Elena Kagan has reached a lifelong goal：becoming a Justice on the United States Supreme Court.The U．S. Senate confirmed Kagan on Thursday by a vote of 63?37.She replaces Justice John Paul Stevens，who retired in June.

Kagan will take a sacred oath(誓言) to uphold the Constitution of the United States on Saturday at a swearing?in ceremony.The new Justice will bring the number of women sitting on the nation’s highest court to three.Kagan joins Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor—all three New Yorkers.

Kagan is the fourth woman in history to sit on the Supreme Court.Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was the first female Justice.She was appointed by President Ronald Reagan and served from 1981 to 2006.

Kagan，who is 50 years old，is the second Justice appointed by President Barack Obama.(He appointed Justice Sotomayor in 2009.) Obama told reporters on Thursday that Kagan will make an “outstanding Justice who understands that her rulings affect people.” He also noted that the addition of another woman to the Supreme Court marks a sign of progress for the country.Obama and Kagan will celebrate her confirmation with a ceremony at the White House today.

Kagan has spent most of her adult life working with the law.She served in President Clinton’s administration as a legal adviser，was the head of Harvard Law School，and until her confirmation Thursday，was the U．S. Solicitor General—one of the most powerful lawyers in the federal government.Kagan was born in New York City.She grew up in an apartment on the Upper West side of Manhattan，the strong?willed，independent middle sister sandwiched between two brothers.

Kagan’s mother was a public school teacher who taught fifth and sixth grades.Her father was a lawyer.

The new Justice once wore a judge’s robe in a picture for her high?school yearbook.Now she’ll be wearing real ones as she and the other eight Justices decide some of the most important legal cases.

1.What can we infer according to Paragraph 1?

A．Elena Kagan has become the only female Justice of America.

B．It’s Kagan’s dream to be a Justice on the United States Supreme Court.

C．Kagan achieved this position in the election by beating John Paul Stevens.

D．It will take a long time for Kagan to become a Justice on the United States Supreme Court.

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．To take the place of an old Justice，a Justice was elected by the Senate.

B．There will be four women working in the United States Supreme Court.

C．Kagan will take a sacred oath before taking part in the election.

D．No one but a New Yorker can be a Justice of the Supreme Court.

3.What is the main idea of Paragraph 5?

A．Kagan is a born lawyer.

B．It is about Kagan’s biography.

C．Kagan’s character is fit for her job.

D．Kagan has worked for two Presidents.

4.This text must be taken from ________.

A．a storybook

B．a textbook

C．a newspaper

D．a biography of famous people

I was born and raised in the shadow of the Capitol(美国国会大厦), in Washington, D.C., as were my parents and my mother’s parents.

Our row house was on a tree-lined street just blocks from the building that was the heart of the federal legislative branch. When I was a child, in the 1940s, friends and I would pack a lunch or ride a streetcar to the Capitol. If we roller-skated, we hid the skates in the bushes in the park across the street before entering the building.

I knew every corner of the Capitol. We’d play hide-and-seek and pretend we saw ghosts in the halls and stairways. I don’t know how we got away with it. I remember the beautiful ladies’ rooms, with their marble floors and sinks. I pretended that I was a fine lady in them.

In those days, you could walk around the Capitol dome(圆顶屋), which was a little scary for me. I loved the wonderful paintings and statues and the subway rides to the Senate Office Building. It was like an amusement ride. I even used to sit in the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives—until I became bored with all the talk and went on another adventure.

Whenever I ran up the steps to the huge bronze doors of the Rotunda, I would look back to the world below like a hero. As soon as the doors were opened, the sense of history surrounded me, and I knew it was someplace special.

Those were lucky days, when an American citizen could wander in the Capitol and be a part of history.

Once war was declared, some things changed in the nation’s capital. Because of concerns that Washington might be attacked, as London had been, everyone prepared. Kids at my elementary school wore dog tags, and each of us was fingerprinted.

My father, a pipe worker, became a civil defense warden(民防队员). During an air-raid(空袭), his job was to turn off any leaking gas. Since he always had a cigarette in his mouth, maybe that was not a good choice, but he had a gas mask and flashlight hanging in the rafters of our basement. The mask looked like a monster in the ceiling. My 15-year-old brother was a junior civil defense warden. During air-raid drills, he knocked on doors and asked people to put out their lights. I remember huge searchlights that crisscrossed the skies during the drills, looking for enemy planes.

What can we infer from the passage?

A. The writer attended the meeting in House of Representative.

B. The writer’s family lived in Washington D.C. for generations.

C. American citizen, except children, could never enter the Capitol.

D. The writer’s father had a gas mask to prevent him from smoking.

When the writer said “I was born and raised in the shadow of the Capitol” (1st paragraph),    she most probably meant that ________.

A. she spent her childhood in an area near the Capitol

B. she grew up under the pressure of the Capitol

C. the Capitol had some bad influence on my childhood

D. she was born and brought up secretly in the Capitol

By telling the childhood experience, the passage suggests that ________.

A. London was attacked during the war, as well as Washington

B. the writer is a daughter of a member of Representatives

C. the writer’s father and brother joined the army during the war

D. the Capitol used to be open to the public in history

What is the writer’s attitude towards the things that changed in the nation’s capital?

A. neutral                     B. positive             C. negative D. ironic

 (湖北省新洲区实验高中2009届高三5月检测D篇)

I WAS BORN and raised in the shadow of the Capitol, in Washington, D.C., as were my parents and my mother’s parents.

Our row house was on a tree-lined street just blocks from the building that was the heart of the federal legislative branch. When I was a child, in the 1940s, friends and I would pack a lunch or ride a streetcar to the Capitol. If we roller-skated, we hid the skates in the bushes in the park across the street before entering the building.

I knew every corner of the Capitol. We’d play hide-and-seek and pretend we saw ghosts in the halls and stairways. I don’t know how we got away with it.I remember the beautiful ladies’ rooms, with their marble floors and sinks. I pretended that I was a fine lady in them.

In those days, you could walk around the Capitol dome（圆顶屋）, which was a little scary for me. I loved the wonderful paintings and statues and the subway rides to the Senate Office Building. It was like an amusement ride. I even used to sit in the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives—until I became bored with all the talk and went on another adventure.

Whenever I ran up the steps to the huge bronze doors of the Rotunda, I would look back to the world below like a hero. As soon as the doors were opened, the sense of history surrounded me, and I knew it was someplace special.

Those were lucky days, when an American citizen could wander in the Capitol and be a part of history.

Once war was declared, some things changed in the nation’s capital.

Because of concerns that Washington might be attacked, as London had been, everyone prepared. Kids at my elementary school wore dog tags, and each of us was fingerprinted.

My father, a pipe worker, became a civil defense warden（民防队员）. During an air raid, his job was to turn off any leaking gas. Since he always had a cigarette in his mouth, maybe that was not a good choice, but he had a gas mask and flashlight hanging in the rafters of our basement…the mask looked like a monster in the ceiling. My 15-year-old brother was a junior civil defense warden. During air- raid drills, he knocked on doors and asked people to put out their lights. I remember huge searchlights that crisscrossed the skies during the drills, looking for enemy planes.

73. From the passage, we can understand that ________.

A. The writer attended the meeting in House of Representative

B. The writer’s family lived in Washington D.C. for generations

C. American citizen, except children, could never enter the Capitol

D. The writer’s father had a gas mask to prevent him from smoking

74. When the writer said “I was born and raised in the shadow of the Capitol” （1^st paragraph）, she most probably meant that ________.

A. she spent her childhood in an area near the Capitol

B. she grew up under the pressure of the Capitol

C. the Capitol had some bad influence on my childhood

D. she was born and brought up secretly in the Capitol

75. By telling the childhood experience, the passage suggests that ________.

A. the writer is a daughter of a member of Representatives.

B. the Capitol used to be open to the public in history.

C. London was attacked during the war, as well as Washington.

D. the writer’s father and brother joined the army during the war.

76. What is the writer’s attitude towards the things that changed in the nation’s capital?

A. neutral                      B. positive              C. negative                D. ironic

I WAS BORN and raised in the shadow of the Capitol, in Washington, D.C., as were my parents and my mother’s parents.

Our row house was on a tree-lined street just blocks from the building that was the heart of the federal legislative branch. When I was a child, in the 1940s, friends and I would pack a lunch or ride a streetcar to the Capitol. If we roller-skated, we hid the skates in the bushes in the park across the street before entering the building.

I knew every corner of the Capitol. We’d play hide-and-seek and pretend we saw ghosts in the halls and stairways. I don’t know how we got away with it.I remember the beautiful ladies’ rooms, with their marble floors and sinks. I pretended that I was a fine lady in them.

In those days, you could walk around the Capitol dome（圆顶屋）, which was a little scary for me. I loved the wonderful paintings and statues and the subway rides to the Senate Office Building. It was like an amusement ride. I even used to sit in the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives―until I became bored with all the talk and went on another adventure.

Whenever I ran up the steps to the huge bronze doors of the Rotunda, I would look back to the world below like a hero. As soon as the doors were opened, the sense of history surrounded me, and I knew it was someplace special.

Those were lucky days, when an American citizen could wander in the Capitol and be a part of history.

Once war was declared, some things changed in the nation’s capital.

Because of concerns that Washington might be attacked, as London had been, everyone prepared. Kids at my elementary school wore dog tags, and each of us was fingerprinted.

My father, a pipe worker, became a civil defense warden（民防队员）. During an air raid, his job was to turn off any leaking gas. Since he always had a cigarette in his mouth, maybe that was not a good choice, but he had a gas mask and flashlight hanging in the rafters of our basement…the mask looked like a monster in the ceiling. My 15-year-old brother was a junior civil defense warden. During air- raid drills, he knocked on doors and asked people to put out their lights. I remember huge searchlights that crisscrossed the skies during the drills, looking for enemy planes.

73. From the passage, we can understand that ________.

A. The writer attended the meeting in House of Representative

B. The writer’s family lived in Washington D.C. for generations

C. American citizen, except children, could never enter the Capitol

D. The writer’s father had a gas mask to prevent him from smoking

74. When the writer said “I was born and raised in the shadow of the Capitol” （1^st paragraph）, she most probably meant that ________.

A. she spent her childhood in an area near the Capitol

B. she grew up under the pressure of the Capitol

C. the Capitol had some bad influence on my childhood

D. she was born and brought up secretly in the Capitol

75. By telling the childhood experience, the passage suggests that ________.

A. the writer is a daughter of a member of Representatives.

B. the Capitol used to be open to the public in history.

C. London was attacked during the war, as well as Washington.

D. the writer’s father and brother joined the army during the war.

76. What is the writer’s attitude towards the things that changed in the nation’s capital?

A. neutral              B. positive      C. negative            D. ironic

I was born and raised in the shadow of the Capitol(美国国会大厦), in Washington, D.C., as were my parents and my mother’s parents.
Our row house was on a tree-lined street just blocks from the building that was the heart of the federal legislative branch. When I was a child, in the 1940s, friends and I would pack a lunch or ride a streetcar to the Capitol. If we roller-skated, we hid the skates in the bushes in the park across the street before entering the building.
I knew every corner of the Capitol. We’d play hide-and-seek and pretend we saw ghosts in the halls and stairways. I don’t know how we got away with it. I remember the beautiful ladies’ rooms, with their marble floors and sinks. I pretended that I was a fine lady in them.
In those days, you could walk around the Capitol dome(圆顶屋), which was a little scary for me. I loved the wonderful paintings and statues and the subway rides to the Senate Office Building. It was like an amusement ride. I even used to sit in the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives—until I became bored with all the talk and went on another adventure.
Whenever I ran up the steps to the huge bronze doors of the Rotunda, I would look back to the world below like a hero. As soon as the doors were opened, the sense of history surrounded me, and I knew it was someplace special.
Those were lucky days, when an American citizen could wander in the Capitol and be a part of history.
Once war was declared, some things changed in the nation’s capital. Because of concerns that  Washington might be attacked, as London had been, everyone prepared. Kids at my elementary school wore dog tags, and each of us was fingerprinted.
My father, a pipe worker, became a civil defense warden(民防队员). During an air-raid(空袭), his job was to turn off any leaking gas. Since he always had a cigarette in his mouth, maybe that was not a good choice, but he had a gas mask and flashlight hanging in the rafters of our basement. The mask looked like a monster in the ceiling. My 15-year-old brother was a junior civil defense warden. During air-raid drills, he knocked on doors and asked people to put out their lights. I remember huge searchlights that crisscrossed the skies during the drills, looking for enemy planes.

1. 1.

   What can we infer from the passage?

   1. A.
      The writer attended the meeting in House of Representative.
   2. B.
      The writer’s family lived in Washington D.C. for generations.
   3. C.
      American citizen, except children, could never enter the Capitol.
      
   4. D.
      The writer’s father had a gas mask to prevent him from smoking.
2. 2.

   When the writer said “I was born and raised in the shadow of the Capitol” (1st paragraph), she most probably meant that ______.

   1. A.
      she spent her childhood in an area near the Capitol
   2. B.
      she grew up under the pressure of the Capitol
   3. C.
      the Capitol had some bad influence on my childhood
   4. D.
      she was born and brought up secretly in the Capitol
3. 3.

   By telling the childhood experience, the passage suggests that ________.

   1. A.
      London was attacked during the war, as well as Washington
   2. B.
      the writer is a daughter of a member of Representatives
   3. C.
      the writer’s father and brother joined the army during the war
   4. D.
      the Capitol used to be open to the public in history
4. 4.

   What is the writer’s attitude towards the things that changed in the nation’s capital?

   1. A.
      neutral
   2. B.
      positive
   3. C.
      negative
   4. D.
      ironic