专题 02 英美文化阅读理解专项：美国黑人+美国国会+美国选举-2024年高考英语常考英美文化阅读专练+素材积累.docx

优点英语4. Black Americans 美国黑人 One of the sad stories in American history has to do with slavery. For a short time between 1800 and 1865, British and American ships would go to Africa and buy Africans from people who forced young men and women to leave their villages. They were brought to coastal cities and put on ships which came to the states where cotton was grown. American farmers would buy the Africans and put them to work picking cotton. The Africans had to work for these farmers all of their lives. It was President Abraham Lincoln who signed a law that slavery was unfair to the Africans. He thought they should be released. But the farmers in the southern states did not agree with him. There was a fight over this disagreement and it was called the American Civil War. The southern farmers lost the war and Africans could now become free Americans. However, 100 years after Lincoln signed the law, some Black Americans were not voting and did not have an equal chance to eat in a restaurant or ride on a bus. A Slave Auction in Virginia 1961It was Martin Luther King, a Black American minister who began the Equal Rights Movement in the 1960's. He was successful in telling the American people that the Black Americans were still not equal. His most famous speech was given in the capital city of American, Washington D.C.He stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a large statue of Lincoln which everyone in the country knew. His speech, "I Have a Dream", is now taught in most schools of the world. Martin Luther King became so famous that the American Congress declared a special national holiday in his name in January. Only two other Americans, President George Washington and President Abraham Lincoln, have a national holiday named after them.Though Martin Luther King was never a president, he turned a sad story into a happy story so Black Americans could be equal to everyone else. （328 words）Helper:slavery奴隶制 release释放 American Congress美国议会 auction ':kn拍卖Brief Introduction:美国历史上的悲剧之一与奴隶制有关。在1800到1865这短短几十年间，英美商船频繁开往非洲大陆，从那些强迫非洲年轻男女离开他们村庄的奴隶贩子手里购买非洲人。他们被带往沿海城市并被迫登船，这些船随后开往那些种植棉花的国家。美国的农场主会购买这些非洲奴隶并强迫他们工作采摘棉花。这些非洲人不得不为农场主工作一辈子。正是亚伯拉罕·林肯总统签署法律，宣布奴隶制对非洲人是不公正的。他认为奴隶们应该被释放。但是南方的农场主并不同意。由此而导致了一场战争，它被称为美国内战。南方农场主输掉了战争，非洲奴隶现在可以成为自由的美国人。但是，在林肯签署法律100年之后，一些美国黑人仍然没有选举权，甚至没有在一家餐馆吃饭或搭乘公交车的平等权利。是马丁·路德·金这样一位美国黑人牧师在20世纪60年代发起了平等权利运动。他成功的告诉美国人，美国黑人仍然是不平等的。他在美国首都华盛顿发表了他最著名的演讲。他站在林肯纪念碑的台阶之上，这是一座全美人民都知道的林肯塑像。他的演讲“我有一个梦想”，现在在世界很多学校被教给学生们。马丁·路德·金变得如此有名，以至于美国国会宣布以他的名字在一月设立一个特别的国家法定假日。只有乔治·华盛顿总统和亚伯拉罕·林肯总统享有同等殊荣。尽管马丁·路德·金并未成为总统，但他将悲剧变成了喜剧，美国黑人和其他所有人一样平等了。Exercises:1. How many national holidays in America are named after a famous person?A. One B. Two C. Three D. Four2. What is the war over the slavery issue called in American history?A. The War between the North and the South. B. The American Civil War.C. The War of Emancipation. D. The War against Slavery.3. Martin Luther King was _.A. a black church leader B. a government ministerC. the writer of the book I Have a Dream D. a congressmanKeys and Explanations:1-3 CBA1. 选C。细节理解题。由第五段可知美国历史上有三个人拥有以他们的名字命名的全国法定假日，这三个人分别是马丁·路德·金、亚伯拉罕·林肯和乔治·华盛顿，故C项正确。2. 选B。细节理解题。由第二段最后一句可知由奴隶制问题而引发的这场战争被称作“美国内战”，故B项正确。3. 选A。细节理解题。由第四段首句可知马丁·路德·金是一位牧师，故A项正确。5. Terms in American Congress美国国会The United States Congress has two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate. House lawmakers are called representatives. Those in the Senate are called senators. All of them can be called legislators. They can also be called members of Congress. But not all can be called congressmen. Why? Because some of them are women.At the present time, seventy-one of the four hundred thirty-five members of the House of Representatives are women. In the Senate, sixteen of the one hundred senators are women. You might hear the media use the title of congressman or congresswoman for members of the House of Representatives. Rarely is a senator addressed this way, although it would not be wrong. When Congress meets, there are special rules about how members behave. One of the rules deals with what to call a member. In the House of Representatives, members speak of another member as the "gentleman" or "gentlewoman" from the state they represent. They are not permitted to call members by name. Members also may speak of another member as This is also true in the Senate.Members of the House of Representatives must not speak until the speaker of the House calls on them to do so. In the Senate, the presiding officer gives permission for members to speak. Members of both houses of Congress are also stopped from using disagreeable language in meetings. All these rules deal with what is called congressional decorum. And, like all rules, sometimes they are broken. Punishment differs based on the violation. However, sometimes the worst punishment is unofficial. For example, offensive language on the floor of the House or Senate can seriously harm an elected official's public image. (293 words) Helper:Congress 'kgres 国会，美国的立法机构 the House of Representatives众议院Senate 'senit参议院 lawmaker立法者 legislator 'ledis.leit立法者 speaker of the House 众院议长 presiding主持会议的 disagreeable令人不愉快的decorumdi'k:rm得体的行为,利益 violation vai'lein 侵害offensive'fensiv得罪人的；进攻性的 floor议员席 Brief Introduction:美国的国会有两部分组成：众议院和参议院. 众议院的立法者叫众议院议员，在参议院的就叫参议员。目前，在435个参议员中女性议员有71人，在100个参议员中女性议员有16人。你可能听说过媒体用congressman or congresswoman来表示“国会议员”。尽管这样说没有什么错误，但是对参议员却很少这样称呼。在会面时候，对于议员的行为有特殊的规则，其中一个就是如何称呼议员。在众议院，议员称呼另外一位议员是所代表那个州的"gentleman" 或者"gentlewoman"，不允许叫名字，在参议院也是如此。众议院的议员在众院议长要求发言的时候才可以讲话。在参议院，发言要经过会议主持者许可。在会议期间，两会的议员都不准用不友好的言语。所有这些规则与大会的礼节相关，但是就像所有的规则一样，有时也有人会违反这些规则。所给予处罚会根据侵害的程度有所不同，然而是最严重的处罚却是非官方的，比如在议员席使用冒犯性语言会严重影响所选举官员的公众形象。 Exercises:从所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。1. According to the text now there are _ women members in he United States Congress. A. seventy one B. one hundred C. eighty seven D. twelve2. The underlined word “decorum” in the last paragraph means _. A. appropriateness of behavior B. a piece of law. C. a way of life D. being punished.3. Suppose Nkosi Johnson is a member of the House of Representatives from California, what do you think will James William, another member of the House of Representatives from Alaska, call him? A. Mr Johnson B. Mr Nkosi C. Gentleman Johnson D. Gentleman California4. If you are asked to find a key word for paragraph four, which of the following words is best? A. punishment B. Congress C. disagreement B. rules5. Which of the following statement about the United States Congress is WRONG? A. The media can use the title of congressman or congresswoman for members of the House of Representatives. B. Members of the Senate are allowed to use disagreeable language in meetings now and then. C. The United States Congress is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. D. Not all legislators can be called members of Congress.Keys and Explanations:1-5 CADDB1. 选C。数字推算题。根据第二段的叙述可以得出C正确，要注意题干问的是在议会中的女议院的数量，即上众议院（71）和参议院中（16）的女议院之和。2. 选。词义猜测题。根据前面的“All these rules deal with what is called”知道congressional decorum是规章制度处理的对象，而law要大于rule，所以排除，如果已经是“被处罚了”就用不着rule了，排除。所以选A，意思是“礼貌，得体，彬彬有礼的行为”，3. 选D。推理判断题。根据第三段的“One of the rules deals with what to call a member. In the House of Representatives, members speak of another member as the "gentleman" or "gentlewoman" from the state they represent. They are not permitted to call members by name.”知道在众议院中相互称呼用"gentleman" or "gentlewoman"加上所代表的洲名，不可以喊个人的名字。4. 选D。段落大意题。根据下面一段的首句“All these rules”可以看出实际上是对上一段的总结，代词these就指代上面所列举的内容。故选B。5. 选B。细节理解题。从第一段排除C、D；从第三段首句排除A。根据第四段的最后一句“Members of both houses of Congress are also stopped from using disagreeable language in meetings.”得出B正确。6. Elections 美国的选举In the mid-1700s, England began passing laws that made the American colonies angry. The colonists had to pay more and more taxes and enjoyed less and less freedom. They felt the government of England didn't represent their interests. On July 4, 1776, the colonies declared their independence from England. They wanted to establish a democracy where people could have a voice in government. An effective democracy holds regular elections. In America, elections are held every two years for members of Congress. In these elections, all seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate seats are up for grabs. In addition, every four years, voters go to the polls to elect the nation's president and vice-president. Voters also regularly cast their ballots for state and city government leaders and local school board members. Sometimes they also have to vote on a proposed law. In the American electoral system, people don't really vote for presidential candidates. Instead, voters cast their ballots for "electors" who support each candidate. Each state has as many electors as the total number of its representatives in Congress. This equals two senators per state plus the number of its representatives in the House (which is based on the state's population). The candidate who has the most votes in a state wins all of the state's electors. To win the presidential election, a candidate must gain at least 270 of the 538 total electoral votes. Over the years, the U.S. has made a number of election reforms. Some early reforms outlawed cheating, giving bribes and threatening voters. They also limited the amount of money candidates could receive from donors and spend on their campaigns. In 1870, black people gained the right to vote, and in 1920, that right was extended to women. In recent decades, laws against unfair rules for voting have been passed. No longer do people have to pay a special tax or pass a test in order to vote. In 1971, the voting age was lowered to 18. Other reforms made voting easier for the blind, the disabled and people who couldn't read. In some areas, ballots had to be printed in languages besides English. Now the first black American president Barack Obama has come into power, which made Kings dream realized.（380 words）Helper:declare宣告、声明 democracy di'mkrsi民主 up for grabs供竞争,供竞买poll投票 vice-president副总统 ballot'bælt选举票 propose提议 candidate'kændideit候选人 reform改革 outlaw宣布非法 bribebraib贿赂 donor'dun 捐赠人 decade十年 Exercises:从所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。1. In America, a citizen can not vote if _.A. he is in his early teens B. he is disabled C. cant understand English D. he cant read2. From the passage we know that only _is False.A. in 1776 the USA was independent from England B. elections for members of Congress are held every two yearsC. elections for the nation's president and vice-president are held every four years D. the seats in the House of Representatives are fewer than the Senate ones3. In the American electoral system, _.A. all the people can directly vote for presidential candidatesB. each state has as many electors as other statesC. each state has as many electors as its representatives in the House D. to win the presidential election, a candidate must gain at least half the total electoral votes4. About American black people, we know _.A. they have the same voting rights as white people at presentB. all the Black men except Black women had voting rights in 1776C. after the founding of the USA they didnt gain voting rights until 100 years laterD. black women still have no voting rights at the present time5. The last paragraph mainly tells us _.A. early American elections were unfairB. more and more Americans have the right to voteC. the American electoral system is quite perfectD. the American electoral system is improvingBrief Introduction: 十八世纪中期，英国开始通过一些让美国殖民地愤怒的法律。殖民地人民必须付愈来愈多的税，享有愈来愈少的自由。他们感到英国政府没有代表他们的权益。一七七六年七月四日，殖民地宣布脱离英国独立。他们想要建立民主制度，使人们在政府中有发言权。 有效的民主制度定期举行选举。在美国，每两年选一次国会议员。在这些选举中，人们可以争取所有众议院的席位和三分之一的参议院席位。除此以外，选民每四年去投票选出国家的总统和副总统。选民也定期投票选出州长、市长及当地学校的董事会成员。有时他们也必须投票决定提议的法律。 在美国的选举制度中，人们并不直接投票给总统候选人，而是由选民投票给支持各个候选人的“选举人”。每一州的选举人人数和代表此州的国会议员人数相同，等于每一州有两位参议员，加上众议院的众议员人数（以各州的人口为基准）。在一个州里拥有最多票数的候选人就赢得了那一州所有选举人的票数。要赢得总统大选，候选人必须至少获得总共538个选举人中的270张票。 多年来，美国在选举方面做了一些改革。早期有些改革禁止作弊、收受贿赂或威胁选民。他们也限制候选人从捐赠者那儿获得的金额数目及花在竞选宣传上的费用。一八七零年，黑人获得选举权。一九二零年，权利延伸至妇女。近几十年来，通过了反对不公平选举规则的法律。人们不再需要付特殊的税或通过测验才能选举。一九七一年，投票的年龄降至十八岁。其它的改革减轻了盲人、残障者及文盲投票的困难。在某些地区，选票上面除了英文以外，还必须印上别的文字。 Keys and Explanations: 1-5 ADDAD1. 选A。细节理解题。根据最后一段选民年龄要年满18岁。从最后两句可排除其余选项。2. 选D。细节理解题。A项在第一段；BC在第二段；从第三段第三句可知。3. 选D。从第三段的people don't really vote for presidential candidates可知A错；BC可根据第三段的3、4句排除。4. 选A。综合判断题。BC可根据最后一段In 1870, black people gained the right to vote, and in 1920, that right was extended to women.排除。5. 选D。综合判断题。要结合全篇文章讲的是美国选举制度的形成及不断完善来考虑。优点英语