单选题
Abraham Lincoln

On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery. The Civil War was still going on. There was much criti- cism of President, Lincoln at the time. He was not at all popular. He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness. The principal speaker was to be Edward Everett, a famous statesman and speaker of the day. Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere.
It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg. Late that night, alone in his hotel room and tired out, he again worked briefly on the speech. The next day Everett spoke first. He spoke for an hour and 57 minutes. His speech was a perfect example of the rich oratory of the day. Then Lincoln rose. The crowd of 15,000 people at first paid little attention to him. He spoke for only nine minutes. At the end there was little applause. Lincoln turned to a friend and remarked, "I have failed again. " On the train back to Washington, he said sadly,"That speech was a flat failure, and the people are disappointed. "
Some newspapers at first criticized the speech. But little by little people read the speech they began to understand better. They began appreciate its simplicity and its deep meaning. It was a speech Which only Abraham Lincoln could have made.
Today, every American school child learns Lincoln's Gettysburg Address by heart. Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given in American history.

单选题 In 1863, Abraham Lincoln was______
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】答案依据第一段第三句话：There was much criticism of President Lincoln at the time．
单选题 Lincoln was invited to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery because he was______
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】答案可以在第一段找到。“He was not at all popular．He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness．”当时林肯一点也不受欢迎，他被邀请去演讲仅仅是出于礼貌，因为他是总统。
单选题 It can be inferred from the text that______
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】答案依据文章第二段第一、二句：It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysbtlrg．Late that night，alone in his hotel room and tired out，he again worked briefly on the speech．“据说林肯是在去葛底斯堡的火车上准备他的演讲的。那天深夜，在宾馆的房间里，他既孤独又疲倦，但还是简单准备了一下。”通过这些句子我们可以判断林肯非常忙，没有更多的时间准备他的演讲，所以B项正确。
单选题 It was a fact that Lincoln's speech was______
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】答案依据文章第二段第九句：At the end there was little applause．“最后几乎没有什么掌声。”所以他的演讲开始并没有被大家接受，D项正确。
单选题 Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?______
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】答案依据文章第三段和第四段：他的演讲“含义深刻、风格简朴”；“如今美国所有的在校学生都能背诵的演讲”；文章又谈到“现在所有的人都认为他的演讲是美国历史上最好的演讲之一”，但并不是美国最好的演讲。所以D项错误。