On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to spea

OnNovember 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to speakat the National Soldiers Cemetery. The Civil War was still going on. There wasmuch criticism of President Lincoln at the time. He was not at all popular. Hehad been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness. The principalspeaker was to be Edward Everett, a famous statesman and speaker of the day.Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere.

Itis said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going toGettysburg. Late that night, alone in his hotel room and tired out, he againworked briefly on the speech. The next day Everett spoke first. He spoke for anhour and 57 minutes. His speech was a perfect example of the rich oratory ofthe day. Then Lincoln rose. The crowd of 15,000 people at first paid littleattention to him. He spoke for only nine minutes. At the end there was littleapplause. Lincoln turned to a friend and said , "I have failed again."On the train back to Washington, he said sadly, "That speech was a flatfailure, and the people are disappointed."

Somenewspapers at first criticized（批评）the speech. Butlittle by little as people read the speech they began to understand better.They began to appreciate its simplicity and its deep meaning. It was a speechwhich only Abraham Lincoln could have made.

Today,every American school child learns Lincoln's Gettysburg Address by heart. Noweveryone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given in Americanhistory.

1..

 In 1863, Abraham Lincoln was_________.

A. very critical

B. unpopular

C. very popular

D. very courteous （礼貌）

2..

. Lincoln was invited to speak at theNational Soldiers Cemetery because he was_________.

A. a famous speaker

B. a very handsome man

C. President of the country

D. a popular statesman

3..

 It can be inferred from the textthat_________.

A. Lincoln prepared his speech very carefullybefore he went to Gettysburg

B. Lincoln was very busy at the time and didn'thave much time to prepare his speech

C. Lincoln's speech was full of rich words

D. Lincoln's speech was very long

4..

It was a fact that Lincoln's speech was_________.

A. an immediate success

B. warmly applauded

C. a total failure

D. not well-received at first

5..

 Whichof the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A.Lincoln's Gettysburg Address has deep meaning.

B.Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is simple in style.

C.Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is memorized by every American school child.

D.Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is the greatest speech ever delivered in theUnited        States.

试题答案

【答案】

1..B

2..C

3..B

4..D

5..D

【解析】 略