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I am a slow walker, but I never walk backwards. —Abraham Lincoln
我走得很慢，但是我从来不会后退。——亚伯拉罕·林肯
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States.
Abraham Lincoln was born in a small log cabin in Kentucky on February 12th, 1809. When he was nine, his mother died. One year later, Abe’s father married Sarah Johnston. Sarah was a kind woman.She loved Abe very much. She also encouraged his love of reading. Abe loved Sarah, too. Throughou his life, he referred to her as his “angel mother.”
In 1830, the Lincoln family moved to Illinois. By this time, Abe was a young man. He did hard physical work every day, but still found time to study. In Illinois, Lincoln became known for his sense of humor. People loved his jokes and funny stories. He also became known for his integrity. People called him “Honest Abe.”
Before Lincoln became president, he tried many different jobs. He failed at some of them. He failed as a farmer and as a businessman. But Lincoln succeeded in law and politics. He became a respected lawyer. He also became a successful politician. In November of 1860,Lincoln was elected president of the United States.
Abraham Lincoln became president during a difficult time in US history. Soon after Lincoln’s election, seven Southern states seceded from the United States. In April of 1861,Southern troops attacked Fort Sumter. Lincoln had to make an important decision. He could let the South secede, or he could preserve the Union. He decided to save the Union. He responded to the attack on Fort Sumter and the Civil War began.
In 1863, Lincoln issued Th Emancipation Proclamation . Thi order abolished slavery, but only in states that would not come back to the Union. Tha same year, Lincoln delivered a famous speech, the Gettysburg Address. In this speech, Lincoln spoke about equality for all people. In November of 1864, Lincoln was reelected. On April 9th of 1865, the South surrendered. Th Civil War was over. Th North was still strong, but the South had been decimated .
On April 14th, 1864, President Lincoln and his wife, Mary, attended a play at Ford’s Theater During the play, John Wilkes Booth, an angry Southern actor, shot Lincoln in the back of the head. Lincoln died the next morning.
During his presidency, many people hated and even made fun of Lincoln. Historians and most Americans, however, consider Lincoln the greatest US president.
(391 words)
Abraham Lincoln
★Delivered on the 19th Day of November, 1863 Cemetery Hill,Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation,conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.①
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-fiel of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a fina resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.②It is altogether fittin and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate —we can not hallow—this ground. Th brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract . Th world will little note, nor long remember what we said here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinishe work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain③—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
(279 words)
① Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation,conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 87年前，我们的先辈们在这个大陆上创立了一个新国家，它孕育于自由之中，奉行一切人生来平等的原则。
score在这里是名词，单复数同形，意为“二十个”
② We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a fina resting place for those who here
gave their lives that that nation might live. 烈士们为使这个国家能够生存下去而献出了自己的生命，我们来到这里，是要把这个战场的一部分奉献给他们作为最后安息之所。③ It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain... 毋宁说，倒是我们这些还活着的人，应该在这里把自己奉献于勇士们已经如此崇高地向前推进但尚未完成的事业。倒是我们应该在这里把自己奉献于仍然留在我们面前的伟大任务——我们要从这些光荣的死者身上汲取更多的献身精神，来完成他们已经完全彻底为之献身的事业；我们要在这里下定最大的决心，不让这些死者白白牺牲……
1. Which statement is true according to the firs passage?
A. Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in Illinois.
B. Lincoln’s mother died when he was very young.
C. People used to say that Lincoln was an honest, but boring person.
D. Lincoln was successful at everything that he tried to do.
2. Th underlined phrase “ The Emancipation Proclamatio ” refers to
A.《独立宣言》B.《人权宣言》C.《权利法案》D.《解放奴隶宣言》
3. How did President Lincoln feel about the South’s decision to secede?
A. Lincoln believed that the North and the South should remain one country, the United States. He did not want the South to secede.
B. Lincoln didn’t want to preserve the Union until the Civil War began.
C. Lincoln responded to the attack on Fort Sumter before he made the important decision of saving the Union.
D. Lincoln issued The Emancipation Proclamation and believed that the slavery should be banned in the South.
4. What did the Gettysburg Address and Th Emancipation Proclamation have in common?
A. The were both delivered afte the Civil War ended.
B. The both spoke strongly against slavery.
C. The both stressed that people are born equal and no one should be treated as inferiors.
D. The were both speeches delivered by Abraham Lincoln.
5. Translate the underlined part in Paragraph 3 of passageⅡ.
In the first passage, “Historians and most Americans, however, consider Lincoln the greatest US president.” Do you agree? Find more about Lincoln on the Internet and write down your own thoughts.