六級閱讀：緬懷林肯總統(tǒng) 精講

　　六級閱讀： 緬懷林肯總統(tǒng) President Lincoln1

　　The Civil War2 lasted four years. It ended in 1865 . President Lincoln signed the order that made the slaves in the South free . Soon there would be no more slavery in America.

　　All the states were united again. The Union was saved. But the damages of war had to be mended. The country must be led back to peace.

　　President Lincoln looked old. His face was lined3 with worry.

　　One evening Mrs. Lincoln wanted to cheer up4 the President. She asked him to take her to the theater. The President and Mrs. Lincoln sat in a box5. Halfway through the play a shot was fired. President Lincoln was killed. An actor named John Wilkes Booth had shot the President. Booth was a queer, half crazy person, who had been upset by the war.

　　People all over the country, North and South, were shocked by the terrible news. The whole country had lost its great leader.

　　The train that carried President Lincoln back home to Springfield was draped6 in black. Crowds of people stood by the railroad tracks in every city and town. Some waited all night on lonesome country roads to see the train go by. Many of the people wept.

　　The train moved slowly. Its mournful whistle blew across the prairie where young Abe Lincoln had lived. Abraham Lincoln was buried in Springfield, Illinois, where he lived the happiest years with his family.

　　In Washington , D. C., the Lincoln Memorial7 helps Americans remember their great President. There is a beautiful statue to Lincoln . His face looks down on the thousands of people who come there. It makes each one feel the deep kindness and understanding that Abraham Lincoln showed to all people while he lived.

　　閱讀自測

　?、? Multiple choices: choose the correct meaning of the underlined words:

　　His face is lined with worry.

　　A. telephone connection

　　B. long narrow mark, either straight or curved

　　C. wrinkles

　　D. rope , thread

　　Ⅱ. According to the passage , which statement is false?

　　A. The Civil War began in 1861. B. President Lincoln made the slaves in the South free after the war. C. The Lincoln Memorial was built to remember the great President Abraham Lincoln. D. After Civil War all the states turned to be one state. Ⅲ.

　　Question :

　　In this passage, it mainly tells about the death of Lincoln. But it also gives us some information of the great deeds he had done . Try to say something about Lincoln.

　　參考答案

　?、? C Ⅱ. D Ⅲ. Abraham Lincoln was the 16 th president of America . He had led the American Civil War and made the slaves in the South free . In this way all the states were united together as a whole country. Lincoln was president. He was very kind to his people. When he died, people all over the country felt very sad. They lost their respectable president. It was really a great loss to them.

　　參考譯文

　　緬懷林肯總統(tǒng)

　　美國內戰(zhàn)持續(xù)了四年并于1865 年結束。林肯總統(tǒng)簽發(fā)了解放南方奴隸的命令, 不久, 美國不再有奴隸制。

　　所有的州再次聯合起來, 聯邦得救了。但是, 戰(zhàn)爭帶來的創(chuàng)傷需要醫(yī)治, 國家必須被引 回和平年代。

　　林肯總統(tǒng)看來老了, 臉上滿是憂急之紋。 一天晚上, 林肯夫人想讓總統(tǒng)高興一些, 就讓他帶自己去看戲。林肯總統(tǒng)和夫人在一 個包廂里入座。演出進行到一半, 有人開槍了?？偨y(tǒng)遇刺。一位叫約翰· 威爾克斯· 布思 的演員射中了總統(tǒng)先生。布思行為古怪, 有點瘋瘋癲癲, 對內戰(zhàn)非常失望。

　　全國——— 南方的和北方的人民都被這個噩耗震驚了! 美國人民失去了他們偉大的領袖。 護送林肯總統(tǒng)靈柩回他家鄉(xiāng)斯普林菲爾德的列車裹成了黑色。在各個大城小鎮(zhèn)的鐵 路邊上, 人群佇立著; 在孤寂的鄉(xiāng)村路邊, 一些人徹夜等候目送火車開過, 許多人都哭了。 火車緩緩而行, 汽笛的哀鳴聲在那片大草原上回蕩, 那兒是青年亞比· 林肯曾經生活 過的地方。亞伯拉罕· 林肯葬在伊利諾斯州的斯普林菲爾德。在那里, 他曾與家人度過了 最幸福的時光。

　　在華盛頓, 林肯紀念堂讓美國人記住了他們偉大的總統(tǒng)。那里有一尊完美的林肯雕 像, 他臉朝下地看著成千上萬前來瞻仰的人。這個動作讓每個人都感受到一種林肯總統(tǒng)在世 時對他的人民的深切關懷與理解。

　　閱讀導評

　　生下來就一貧如洗的林肯, 一生都在遭受挫折: 八次競選八次敗北, 先后兩次經商, 卻 都是賠了夫人又折兵, 甚至還曾一度精神崩潰。然而, 面對失敗, 他卻如是說:“ 此路艱辛而泥濘, 我一只腳滑了一下, 另一只腳因而也站不穩(wěn), 但我緩口氣, 告訴自己, 這不過是滑了一 跤, 并不是死了爬不起來。”正是有著這種屢敗屢戰(zhàn)、永不退縮的精神, 他才成就了事業(yè)并最 終成為美國歷史上最偉大的總統(tǒng)。

　　閱讀導釋

　　1. 亞伯拉罕·林肯( Abraham Lincoln, 1809—1865) , 美國第十六任總統(tǒng), 共和黨人, 當過律 師、眾議員。在他就任總統(tǒng)后, 國內爆發(fā)了南北戰(zhàn)爭。林肯采取革命性措施, 頒布《宅第 法》和《解放宣言》, 從而促使北方取得戰(zhàn)爭的勝利。戰(zhàn)后, 他被刺殺。在美國, 他歷次被 評選為“ 最偉大的總統(tǒng)”。下文出現的Abe 是對他的親昵稱呼。

　　2.“ 美國內戰(zhàn)”, 即是從1861 年開始持續(xù)到1865 年結束的“南北戰(zhàn)爭”。這次戰(zhàn)爭爆發(fā)的根本原因是北方發(fā)達的資本主義工商業(yè)與南方發(fā)展滯后的奴隸制種植園經濟之間的矛盾。

　　3. 這個詞在這里用作動詞, 作“ 起皺紋”解, 如: Signs of worry lined her face. ( 她臉上布滿條 條憂紋。) line 可作“使排成行, 沿……排列成行”解, 如: Volumes of the great works of literature line the shelves. ( 書架上排列著一卷卷文學巨著。) 和line 連用的詞組很多, 如: read between the lines ( 領會言外之意) ; out of line ( 不一致, 不符合) 。

　　4. cheer 本身有“ 喝彩”的意思, cheer up 作“ 高興起來, 振作起來, 使感到安慰”解, 如: Cheer up! Your troubles will soon be over. ( 振作起來! 你的困難就會過去的。)

　　5. 注意, 這里的box 要是翻譯成“ 盒子, 箱子”可是要鬧笑話的。它指的是“ ( 戲院、運動場 等處的) 包廂”。此外, ( 餐館的) 分隔式雅座, 單間, ( 法院里的) 陪審席、證人席和記者 席, 也都可以用box 來表示。

　　6. 這個詞是“ 包, 裹, 裝飾, 披上”的意思, 這里是指“火車被裹成黑色以示哀悼”。 7. 林肯紀念堂。它位于阿靈頓大橋前, 與國會和華盛頓紀念碑成一條直線。林肯總統(tǒng)雕像 就聳立在紀念堂中央, 四周的墻上刻著著名的葛底斯堡演說詞。“ 不對任何人懷有惡 意, 對一切人心存寬厚( with malice toward none, with charity for all) ”等名言都鐫刻于此。