单选题 The United States has a major problem on its hands. Tree, Britain is facing a similar problem, but for the time being it is in America that it is graver. The only way to solve it is through education. Negroes (黑人) should know about the contributions that black individuals and groups have made towards building America. This is of vital importance for their self-respect: and it is perhaps even more important for white people to know. For if you believe that a man has no history worth mentioning, it is easy to assume that he has no value as a man.
Many people believe that, since the Negro’s achievements do not appear in the history books, he did not have any. Most people are taken aback when they learn that Negroes sailed with Columbus, marched with the Spanish conquerors of South America and fought side by side with white Americans in all their wars. People are astonished when you tell them about Phillis Wheatley, who learned English as a salve in Boston and wrote first-class poetry. They have never heard of Benjamin Banneker, a mathematician and a surveyor, who helped to plan the city of Washington. There has been a tendency all along to treat the black man as if he were invisible. Little has been written about the 5, 000 American Negroes who fought in the Revolution against the British, but they were in every important battle. In the Anglo-American War of 1812, at least one out of every six men in the U. S. Navy was a Negro. In the Civil War, more than 200, 000 black troops fought in the Union forces.
How, then, did the image of the Negro as a valiant fighting man disappear? To justify the hideous institution of slavery, slave-holders had to create the myth of the docile, slow-witted Negro. incapable of self-improvement, and even contented with his lot. Nothing could be further from the truth. The slave fought for his freedom at every chance he got, and there were numerous uprisings. Yet the myth of docility persisted.
There are several other areas where the truth has been twisted or concealed. Most people have heard of the Negro, Carver, who invented scores of new uses for the lowly peanut. But whoever heard of Norbert Rillieux, who in 1846 invented a vacuum pan that revolutionized the sugar-refining industry? Or of Elijah McCoy, who in 1872invented the drip cup that feeds oil to the moving parts of heavy machinery? How many people know that Negroes are credited with inventing such different items as ice creams, potato chips, the gas mask and the first traffic light? Not many.
As for the winning of the West, the black cowboy and the black frontiersman have been almost ignored, though film producers are becoming more aware of their importance. Yet in the typical trail crew of eight men that drove cattle from Texas to Kansas, at least two would have been Negroes. The black troops of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry formed one-fifth of all the mounted troops assigned to protect the frontier after the Civil War. 'What difference does it make?' you may ask. A lot. The cowboy is the American folk-hero. Youngsters identify with him instantly. The average cowboy film is really a kind of morality play, with good guys and bad guys and right finally triumphing over wrong. You should see the amazement and happiness on black youngsters’ faces when they learn that their ancestors really had a part in all that.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】根据题干信息词education和Negroes’ contributions定位到第一段第三至第五句。这三句在谈论黑人对美国的贡献时说：“解决这个问题的唯一途径是教育。黑人应该知道黑人个体以及团体在建设美国的过程中所做的贡献。这对于他们的自尊心至关重要……”其中，“对于他们的自尊心至关重要”解释了为什么需要教育黑人，让他们知道黑人曾对美国做出了贡献。A项中confidence of their value是原文中their self-respect的同义转述，由此可见A项符合文意，故为答案。 [参考译文] 美国目前存在一个重大问题。的确，英国也正面临相似的问题，但目前，这个问题在美国更为严重。解决这个问题的唯一途径是教育。黑人应该知道黑人个体以及团体在建设美国的过程中所做的贡献。这对于他们的自尊心至关重要，而且让白人知道这件事或许更为重要。因为如果你认为一个人没有值得一提的历史的话，就会很容易断定他毫无作为人而存在的价值。很多人都认为，既然黑人所取得的成就没有出现在历史书里，那么，他们就没有任何成就。当得知黑人曾与哥伦布一道航行，与征服南美洲的西班牙人一起行军，同美国白人在所有战争中并肩作战时，大多数人都被吓了一跳。当人们得知菲莉丝·惠特利在波士顿做奴隶时学会了英文并写出了一流的诗歌时，他们都大为吃惊。他们从未听说过本杰明·班纳克，这位数学家兼测量员帮助规划了华盛顿市。一直以来都有一种倾向，就是将黑人视为隐形人。有关5000位美回黑人在大革命中与英国作战的历史鲜有记载，然而，每一场重要的战役他们都参加了。在1812年英美战争中，美国海军每六个人中至少有一个是黑人。在美国内战中，拥有20多万人的黑人部队在联邦军队中作战。那么，黑人作为英勇战士的这一形象是如何消失的呢?为了要给丑恶的奴隶制度正名，奴隶主就得塑造出顺从、笨拙、无法自我完善且安于天命的不实的黑人形象。没有什么比这更加离谱的了。黑人奴隶一有机会就为其自由而战，并发起了无数次的起义。然而，有关黑人顺从的谎言依然存在。在其他几个方面，真理也被扭曲或掩盖了。大多数人都听说过为普通的花生发明出许多新用途的黑人卡弗。然而，有谁听说过诺伯特·瑞利克斯?他在1846年发明了真空锅，给制糖业带来了革命。又有谁听说过伊莱贾·麦科伊?他在1872年发明了可以把汽油灌输到重型机械活动部件的滴水杯。又有多少人知道是黑人发明了各种各样诸如冰激凌、炸土豆片、防毒面具以及第一盏交通信号灯等物品?并没有多少人。至于西部扩张胜利这件事，黑人牛仔及黑人拓荒者几乎都被忽视了，尽管电影制片人越来越意识到他们的重要性。然而在把牲畜从得克萨斯州赶往堪萨斯州的典型的八人驮运队中，至少有两人是黑人。第九和第十骑兵部队的黑人军队占内战后被分配去保护边疆的所有骑兵部队的五分之一。你可能会问：“这又有什么关系呢?”有很大关系。牛仔是美国的民族英雄。年轻人很容易对牛仔产生认同感。普通的牛仔电影真的是一种道德剧：有好人，有坏人，而最终正义打败了邪恶。你们真该看看黑人青年在得知他们的祖先的确对所有这一切做过贡献时。脸上所露出的惊异和幸福的神色。【议论文：黑人对美国的贡献被忽视】第一段：应通过教育让人们了解黑人的价值。第二段：举历史案例说明黑人所取得的成就不为人知。第三段：黑人形象被歪曲的原因。第四段：黑人在发明方面的创造力被掩盖。第五段：黑人牛仔及黑人拓荒者的贡献也被忽视了。