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Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves. At the age of six months she was acquired, along with her sister, by John Ashley, a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholder. She became known as “Mumbet” or “Mum Bett.”
For nearly 30 years Mumbet served the Ashley family. One day, Ashley’s wife tried to strike Mumbet’s sister with a spade. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. Furious, she left the house and refused to come back. When the Ashleys tried to make her return, Mumbet consulted a lawyer, Theodore Sedgewick. With his help, Mumbet sued （起诉） for her freedom.
While serving the Ashleys, Mumbet had listened to many discussions of the new Massachusetts constitution. If the constitution said that all people were free and equal, then she thought it should apply to her. Eventually, Mumbet won her freedom—the first slave in Massachusetts to do so under the new constitution.
Strangely enough, after the trial, the Ashleys asked Mumbet to come back and work for them as a paid employee. She declined and instead went to work for Segdewick. Mumbet died in 1829, but her legacy lived on in her many descendants （后裔）. One of her great-grandchildren was W. E. B. Du Bois, one of the founders of the NAACP, and an important writer and spokesperson for African American civil rights.
Mumbet’s tombstone still stands in the Massachusetts cemetery where she was buried. It reads, in part: “She was born a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal.”
1. What do we know about Mumbet according to Paragraph 1?
A. She was born a slave.
B. She was a slaveholder.
C. She had a famous sister.
D. She was born into a rich family.
2. Why did Mumbet run away from the Ashleys?
A. She found an employer.
B. She wanted to be a lawyer.
C. She was hit and got angry.
D. She had to take care of her sister.
3. What did Mumbet learn from discussions about the new consititution?
A. She should always obey her owners’ orders.
B. She should be as free and equal as whites.
C. How to be a good servant.
D. How to apply for a job.
4. What did Mumbet do after the trial?
A. She chose to work for a lawyer.
B. She founded the NAACP.
C. She continued to serve the Ashleys.
D. She went to live with her grandchildren.
5. What is the text mainly about?
A. A story of a famous writer and spokesperson.
B. The friendship between a lawyer and a slave.
C. The life of a brave African American woman.
D. A trial that shocked the whole world.
acquire v . 获得，取得；购得；学到
slaveholder n . 奴隶所有者，奴隶主
strike v . 击打
spade n . 铁锹，铲子
blow n . 重击；吹
furious adj . 盛怒的，暴怒的
consult v . 咨询，请教
constitution n . 宪法
apply to 适用于
trial n . 庭审
decline v . 婉拒，谢绝
legacy n . 遗赠；遗产
spokesperson n . 代言人；发言人
civil rights 公民权利；民事权利
tombstone n . 墓碑
cemetery n . 陵园，墓地
sphere n . （社会地位等相同的）人群，阶层；（活动等的）范围，领域
superior n . 上级；地位更高的人
1. At the age of six months she was acquired, along with her sister, by John Ashley, a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholder.
本句结构较为清晰，是一个被动语句，中间加了一个修饰状语along with her sister。
（参考译文） 在她6个月大的时候，她和她的妹妹一起被马萨诸塞州一个富有的奴隶主John Ashley 买走了。
2. It reads, in part: “She was born a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal.”
本句的主要内容是宾语从句部分。因为是墓志铭，所以句子的修饰意味较浓。
（参考译文） 她的墓志铭中有一部分这样写道：“她生而为奴，并以这样的身份生活了将近30年。她不会读写，但在她的生活中，人没有尊卑之分。”