Obama Still Smokes in SecretUS President Bara...

Obama Still Smokes in Secret

US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers. He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry. The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products.

At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18th birthday.

Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hasn’t completely kicked the habit. Every now and then he still smokes in secret.

“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time. Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No.” Obama said at a news conference.

“I don’t do it in front of my kids. I don’t do it in front of my family. I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up,” he said.

“Once you go down this path, it’s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important. The new law is not about me, it’s about the next generation of kids coming up. What we don’t want is kids going down that path.” he said.

Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases.

1.The new law makes life difficult for ________.

A. Obama　　　　　　 B. tobacco industry

C. White House　　 D. US Food and Drug Administration

2.What do we know about Obama?

A. He no longer smokes.

B. He still smokes as usual.

C. He began to smoke at eighteen.

D. He is trying hard to give up smoking.

3. According to the passage, Obama is most concerned about ________.

A. children　　 　 B. officials

C. his family　　 D. businessmen

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Barack Obama became US President in January, 2009. Since then, the world has been watching him closely to see whether he keeps his promises about the economy(经济), foreign policy and health care.

But at home, he has also been under pressure from his two daughters to keep his promise: to give them a new dog as a gift for helping him with his election campaign(竞选活动).

On Tuesday the nation’s first dog, named Bo, came out. It is a six-month-old water dog which is black with a white chest and white paws(爪).

“Bo’s got star quality,” said President Obama as he and his family took a walk with the dog on the White House lawn(草坪) in front of reporters.

He then joked, “ I finally got a friend. It took some time,” mentioning a famous saying, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”

1.Barack Obama is ______ President now.

A．French           B．British            C．Russian           D．American

2.Which of the following is NOT true?

A．The dog is called Bo.                     B．The dog is six month old.

C．The dog is black and white.                D．The dog is all white.

3.The dog is Obama’s gift to ______.

A．the reporters      B．his wife           C．his daughters       D．his sons

4.What might the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?

A．It’s not easy to find a dog in Washington.

B．It’s not easy to find a friend in Washington.

C．Dogs aren’t friendly to man.

D．Man isn’t friendly to dogs.

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

第三节  阅读理解（共20题，每题2分，共40分）

President Barack Obama has apologized for a gaffe (失言) in which he described his bowling skills as akin to participants in the Special Olympics, a sports program for people with intellectual disabilities.

Obama made the mistake during an interview on Thursday night on “The Tonight Show” with host Jay Leno, the first time a sitting U.S. president had been on the show.

Talking about living in the White House, Obama said he had been practicing his bowling in the home’s bowling alley and had scored a 129 out of a possible 300.

It was an improvement on the embarrassing 37 he had rolled during a stop on the presidential campaign trail a year ago. “It’s like—it was like Special Olympics or something,” Obama said.

The Special Olympics is a global nonprofit organization serving some 200 million people with intellectual disabilities, with a presence in nearly 200 countries worldwide.

Soon after the Jay Leno interview, Obama telephoned Special Olympics chairman Tim Shriver to apologize.

Shriver told ABC’s “Good Morning America” television show that Obama had apologized “in a way that I think was very moving” and that he said “he did not intend to humiliate (羞辱) the population, didn’t want to embarrass or give anybody any more reason for pain or kind of suffering.”

Shriver said people should gain a lesson from the incident.

“I think it’s important to see that words hurt. Words do matter. And these words in some respect, can be seen as humiliating or a put-down to people with special needs, do cause pain. And they do result in stereotypes,” Shriver said.

White House spokesman Bill Burton said Obama “made an offhand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to look down upon the Special Olympics.”

“He thinks that the Special Olympics are a wonderful program that gives an opportunity to shine to people with disabilities from around the world,” Burton said.

1. What does the underlined word “akin” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A. skillful           B. similar           C. appealing              D. superior

2. Which of the following statements is true?

A. Obama loves sports and is especially gifted at bowling.

B. Obama apologized for his remarks via ABC’s TV show.

C. The Special Olympics are for various disabled people.

D. The Special Olympics don’t intend to make any money.

3. What does Shriver mean by saying people should gain a lesson from the incident?

A. Disabled people cannot be humiliated.             B. One should be careful with his words.

C. An apology for wrong words is wanted.           D. Words matter even more than actions.

4. The passage is mainly about ________.

A. Obama receiving a TV interview                            B. Obama looking down on the disabled

C. Obama apologizing for his gaffe                   D. Obama being attacked for his words

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

President Barack Obama has complained about the loss of privacy that comes with being leader of the United States, regretting the loss of simple pleasures such as a long walk or a trip to the car wash or supermarket.

“I just miss---I miss being anonymous,” he said. “I miss Saturday morning, rolling out of bed, not shaving, getting into my car with my girls, driving to the supermarket, squeezing the fruit, getting my car washed, taking walk. I can't take a walk”.

His dream, he said, was to “go through Central Park and watch for passing by…spend the day watching people --- I miss that”.

Faced with angry criticism for playing more golf than most previous occupants of the White House, he explained that the sport was simply the best way of getting away from it all. “It's the only excuse I have to get outside for four hours.” he told Hearst magazines.

Though he said he enjoyed his life in the White House, he felt disappointed with some of the ways of Washington, which he has failed in his permission to change, such as the "kabuki dance" among political parties before serious policy discussions begin. His comments may be seen as vindication（证实）by critics who have accused him of appearing too detached（漠然）, and being slow to engage in vital issues such as Libya and the near shutdown of the US government last week.

Since arriving at the White House in January 2009, Mr. Obama has already racked up 60 rounds of golf in office, more than George W Bush did in his eight years. In terms of ability, Golf Digest magazine has ranked Mr. Obama eighth out of the 18 presidents who played the game since it became established in the early 20th century.

1.What do the second paragraph and the third paragraph mainly tell us?

A. Obama likes living a busy life.

B. Obama used to spend most of his time with his family.

C. Obama wishes to enjoy simple pleasures.

D. He used to wash his car himself.

2.According to Obama, he plays golf to　　　　　 .

A. release his pressure　　　　　　　　　　　 B. keep fit

C. balance his work　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. show his ability

3.We can infer from the passage that Obama is 　　　　　 kabuki dance.

A. curious about　     　　　　　　　 　　 B. interested in

C. content with     　　　　　　　　　　 D. tired of

4.Which of the following statements is from the critics?

A. The president lost lots of privacy, but he loves the life in the White House.

B. There are always unnecessary procedures among political parties.

C. The president seems to be indifferent (漠不关心的) towards some really important issues.

D. The president is really a great golf player.

5.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Obama's favorite pastime.

B. Obama’s complaints about lack of privacy as president.

C. The public's criticism of Obama.

D. Obama's regrets for being the US president.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Barack Obama’s first speech as president left a strong impression 　　 his audience.

A. on　　 B. in　 C. at　　　 D. by

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

Obama gets Nobel for contributions to peace

US President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize________1.October 9 for his calls to reduce the world's nuclear weapons and work for world peace.

Since taking office in January as the ________2. African American president, Obama has called for the cutting of nuclear weapons and worked to restart the Middle East peace process.

The prize,  worth $1.4 million, will________3.handed over to Obama in Norway on December 10. Obama will also get a gold medal and a diploma.

The Nobel Committee said it attached special importance to Obama's work for a world4.nuclear weapons.

" Only every rarely has a person to the same extent(程度) ________5.Obama captured(引起) the world's attention and given its people hope for ________6. better future," the Nobel Committee said.

People had guessed Obama might be the winner before the award, ________7.many Nobel watchers believed it was ________8.early to award the president.

高二英语其他题简单题查看答案及解析

President Barack Obama nominated Utah governor Jon Huntsman 3s ambassador to China on May 16．

Huntsman，49，is the son of a Utah multimillionaire(千万富翁)．He served as ambassador to Singapore under former president George H．W．Bush．In 2004，he became the governor of Utah and was elected for a second term in 2008．

The governor has strong ties to China：He lived in Taiwan when he was a teenager and speaks fluent Chinese．One of his daughters was adopted from China．His family also has business ties with China through Huntsman Corp，a chemical company．It has operations(动作)in the country including a factory in Shanghai．

Huntsman’s nomination has been met with praise(称赞)in both countries．

“Jon Huntsman is a well—regarded politician in the US…His experience as ambassador to Singapore and his knowledge of China，plus his wonderful Chinese language skills singled him out from the large number of Candidates，’’Dai Min，president of the US—based Center for America—China Partnership(中美合作中心)，told China Daily．

Obama appointed(任命)Huntsman“in order to seek China’s help and cooperation”on several international and regional issues，said Yuan Peng，professor of American Studies at the China Institute o f Contemporary International Relations(中国现代国际关系研究院)．

Some people say that President Obama’s decision to name John Huntsman is a well thought out political strategy。Huntsman is a big player in the Republican Party，and a possible presidential candidate for 2012．If he really has joined the Obama administration，he has lost that possibility．Now，when Obama kicks off his re—election campaign“ambassador’’Huntsman won’t be a threat．

1.The nomination of Huntsman won praise on both sides for the following reasons EXCEPT that

A、he has business ties with China        B、he can speak Chinese fluently

C、he is a very experenced politician         D、he knows China very well

2.Which of the following facts about Huntsman is NOT true?

A、He was once ambassador to Singapore．      B、He was elected governor of Utah twice．

C、H e has served two presidents as governor．    D、He spent part of his youth in Taiwan．

3.From the last two paragraphs，we can conclude that        ．

A、Obama considers China America’s top trade partner

B、By choosing Huntsman，Obama kills two birds with one stone

C、Huntsman will probably run for president in 2012．

D、Huntsman will sett]e several international and regional issues．

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Long before Barack Obama became president of the United States, he wrote a book 1. (call) Dream from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, which has since become 2.　 bestseller. It is an 3. (appeal) book that includes what he went through during 4. (he) childhood. Obama has little contact with his father 5. roots were in Kenya because he left home when Obama was very young. His mother got married 6. a student from Indonesia shortly after the family moved to Jakarta. A few years later, Obama came back with his grandparents to Hawaii, where he 7. (attend) a private high school. 8. (study) at Columbia in New York City, he then entered Harvard Law School. This autobiography also touches 9. (heavy) on Obama’s exposure to racism. Readers will find his reflections of childhood 10. (experience) which involved racial discrimination to be especially moving.

高二英语短文填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The campaign is over. The celebrations have ended. And the work for US president-elect Barack Obama has begun.

The 47-year-old politician rose to the highest post because of his stand against the war in Iraq and his plans to fix a weak economy. But what will the first 47-year-old African-American president do for race relations?

Obama’s victory appears to have given blacks and other minorities a true national role model. For years, many looked to athletes and musicians for inspiration. As Darius Turner, an African-American high school student in Los Angeles, told the Los Angeles Times, “Kobe doesn’t have to be everybody’s role model anymore.”

Recent polls（民意测验）also suggest that Obama’s victory has given Americans new optimism about race relations. For example, a USA Today poll found that two-thirds of Americans believe relations between blacks and whites “will finally be worked out”. This is the most hopeful response since the question was first asked during the civil rights revolution in 1963.

However, it’s still too early to tell whether Obama’s presidency will begin to solve many of the social problems facing low-income black communities.

Although blacks make up only 13 percent of the US population, 55 percent of all prisoners are African-American. Such numbers can be blamed on any number of factors on America’s racist past, a failure of government policy and the collapse(瓦解)of the family unit in black communities.

It is unlikely that Obama will be able to reverse (扭转) such trends overnight. However, Bill Bank, an expert of African-American Studies, says that eventually young blacks need to find role models in their own communities. “That’s not Martin Luther King, and not Barack Obama,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s actually the people closest to them. Barack only has so much influence.”

In the opinion of black British politician Trevor Phillips, Obama’s rise will contribute more to multiculturalism than to race relations in the US.

“When the G8 meets, the four most important people in the room will be the president of China, the prime minister of India, the prime minister of Japan and Barak Obama,” he told London’s The Times newspaper. “It will be the first time we’ve seen that on our television screens. That will be a huge psychological shift (心理转变) for both the white people and the colored ones in the world.”

1.For years, before Obama was elected president of the US, __________.

2.According to Bill Bank, ____________.

3.What would be the best title for this passage?

4.What will be the huge psychological shift Trevor mentioned at the end of the passage?

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

As US President Barack Obama _____London, fresh figures showed US house prices were falling at their fastest pace on record.

A. set up for　　 B. set in to

C. set off for　 D. set down to

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析