Unit 3 Passage One On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery. The Civil War was still going on. There was much criticism of President Lincoln at that time. He was not at all popular. He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of courtesy. The principal speaker was to be Edward Everett, a famous statesman and speaker of the day. Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere. It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg. Late that night, alone in his hotel room and tired out, he again worked briefly on the speech. The next day Everett spoke first. He spoke for an hour and 57 minutes. His speech was perfect example of the rich oratory of the day. Then Lincoln rose. The crowd of 15,000 people at first paid little attention to him. He spoke for only nine minutes. At the end there was little applause. Lincoln turned to a friend and remarked, “I have failed again.” On the train back to Washington he commented sadly, “That speech was a flat failure, and the people are disappointed.” Some newspapers at first criticized the speech. But little 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 speech which only Abraham Lincoln could have made. Today, every American school child learns Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address by heart. Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest orations ever given in American history. 1. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln was ___________ A. very critical B. unpopular C. very popular D. very courteous 2. Lincoln was invited to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery because he was_________ A. a famous orator B. very handsome C. President of the United States at that time D. a popular statesman 3. It can be inferred from the text___________ A. Lincoln prepared his speech very carefully before he went to Gettysburg B. Lincoln was very busy at that time and didn’t have much time to prepare his speech C. Lincoln’s speech was full of rich oratory D. Lincoln’s speech was very long 4. Lincoln’s speech was__________ A. an immediate success B. warmly applauded C. a total failure D. not well-received at first 5. Which of the following statements is NOT true? A. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address has deep meaning. B. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is 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 the United States. Passage Two Pollution is not a problem for scientists only. Since it affects human lives, it is a health problem. Since it affects property and health, it is an economic problem. Since it affects living organisms, it is a problem in conservation of natural resources. Since it affects the senses, it is an aesthetic problem. Man, like other organisms, has always polluted his environment with the by-products of his actions. As an organism, he removes wastes from his digestive and metabolic ( 新陈代谢 ) processes. As a social creature, he removes things from the environment and changes it as he seeks housing, clothing, food, and relaxation for his family unit. So long as population density is low in a particular area, the environment is able to accommodate these alterations. When population density gets too high, however, deterioration of the natural environment – air, water, and soil – begins. High population density is not the sole cause of the marked increase in pollution problems within the past two or three decades. Not only are populations growing in size, but they are also demanding a higher standard of living. Ever-increasing demands are made upon the earth’s natural resources for industrial purposes which, in turn, result in the formation of wastes. Why has this been allowed to happen? Many experts say that the basic reason is man’s failure to recognize that he is an integral part of nature. Traditionally man has viewed himself as being in a constant struggle with nature. Thus, to understand the present pollution problem and to take action that will halt and reverse the current trend, all of us need first to understand the interrelationships that exist between man and the rest of nature. 6. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the writer? A. Pollution is a health problem because it affects senses. B. Pollution is an economic problem because it affects living organisms. C. Pollution is entirely brought about by man’s digestive and metabolic processes. D. Besides man, other organisms also pollute the environment. 7. It can be concluded from the passage that ______. A. if population density is well-controlled, pollution will be brought down B. man is so creative that he can ually put an end to pollution C. man always pollutes his surroundings on purpose D. the environment, once polluted, is irretrievable 8. According to the passage, all the following statements are true EXCEPT ______. A. the recent grave pollution problems are caused exclusively by high population density B. people are paying more attention to the improvement of living conditions C. the more demands people make on natural resources, the more wastes are formed D. ever-increasing demands are also responsible for the increasing pollution problems 9. According to the experts mentioned in the passage, ______. A. man is conquering nature B. nature manipulates man C. man is the opposite of nature D. man is a part of nature 10. In order to cope with pollution, we need first to ______. A. solve the problem of the population boom B. slow down unrestricted economic growth C. know how serious environment pollution is D. understand the interrelationship between man and nature Passage Three Do you find getting up in the morning so difficult that it’s painful? This might be called laziness, but Dr. Kleitman has a new explanation. He has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle. During the hours when you labor through your work you may say that you’re “hot”. That’s true. The time of day when you feel most energetic is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak. For some people the peak comes during the forenoon. For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. No one has discovered why this is so, but it leads to such familiar monologues as: “Get up, John! You’ll be late for work again!” The possible explanation to the trouble is that John is at his temperature-and-energy peak in the evening. Much family quarrelling ends when husbands and wives realize what these energy cycles mean, and which cycle each member of the family has. You can’t change your energy cycle, but you can learn to make you life fit it better. Habit can help, Dr. Kleitman believes. Maybe you’re sleepy in the evening but feel you must stay up late anyway. Counteract your cycle to some extent by habitually staying up later than you want to. If your energy is low in the morning, but you have an important job to do early in the day, rise before your usual hour. This won’t change your cycle, but you’ll get up steam and work better at your low point. Get off to a slow start which saves your energy. Get up with a leisurely yawn and stretch. Sit on the edge of the bed a minute before putting your feet on the floor. Avoid the troublesome search for clean clothes by laying them out the night before. Whenever possible, do routine work in the afternoon and save tasks requiring more energy or concentration for your sharper hours. 11. If a person finds getting up early a problem, most probably__________ A. he is a lazy person B. he refuses to follow his own energy cycle C. he is not sure when his energy is low D. he is at his peak in the afternoon or evening 12. Which of the following may lead to family quarrels according to the passage? A. Unawareness of energy cycles. B. Familiar monologues C. A change in a family member’s energy cycle D. Attempts to control the energy cycle of other family members 13. If one wants to work more efficiently at his low point in the morning, he should_________ A. change his energy cycle B. overcome his laziness C. get up earlier than usual D. go to bed earlier 14. You are advised to rise with a yawn and stretch because it will___________ A. help to keep your energy for the day’s work B. help you to control your temper early in the day C. enable you to concentrate on your routine work D. keep your energy cycle under control all day 15. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE? A. Getting off to work with a minimum effort helps save one’s energy B. Dr. Kletman explains why people reach their peaks at different hours of day. C. Habit helps a person adapt to his own energy cycle D. Children have energy cycles, too. Passage Four It is hard to track the blue whale, the ocean’s largest creature, which has almost been killed off by commercial whaling and is now listed as an enered species. Attaching radio devices to it is difficult and visual sightings are too unreliable to give real insight into its behavior. So biologists were delighted early this year when with the help of the Navy they were able to track a particular blue whale for 43 days monitoring its sounds. This was possible because of the Navy’s formerly top-secret system of underwater listening devices spanning the oceans. Tracking whales is but one example of an exciting new world just opening to civilian scientists after the col