出自:人文英语3
Among the more colorful characters of Leadville.s golden age were H.A.W. Tabor and his second wife, Elizabeth McCourt, better known as “Baby Doe”. Their history is fast becoming one of the legends of the Old West. Horace Austin Warner Tabor was a school teacher in Vermont. With his first wife and two children he left Vermont by covered wagon in 1855 to homestead in Kansas. Perhaps he did not find farming to his liking, or perhaps he was lured by rumors of fortunes to be made in Colorado mines. At any rate, a few years later he moved west to the small Colorado mining camp known as California Gulch, which he later renamed Leadville when he became its leading citizen. “Great deposits of lead are sure to be found here.” he said.
As it turned out, it was silver, not lead, that was to make Leadville.s fortune and wealth. Tabor knew little about mining himself, so he opened a general store, which sold everything from boots to salt, flour, and tobacco.『It was his custom to “grubstake” prospective miners, in other words, to supply them with food and supplies, or “grub”, while they looked for ore, in return for which he would get a share in the mine if one was discovered. He did this for a number of years, but no one that he aided ever found anything of value.
Finally one day in the year 1878, so the story goes, two miners came in and asked for “grub”. Tabor had decided to quit supplying it because he had lost too much money that way. These were persistent, however, and Tabor was too busy to argue with them. “Oh help yourself. One more time won.t make any difference,” He said and went on selling shoes and hats to other customers. The two miners took $17 worth of supplies, in return for which they gave Tabor a one-third interest in their findings. They picked a barren place on the mountain side and began to dig. After nine days they struck a rich vein of silver. Tabor bought the shares of the other two men, and so the mine belonged to him alone. This mine, known as the “Pittsburgh Mine,” made 1 300 000 for Tabor in return for his $17 investment.
Later Tabor bought the Matchless Mine on another barren hillside just outside the town for $117 000. This turned out to be even more fabulous than the Pittsburgh, yielding $35 000 worth of silver per day at one time. Leadville grew. Tabor became its first mayor, and later became lieutenant governor of the state.
操作提示：通过题干后的下拉框选择题目的正确答案。
1. Leadville got its name for the following reasons EXCEPT 回答
.
A. because Tabor became its leading citizen
B. because great deposits of lead is expected to be found there
C. because it could bring good fortune to Tabor
2. The word “grubstake” in paragraph 2 means 回答
.
A. to supply miners with food and supplies
B. to open a general store
C. to supply miners with food and supplies and in return get a share in the mine, if one was discovered
3. Tabor made his first fortune 回答
.
A. by supplying two prospective miners and getting in return a one-third interest in the findings
B. because he was persuaded by the two miners to quit supplying
C. by buying the shares of the other
4. The underlying reason for Tabor.s life career is 回答
.
A. purely accidental
B. based on the analysis of miner.s being very poor and their possibility of discovering profitable mining site
C. through the help from his second wife
5. If this passage is the first part of an article, who might be introduced in the following part? 回答
A. Tabor.s life.
B. Tabor.s second wife, Elizabeth McCourt.
C. Other colorful characters.
填空，概括文章的主要内容。
Public speeches are speeches delivered in public for
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. There are different kinds of speeches, such as impromptu speeches, extemporaneous speeches, speeches from reciting, speeches from
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, etc. In order to arouse the interest of the audience and to obtain their support,
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or consent, the speaker will have to appear to be
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to the audience and use
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to make his speech persuasive, engaging and
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. Public speeches are strongly influenced by the
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of the written language. Generally speaking, the language used in public speeches is formal in
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, clear and vivid in
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, and persuasive in
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.
Among the more colorful characters of Leadville.s golden age were H.A.W. Tabor and his second wife, Elizabeth McCourt, better known as “Baby Doe”. Their history is fast becoming one of the legends of the Old West. Horace Austin Warner Tabor was a school teacher in Vermont. With his first wife and two children he left Vermont by covered wagon in 1855 to homestead in Kansas. Perhaps he did not find farming to his liking, or perhaps he was lured by rumors of fortunes to be made in Colorado mines. At any rate, a few years later he moved west to the small Colorado mining camp known as California Gulch, which he later renamed Leadville when he became its leading citizen. “Great deposits of lead are sure to be found here.” he said.
As it turned out, it was silver, not lead, that was to make Leadville.s fortune and wealth. Tabor knew little about mining himself, so he opened a general store, which sold everything from boots to salt, flour, and tobacco.『It was his custom to “grubstake” prospective miners, in other words, to supply them with food and supplies, or “grub”, while they looked for ore, in return for which he would get a share in the mine if one was discovered. He did this for a number of years, but no one that he aided ever found anything of value.
Finally one day in the year 1878, so the story goes, two miners came in and asked for “grub”. Tabor had decided to quit supplying it because he had lost too much money that way. These were persistent, however, and Tabor was too busy to argue with them. “Oh help yourself. One more time won.t make any difference,” He said and went on selling shoes and hats to other customers. The two miners took $17 worth of supplies, in return for which they gave Tabor a one-third interest in their findings. They picked a barren place on the mountain side and began to dig. After nine days they struck a rich vein of silver. Tabor bought the shares of the other two men, and so the mine belonged to him alone. This mine, known as the “Pittsburgh Mine,” made 1 300 000 for Tabor in return for his $17 investment.
Later Tabor bought the Matchless Mine on another barren hillside just outside the town for $117 000. This turned out to be even more fabulous than the Pittsburgh, yielding $35 000 worth of silver per day at one time. Leadville grew. Tabor became its first mayor, and later became lieutenant governor of the state.
操作提示：通过题干后的下拉框选择题目的正确答案。
1. Leadville got its name for the following reasons EXCEPT
回答
.
A. because Tabor became its leading citizen
B. because great deposits of lead is expected to be found there
C. because it could bring good fortune to Tabor
2. The word “grubstake” in paragraph 2 means
回答
.
A. to supply miners with food and supplies
B. to open a general store
C. to supply miners with food and supplies and in return get a share in the mine, if one was discovered
3. Tabor made his first fortune
回答
.
A. by supplying two prospective miners and getting in return a one-third interest in the findings
B. because he was persuaded by the two miners to quit supplying
C. by buying the shares of the other
4. The underlying reason for Tabor.s life career is
回答
.
A. purely accidental
B. based on the analysis of miner.s being very poor and their possibility of discovering profitable mining site
C. through the help from his second wife
5. If this passage is the first part of an article, who might be introduced in the following part?
回答
A. Tabor.s life.
B. Tabor.s second wife, Elizabeth McCourt.
English, the Global Language
English is spoken as a native language by around 377 million people, and as a second language by around 375 million speakers in the world. Speakers of English as a second language will soon outnumber those who speak it as a first language. Around 750 million people are believed to speak English as a foreign language. English has an official or a special status in 75 countries with a total population of over 2 billion.
The domination of the English language globally is a sure thing. English is the language of international communications, business, tourism, education, science, computer technology, media and the Internet.
British colonialism in the 19th century and American capitalism and technological progress in the 20th century were undoubtedly the main causes for the spread of English throughout the world. From the fifteenth century, the British began to sail all over the world and became explorers, colonists and imperialists. They took the English language to many places. For the last hundred years, the USA has played a leading role in most parts of the world. The Hollywood film industry also attracted many foreign artists in quest of fame and fortune and the number of American films produced every year soon flooded the market.
However, the future of English as a global language will depend very largely on the political, economic, demographic and cultural trends in the world.
1. English is spoken as a second language by around 377 million people in the world.
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2. Speakers of English as a second language are more than those who speak it as a first language.
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3. It is not surprising that 70% of all information stored in the internet is in English.
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4. The spread of English throughout the world resulted from British colonialism in the 19th century and American capitalism and technological progress in the 20th century.
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5. It is definitely predicted (预见) that English will still act as a global language in the future.
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