2008年英语一阅读理解Text4

第一段

In 1784, five years before he became president of the United States, George Washington, 52, was nearly toothless. So he hired a dentist to transplant nine teeth into his jaw—having extracted them from the mouths of his slaves.

单词&词组搭配

1. transplant [ˈtrænsplɑːnt]（出现1次）n.（器官）移植；v.移栽，迁移

2. jaw [dʒɔː]（出现1次）颚

3. extract  from（拔出）

本段翻译

1781年，在华盛顿成为美国总统的前五年，52岁的他牙齿几乎掉光了。于是他雇用一名牙医移植了九颗牙齿到自己的颌中——这些牙齿是从他的奴隶们口中拔出来的。

第二段

That’s a far different image from the cherry-tree-chopping George most people remember from their history books. But recently，many historians have begun to focus on the role slavery played in the lives of the founding generation. They have been spurred in part by DNA evidence made available in 1998, which almost certainly proved Thomas Jefferson had fathered at least one child with his slave Sally Hemings. And only over the past 30 years have scholars examined history from the bottom up. Works of several historiansreveal the moral compromises made by the nation’s early leaders and the fragile nature of the country’s infancy. More significantly, they argue that many of the Founding Fathers knew slavery was wrong—and yet most did little to fight it.

单词&词组

1. historian [hɪˈstɔːriən]（出现14次）n.历史学家

2. spur [spɜːr]（出现1次）n.马刺，鞭策；v.刺激，鼓励，促进

3. scholar [ˈskɑːlər]（出现8次）n.学者，奖学金

4. reveal [rɪˈviːl]（出现14次）v.揭露，展示

5. compromise [ˈkɑːmprəmaɪz]（出现6次）n.妥协，和解；v.让步；[僻义]违背，使...陷入危险

6. fragile [ˈfrædʒl]（出现3次）adj.易损坏的，脆弱的，虚弱的；[僻义]adj.纤细的

7. infacy [ˈɪnfənsi] n.幼儿期，初期

8. significantly [sɪɡˈnɪfɪkənt]（出现15次）adv.显著地，别有含义地，有重大意义地

本段翻译

这一形象与大多数人所记得的历史书中“砍樱桃的乔治”大为不同。但最近，许多历史学家开始关注奴隶制在开国元勋们生活中扮演的角色。他们在某种程度上是受到1998年获得的DNA证据的刺激，该证据几乎可以确证托马斯杰斐逊曾与奴隶萨利育有至少一个孩子。只是在最近三十年间学者们才开始全方位、彻底地研究历史。数位历史学家的著作揭示了美国早期领袖所做的道德妥协以及建国初期的脆弱性。更为重要的是，他们提出，许多开国元勋明知道奴隶制是错误的——然而大部分人却极少有行动去抗争它。

第三段

More than anything, the historians say, the founders were hampered by the culture of their time. While Washington and Jefferson privately expressed distaste for slavery, they also understood that it was part of the political and economic bedrock of the country they helped to create.

单词&词组

1. hamper [ˈhæmpər]（出现2次）v.妨碍，束缚；n.篮子

2. privately [ˈpraɪvətli]（出现19次）私人地，私底下地

3. distaste [dɪsˈteɪst] n.反感; 厌恶

4. bedrock [ˈbedrɑːk] n.牢固基础，基本事实，基石

5. More than anything（最为重要的是）
   

本段翻译

最为重要的是，历史学家表示，开国元勋们受到了他们那个时代文化的束缚。尽管华盛顿和杰斐逊私底下表达过对奴隶制的反感，但他们也明白奴隶是他们帮助创建的这个国家的政治和经济基石的一部分。

第四段

For one thing, the South could not afford to part with its slaves. Owning slaves was “like having a large bank account,” says Wiencek, author of An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America. The southern states would not have signed the Constitution without protections for the “peculiar institution,” including aclause that counted a slave as three fifths of a man for purposes of congressional representation.

单词&词组

1. afford（出现11次）v.买得起，担负得起
   

2. Constitution [ˌkɑːnstɪˈtuːʃn]（出现4次）n.宪法，章程，构造；[僻义]身体素质

3. peculiar [pɪˈkjuːliər]（出现5次）adj.古怪的，异常的，特别的

4. institution [ˌɪnstɪˈtuːʃn]（出现17次）n.机构，风俗习惯，制度

5. clause [klɔːz]（传1次）n.（正式文件）条款，从句

6. Imperfect adj. im为否定前缀，不完美的

7. for one thing（一方面）

8. count  as（把...看作）

9. part with（放弃）
   

本段翻译

一方面，南方承担不起放弃奴隶的后果。拥有奴隶就“如同拥有大额银行存款”，《不完美偶像：乔治华盛顿，他的奴隶和美利坚的创立》一书的作者温瑟柯说道。如果没有对这种“特别制度”的保护条款，其中包括一项出于国会代表权的目的而将一名奴隶视为0.6个人的条款，南方各州当时便不会签署宪法。

第五段

And the statesmen’s political lives depended on slavery. The three-fifths formula handedJefferson his narrow victory in the presidential election of 1800 by inflating the votes of the southern states in the Electoral College. Once in office, Jefferson extended slavery with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; the new land was carved into 13 states, including three slave states.

单词&搭配

1. formula [ˈfɔːrmjələ]（出现1次）n.公式，方案，配方；[僻义]n.套话

2. hand（常用词）v.交；n.帮助

3. narrow（常用词）adj.窄的，勉强的，刚好的

4. inflate [ɪnˈfleɪt]（出现13次）v.使膨胀，使暴涨

5. purchase [ˈpɜːrtʃəs]（出现5次）v.买；n.购买额物品

6. carve [kɑːrv]（出现2次）v.雕刻，切，瓜分

7. political lives（政治生涯）
   

本段翻译

并且这些做政治家的政治生涯也取决于奴隶制。五分之三方案使选举人团中南方各种的选票数得意激增，使杰斐逊在1800年总统大选中得意险胜。杰斐逊一任职，便通过1803年的“路易斯安那购地案“扩大了奴隶制的范围，这片新土地被划分成13个州，包括三个蓄奴州。

第六段

Still, Jefferson freed Hemings’s children—though not Hemings herself or hisapproximately 150 other slaves. Washington, who had begun to believe that all men were created equal after observing the bravary of the black soldiers during the Revolutionary War, overcame the strong opposition of his relatives to grant his slaves their freedom in his will. Only a decade earlier, such an act would have required legislative approval in Virginia.

单词&搭配

1. approximately [əˈprɑːksɪmətli] （出现4次）adv.大概，大约

2. bravary [ˈbreɪvəri] n.勇敢

3. overcome [ˌoʊvərˈkeɪm]（出现5次）v.克服

4. grant [ɡrænt]（出现13次）v.同意，授予

5. will（常用词）[僻义] n.遗嘱；v.将...遗赠（to）

6. Revolutionary War（独立战争）
   

本段翻译

即便这样，但杰斐逊还是放了萨利赫明斯的孩子们——虽然没有解放她本人和其他大约150名奴隶。在见证了独立战争中黑人士兵的勇敢后，华盛顿开始相信人人生而平等，从而克服亲属的强烈反对，在遗嘱中给予了他的奴隶自由。就在十年前，这种行为在弗吉尼亚还得到了立法机构的批准。

5道题目

36. George Washington’s dental surgery is mentioned to 

[A] show the primitive medical practice in the past.

[B] demonstrate the cruelty of slavery in his days.

[C] stress the role of slaves in the U.S. history.

[D] reveal some unknown aspect of his life.

37. We may infer from the second paragraph that .

[A] DNA technology has been widely applied to history research.

[B] in its early days the U.S. was confronted with delicate situations.

[C] historians deliberately made up some stories of Jefferson’s life.

[D] political compromises are easily found throughout the U.S. history.

38. What do we learn about Thomas Jefferson?

[A] His political view changed his attitude towards slavery.

[B] His status as a father made him free the child slaves.

[C] His attitude towards slavery was complex.

[D] His affair with a slave stained his prestige.

39. Which of the following is true according to the text?

[A] Some Founding Fathers benefit politically from slavery.

[B] Slaves in the old days did not have the right to vote.

[C] Slave owners usually had large savings accounts.

[D] Slavery was regarded as a peculiar institution.

40. Washington’s decision to free slaves originated from his .

[A] moral considerations.

[B] military experience.

[C] financial conditions.

[D] political stand.

选项单词

1. primitive [ˈprɪmətɪv]（出现2次）adj.远古的，原始的

2. stress（出现25次）n.压力；v.强调，着重

3. be confront with（面对，面临）

4. make up（编造，之前遇到一次翻译为弥补）

5. prestige [preˈstiːʒ]（出现1次）n.声望，威望

6. benefit from（从...中获益）

7. moral [ˈmɔːrəl]（出现26次）adj.道德上的，精神上的

参考答案

答案：DBCAB