Michelle Obama has spent the first half-century of her life breaking barriers and checking off a series of firsts. Now, as she reaches her milestone birthday Friday, the nation will be watching to see in what other areas she will leave her mark.
Five years after moving into the White House, and without a re-election campaign to worry about, she has more room to relax in her role and, political watchers say, possibly become more vocal (声音的) on political issues in the three years left in office.
So far, critics have complained about Michelle’s silence on issues where they expected to hear her voice: Last year, at the start of her husband's second term, she disappointed advocates for tighter gun-control measures after she failed to push harder on the issue in response to the massacre (残杀) at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. She also disappointed some feminists (女权主义者) who wanted her to defend their causes instead of falling back on her self-described role as the nation’s “mom-in-chief.” Nor did she handle racial issues during her second term, as some had expected.
“The most important thing to remember is, whether you are black, white or Hispanic, you’re the first lady and the president of all the people in the United States. That’s a huge melting pot, so to reinforce (强化)that she's African American over anything else would not be wise,” said Anita McBride, who directs programming and national conferences on the legacies (遗产) of America’s first ladies and their historical influence at American University.
Valerie Jarrett, a top White House adviser and a close friend of the Obamas, said the first lady doesn't want to “
“She really wants to have a maximum impact and to do that in fewer areas,” Jarrett told the Associated Press. “That, she said, “is better than trying to take on every single possible cause.”
But Robert Watson, a Lynn University professor, said he expects Obama to “go a little harder at issues” over the next several years. “Second-term first ladies usually feel more at ease to speak more forcefully about issues close to their heart,” he said.
Myra Gutin, a Ryder University communications professor and frequent lecturer on first ladies, said she expects Obama to continue making both of them a priority in her remaining years in the White House, given their success. Michelle launched the “Let’s Move” campaign in 2010. It in particular has gained widespread support, ranging from the National Football League to the Sesame Street franchise (特许), which even gave permission to the produce industry to use its licensed characters for free on fruits and vegetables.
“There’s no such thing as a traditional first lady, not anymore in this technology-filled world. Is Mrs. Obama cutting edge? Is she an activist? No. As first ladies go, I think she’s been politically careful because she does not want there to be a major flare-up that would require her husband to use his political capital to clean up,” she said. “But she’s not exactly just sitting in the White House pouring tea and having receptions, either.”
1. Critics were disappointed with Michelle because _______.
A.she didn’t put gun-control measures into effect |
B.she failed some feminists to stand out to be a career woman |
C.she didn’t solve some racial problems |
D.she failed to voice her opinion on some issues |
A.It’s not wise to reinforce Michelle is African American over anything else. |
B.It’s better for Michelle to have a maximum impact than to take on every possible cause. |
C.It's expected for Michelle to go a little harder at issues. |
D.It’s a tradition for first ladies to stay out of political issues. |
A.Try to do a lot of work at the same time. |
B.Get very tired. |
C.Try to improve physical fitness. |
D.Move herself away from others. |
a. gain widespread support
b. become more physically active
c. have access to healthier foods
d. raise awareness about gun control
A.a, c | B.a, b | C.b, c | D.c, d |
Happiness(Romance)★★★★
Happiness tells the story of two people(Lisa Turbot and Danny Roy)who work for different advertising companies. They talk on the phone all the time and don’t like each other. But then they correspond by e-mail and fall in love. This movie will be very popular with teenagers and people who like romances. It also has beautiful music.
I Scream(Thriller)★★
In I Scream, Paul(Colin Jacks)is a young man who joins a thriller club. Each of the members tries to frighten the others. Paul is told to stay in an old house for the night. Everyone who has tried to stay in the house before has died. This movie is very frightening but also quite silly. It doesn't make sense for Paul to stay in the house when things start to go wrong. Only for people who like thrillers.
Paul's Heroes(Comedy)★★★
This is a very funny war movie set in World War Two. Six soldiers(including Sammy Turblow)have to get to Italy to take secret messages to the American army there. During the movie, they dress up as women and fight with Italian workers. You can guess the ending, but it’s great fun getting there.
_____________(Drama)★★★★
This is a very good drama with Jack Ross, who plays a hard-working truck driver. His wife becomes ill and he has to find a doctor who can help her. In his travels he meets Dr. Lloyd(Phil Driver)who has found the cure for the illness, but Jack Ross has only twelve hours to get the medicine back to his wife on the other side of America. This is an excellent movie, which is very exciting.
1. Which of the four movies is the least popular with people?
A.The 1st one. | B.The 2nd one. | C.The 3rd one. | D.The 4th one. |
A.date | B.exchange | C.write | D.communicate |
A.frightening | B.instructive | C.humorous | D.interesting |
A.A Hard-working Truck Driver | B.Medicine |
C.A Strange Illness | D.Twelve Hours |
Yet life on this United Nations world heritage site has turned sour. Battles have broken out between fishermen and conservationists. Ecuador, which owns the islands, has sent a naval patrol (海军巡逻队) to put down disturbances.
The controversial director of the Galapagos National Park—which controls 97 percent of Galapagos land and the reserve extending to 40 miles offshore—has been fired, while an air of uneasy tension hangs over the islands, as the islanders prepare for election when they pick their representatives in Ecuador’s national assembly.
“It’s a very tense situation,” said Leonor Stjepic, director of the London-based Galapagos Conservation Trust, which raises money to help projects on the islands. “We are watching it with concern.”
The violence has been triggered by an alarming growth in the islands’ population. Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz island, housed just 45 inhabitants in the 50s. Today there are more than 10,000, while the islands' total population is more than 19,000 and growing by 6 percent a year, despite recently introduced a law to limit waves of immigrants fleeing the poor areas of Ecuador for a life “in paradise (天堂)”. On top ofthis, more than 100,000 tourists visit the islands every year.
Such numbers have put the islands, special ecology under intense pressure. Conservationists backed by the Ecuador government, have replied by exercising strict controls to protect the islands* iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and giant tortoises.
These moves have angered many local people, however. They want to exploit (开发利用) the islands’ waters and catch its protected species of sharks, lobsters and sea cucumbers, which can fetch high prices in Japan and South Korea.
Angry fishermen surrounded the Charles Darwin research station on Santa Cruz last February, threatened to kill Lonesome George—the last surviving member of the Pinta Island species of the Galapagos giant tortoise.
The situation got improved after the Ecuador government made concessions (让步) by increasing fishing quotas (配额), which angered conservationists. “It is tragic, the short-term gain of a few fishermen versus the long-term survival of the Galapagos,” said John McCosker of the California Academy of Sciences. “They are killing the golden goose.”
Then, the Ecuador government appointed Fausto Cepeda as the national park's new director, a post that has become a political football for the mainland government. There have been nine directors in the past 18 months.
This appointment was particularly controversial, however. Cepeda was known to have close ties with the fishing industry, and the rangers (管理员),who run the national park and reserve, rebelled.
More than 300 staged a sit-in at the park’s headquarters and prevented Cepeda from taking up his post. A battle broke out, and at least two people suffered serious injuries. Eventually, Cepeda—with the fishermen’s help- entered the park. “I am in office, i am in control. And I am trying to lower the tension,” he announced.
The Ecuador government
However, as the population continues to rise, the long-term pressures on the islands are serious and will not disappear that easily.
“We have to balance its special environment with the needs of local people. In that sense, it is a microcosm (缩影) for all the other threatened parts of the world. So getting it right here is going to be a very, very important trick to pull off,” said Stjepic.
1. What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A.The island’s swelling population. |
B.The law to limit waves of immigrants. |
C.A life in paradise. |
D.The tourists’ visiting the islands every year. |
A.He based his theory on his studies there. |
B.He built the Charles Darwin research center there. |
C.He advocated the balance between ecology and people there. |
D.He found the last surviving giant tortoise there. |
A.The dismissal of the previous director of the Galapagos National Park. |
B.The exploitation of the islands. |
C.The government's support of Galapagos Conservation Trust. |
D.Cepeda’s close tie with the fishing industry. |
A.the projects of Galapagos Conservation Trust on the islands are profitable |
B.conservationists get angry when fishermen are killing a goose |
C.politicians from the mainland government play football on the islands |
D.the government is trying to ease the tension |
A.The government did not seize opportunities. |
B.The government made no compromises. |
C.The government did not run risks. |
D.The government shrank from responsibilities. |
A man walks into a doctor’s office. He has a cucumber up his nose, a carrot in his left ear and a banana in his right ear. “What's the matter with me?” he asks the doctor. The doctor replies, “You’re not eating properly.”
This is a popular joke among British school children. It shows Britain's famous dry and satirical way of seeing the funny side of life. People say this unique sense of humor is one of Britain's national characteristics.
The British sense of humor is different from other countries because it is often more negative. When it comes to making the British laugh, there is nothing that works better than a socially inappropriate joke. It reflects the culture where mocking is part of everyday life.
While most Britons don’t take these jokes too seriously, foreigners often don’t understand them. A recent survey found that most foreigners who visited Britain think the British are “unfriendly and have almost no sense of humor”.
Are the British just not as funny as they think they are? Leo McKinstry, a British journalist, thinks the British are funny. “Accusing the British of having no sense of humor is like telling Rolls-Royce that its cars are cheap and not good in quality,” he says.
1. What does the doctor actually mean by the remark “You’re not eating properly”?A.What you have had is the cause of these problems. | B.You are not having the right food. |
C.You don’t eat the way people usually do. | D.You eat with the wrong cutlery. |
A.without water or liquid inside | B.special and popular among school children |
C.dull and meaningless | D.funny and clever while seeming to be serious |
A.Because the British always take things seriously. |
B.Because the British have no sense of humor. |
C.Because the British are cold and difficult to get along with. |
D.Because the British have a different sense of humor. |
A.dry and satirical | B.negative and mocking |
C.encouraging and gentle | D.clever and witty |
Tyler was born infected with HIV: his mother was also infected. From the very beginning of his life, he was dependent on medications to enable him to survive. When he was five, he had a tube surgically inserted in a vein in his chest. This tube was connected to a pump, which he carried in a small backpack on his back. Medications were hooked up to this pump and were continuously supplied through this tube to his bloodstream. At times, he also needed supplemented oxygen to support his breathing.
Tyler wasn’t willing to give up one single moment of his childhood to this deadly disease. It was not unusual to find him playing and racing around his backyard, wearing his medicine - laden backpack and dragging his tank of oxygen behind him in his little wagon. All of us who knew Tyler marveled at his pure joy in being alive and the energy it gave him. Tyler’s mom often teased him by telling him that he moved so fast she needed to dress him in red. That way, when she peered through the window to check on him playing in the yard, she could quickly spot him.
This dreaded disease eventually wore down even the likes of a little dynamo like Tyler. He grew quite ill and, unfortunately, so did his HIV - infected mother. When it became apparent that he wasn’t going to survive, Tyler’s mom talked to him about death. She comforted him by telling Tyler that she was dying too, and that she would be with him soon in heaven.
A few days before his death, Tyler beckoned me over to his hospital bed and whispered, " I might die soon. I’m not scared. When I die, please dress me in red. Mom promised she’s coming to heaven, too. I’ll be playing when she gets there, and I want to make sure she can find me. "
1. What is the boy Tyler's attitude towards death?
A.pessimistic. | B.optimistic. | C.sorrowful. | D.fearful. |
A.red is a lucky color | B.red might help to cure him |
C.his mom could spot him easily | D.he could find more mates by wearing red |
A.My unusual profession. | B.A caring mother. |
C.Mother and son. | D.Dying in red. |
A.a promising and helpful youth | B.an extremely energetic person |
C.a rare and beautiful flower | D.a magic and understanding superstar |