a lawyer

  2.. When delivering a speech, Obama ______.

     A. usually starts with some famous sayings    B. sometimes turns his speech into a song

     C. sometimes shares a joke with the audience  D. is very strict most of the time

 3.. What is the main idea of the passage?

     A. Obama won the election campaign.       B. Obama is a brilliant speechmaker

     C. Obama had taken a couple of jobs.        D. Obama is good at writing.

 

Directions: Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from the list A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.?

A．The Decade of Internet Revolution

B．The Era of National Misfortune

C．The Era of Misplaced Anxiety

D．The Decade of Great Feats

E. The Decade of Youth Heroism in Distress

F. The Decade of Great Imbalances

The first decade of the new millennium has come to an end. It’s become a sort of habit to give a representative name to each decade, so, once again, an effort is under way to find a term to fit the years from 2000 to 2009.

80. __________

That shouldn’t be too hard a job for us here in China. First, no country has seen economic growth in the last decade like this. The economy quadrupled, with almost double-digit annual growth, and GDP went from No.6 to No.3. It’s now only slight below that of Japan, and many are saying that it will only be another year or two before we have the world’s second largest economy. In addition, in 2008, China was host to the Olympics, possibly the best organized and hosted Games over, and that impressed the world and boosted Chinese confidence.

81. _________

The economy developed at a breakneck pace, and personal wealth mushroomed--- for many, anyway. Salaries multiplied, stock market investment and real estate were a bubble, then burst, then became a bubble again. China now has one of the largest collections of millionaires and billionaires in the world, and has helped keep the world’s luxury products industry from going under. Meanwhile, the earnings gap has widened in an unprecedented way. Millions are still living near the poverty line and the urban poor has become an obvious problem.

82. _________

Yet, how could we think of the changes without including the Internet? If one thing can be credited with making the most changes in people’s lives, it should be the World Wide Web. We learned to use e-mail, chatrooms, and BBS at the beginning of the decade, and, after witnessing one dotcom burst, it’s time for the second Internet entrepreneurial wave. This time, however, it’s in the form of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Kaixin, as well as video-sites like Youtube and Tudou.

83. __________

Oh, and who could forget the many misfortunes, and the tragedies, that befell China in the last 10 years: mining accidents that killed dozens at a time, a public health crisis like SARS, or the disastrous Wenchuan earthquake that destroyed towns and thousands of family. We seem to have a disproportionate share of tragic things happening here. At the same time, the Chinese, especially  younger ones, have shown an amazing ability to recover from these disasters and be stronger and more unified. Millions of young volunteers poured into Sichuan to offer their help, as they did in other emergencies.

84. ___________

The West has a generally darker view of this past decade. One of The New York Times articles in mid-November said that, in thinking about a name from the American point of view, it seems difficult to find the right expression for so much upheaval, change, and worry: the Y2K millennium bug, which never caused much damage and chaos, the alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which were never found; and so on. The United State launched two wars after 9/11, but never realized that the real threat to American interests lay in its own economy and finances until the sub-prime crisis, erupted in 2007.

Others find it an almost impossible job to name the decade, saying it will take many years to name the 2000s because it will take many years to figure out what we feel that we lost during that period.

 

The twentieth century saw greater changes than any century before. Changes for the better, changes for the worse, changes that brought a lot of benefits to human beings, changes that put man in danger. Many things caused the changes, but, in my opinion, the most important was the progress in science.

Scientific research in physics and biology has vastly broadened our views. It has given us a deeper knowledge of the structure of matter and of the universe. It has brought us a better understanding of the nature of life and of its continuous development. Technology in the application of science has made big advances that have benefited us in nearly every part of life.

The continuation of such activities in the twenty-first century will result in even greater advantages to human beings; in pure science—a wider and deeper knowledge in all fields of learning; in applied science--- a more reasonable sharing of material benefits, and better protection of the environment.

Sadly, however, there is another side to the picture. The creativity of science has been employed in doing damage to mankind. The application of science and technology to the development and production of weapons of mass destruction has created a real danger to the continued existence of the human race on this planet. We have seen this happen in the case of nuclear weapons. Although their actual use has so far occurred only in the Second World War, the number of nuclear weapons that were produced and made ready for use was so large that if the weapons had actually been used, the result could have been the ruin of the human race, as well as of many kinds of animals.

William Shakespeare said, “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.” The above brief review the application of only one part of human activities—science seems to prove what Shakespeare said. But does it have to be so? Must the ill always go together with the good? Are we biologically programmed for war?

1.Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?

=Paragraph 1,②=Paragraph 2, ③=Paragraph 3, ④=Paragraph 4,⑤=Paragraph 5）

2. From the fourth paragraph, we can infer that ______.

A. a great many nuclear weapons were actually used for war

B. a large number of nuclear weapons should have been used for war

C. the author is doubtful about the ruin of human beings by nuclear war

D. the author is anxious about the huge number of nuclear weapons on the earth

3. The underlined word “mingled” most probably means______

A. simple   B. mixed     C. sad   D. happy

4.What do you think the author is most likely to suggest if he continues to write?

A. Further application of science to war.

B. More reading of William Shakespeare.

C. Proper use of science in the new century.

D. Effective ways to separate the good from the ill.

 

Ted Turner, achieved high goals and great success by the time he was 43. Best known for his CNN, Ted Turner launched a second nationwide all-news network, Headline News, purchased the Atlanta Braves baseball team, and became the world's best yachtsman at the America's Cup in 1977. In 1982 Ted Turner was named by Forbes one of the 400 richest people in the US. He was named Time magazine's "Man of the Year" in 1992. How did Ted Turner accomplish all of this at such a young age?
Ted Turner's father, Ed, was a self-made millionaire who demanded that his only son try to achieve similar success. He instilled in the boy a strong belief that hard work was good. Besides reading a new book every two days, Ted Turner was also charged rent at home during summer vacations from boarding school. Ed Turner was a strong influence in his son's life.
As a child, Ted Turner lived a very lonely life, often separated from his family. He was enrolled in a military academy in the fifth grade and eventually went to Brown University. He attended college off and on, became involved in sailboat racing, and became a member of the U.S. Coast Guard. In his early twenties, Ted Turner became general manager of one of his father's branch offices in Georgia.
Two years later after his father’s suicide, Ted Turner took over the company. He soon discovered that he was more skilled than his father in managing the business. During the next twenty years, Ted Turner worked hard to accumulate enough power and money to fulfill his father's dream.
Reflecting on his father's death, however, Ted Turner realized that it was dangerous to put too much emphasis on material possessions. He decided to use his hard-earned influence to serve the public. Concerned about the environment, Ted Turner established the Better World Society in 1985. The purpose of this organization was to produce documentaries to educate people about pollution, hunger, and the danger of building weapons of mass destruction. In 1986 Turner began sponsoring the Goodwill Games to promote world peace. The Turner Tomorrow Awards were created to encourage writers and thinkers to focus their attention on solving world problems. The Turner Family Foundation was established in 1992.
【小题1】 What is CNN according to the passage?

A．It’s a broadcast-news company.	B．It’s a basketball team agency.
C．It’s a charity organization.	D．It’s a publishing house.

【小题2】 What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?

A．The creation of CNN encouraged broadcasters to be more successful.

B．Towering goals and hard work led to fame and prosperity.

C．Ted Turner was expert at sailboat racing and playing basketball.

D．Ted Turner became very successful at an early age.

【小题3】 As a student in a military academy, Turner ______.

A．wasn’t as lonely as he looked because his many friends at school.

B．missed his family very much despite having friends at school.

C．served as a member of the US Coast Guard for a while.

D．showed little interest in studying but other affairs.

【小题4】 The author seems to believe that Ted Turner is ______.

A．slow moving

B．incompetent

C．goal-oriented

D．modest

【小题5】 Which of the following best describes an important change in Ted Turner’s life?

A．He became more determined and was feared by this workmates.

B．He developed respect and admiration for his employees.

C．H e revised his view of the world and his responsibility in it.

D．He demanded the same level of success as he father.