单选题 I received Everett"s Life of Washington which you sent me, and enjoyed its perusal. How his spirit would be grieved could he see the wreck of his mighty labors! I will not, however, permit myself to believe, until all ground of hope is gone, that the fruit of his noble deeds will be destroyed, and that his precious advice and virtuous example will so soon be forgotten by his countrymen. As far as I can judge by the papers, we are between a state of anarchy and civil war. May God avert both of these evils from us! I see that four states had declared themselves out of the Union; four more will apparently follow their example. Then, if the border states are brought into the gulf of revolution, one half of the country will be arrayed against the other. I must try and be patient and await the end, for I can do nothing to hasten or retard it. The South, in my opinion, has been aggrieved by the acts of the North, as you say. I feel the aggression and am willing to take every proper step for redress. It is the principle I contend for, not individual or private benefit. As an American citizen, I take great pride in my country, her prosperity and institutions, and would defend any state if her rights were invaded. But I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union. It would be an accumulation of all the evils we complain of, and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation. I hope, therefore, that all constitutional means will be exhausted before there is a resort to force. Secession is nothing but revolution. The framers of our Constitution never exhausted so much labor, wisdom, and forbearance in its formation, and surrounded it with so many guards and securities, for it was intended to be broken by every member of the Confederacy at will. It was intended for " perpetual union, " so expressed in the preamble, and for the establishment of a government, not a compact, which can only be dissolved by revolution or the consent of all the people in convention assembled. It is idle to talk of secession. Anarchy would have been established, and not a government, by Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, and the other patriots of the Revolution ... Still, a Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the place of brotherly love and kindness, has no charm for me. I shall mourn for my country and for the welfare and progress of mankind. If the Union is dissolved, I shall return to my native state and share the miseries of my people; and, save in defense, will draw my sword on none.

单选题 The " he" the speaker refers to in the opening paragraph is______.

单选题 The narrator"s attitude toward George Washington is that he______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：本题考查叙述者对华盛顿的态度，可定位至第一段第三句。本句在描述华盛顿时使用了如下词汇：noble deeds(高尚的行为)，precious advice(宝贵的建议)，virtuous example(贤良的事迹)，可推知其态度是高度赞扬的，C项符合文意，排除B、D两项；本句中作者指出他不相信华盛顿的成果会受到损害，不相信他的高尚行为会被世人忘记，可见作者认为华盛顿的领导方式依然适用于现在这种形势，A项内容与文意相悖，故排除。

单选题 Based on his description of George Washington, we can infer that the narrator/speaker______.

单选题 From his remarks, we can infer that the speaker______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：通读文章可以发现，作者具有极高的爱国热情，衷心希望自己的国家无论如何都不要分裂，不要违背先辈宪法中的意志，D项符合文意。文章没有明确说明作者来自北方还是南方，但第二段第一句作者提到，是北方人的行为侵害了南方人的利益，可推知他可能来自南方，排除A项；由文章可知作者对以往的领导者充满敬仰，但文章没有涉及他对当前领导人的态度，排除B项；通过第二段后半部分描述可知，作者是彻底反对国家分裂的，而国家一旦分裂，他会返回自己的家乡，为人民哀悼，可见他不会成为“烈士”(martyr)，排除C项。

单选题 What conclusion can you draw about the speaker"s character from the conclusion?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：通过上题分析可知，作者忠实于国家，反对分裂国家的战争，A项为正确答案。文章没有提及作者有公共服务的经历，更没有说他天生就是一个领导者，排除B项；作者在描述对国家分裂的看法时，用到如下表达：“anticipate no greater calamity than a dissolution of the Union(没有什么比国家分裂更具灾难性了)”，“a Union that…has no charm for me(那样的国家对我没有任何吸引力)”，但这些说明作者保卫国家统一态度的坚决性，并不是武断和死板的表现(judgmental and rigid)，排除C项；作者在描述自己的心理时提到“take every proper step for redress(尽可能地去修正)”，“defend any state if her rights were invaded(如果国家权力受侵，将誓死保卫)”，可见作者并不懦弱(cowardly and faim-of-heart)，排除D项。

单选题 The thesis or main idea of the passage is that______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：本题考查主旨大意。通读全文可知美国当时正处于内战的前夕，南北双方为了各自的利益开始倒戈相向，出现了无政府的混乱状态，美国也面临着分裂的危险，因此作者在此表达了他对这种情况的担忧，希望南北双方可以放下武器，反对国家分裂，共同保持统一，B项符合文意，排除A项；由以上分析可知，美国内战前便面临着分裂的危险，排除C项；anarchy是一种无政府的状态，由第一段第五句可知，这种状态被作者看做“魔鬼”，肯定是不健康的状态，排除D项。