【题目】In 1885, the Republic of France, important friend during the American Revolution, donated the largest statue in the world, Liberty Enlightening the World, to the United States of America. The statue would celebrate its century of independence. To ship it, the statue was broken down into 350 pieces. And now, spread across Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbour, it sat in 214 wooden packing boxes. The problem was that New York had no money to re-assemble it. Six other cities, less affected by the recent economic decline, had the money and bid to build it.
But a Hungarian immigrant, Joseph Pulitzer, the owner of America’s biggest newspaper called the World, wouldn’t let “Liberty” go. When he heard that the Statue of Liberty was about to die from lack of funds, he saw his chance.
Pulitzer set the fund-raising goal of the World at $ 100,000. In its pages he laughed at the rich, thus increasing the paper’s appeal among working-class people, and firmly planted the idea that the statue was a monument not just for New York City but, indeed, for all of America.
Perhaps Pulitzer’s cleverest trick was the promise 10 publish the name of every single contributor in the pages of the World, no matter how small the contribution. The editorial that opened the fund-raising campaign set its tone. He wrote: “The World is the people’s paper and it now appeals to the people to come forward and raise the money for the statue’s base.” The statue, he said was paid for by “the masses of the French people. Let us respond in like manner.” The circulation of the World increased by almost 50,000 copies.
African American newspapers joined in the effort, encouraging their readers to contribute to a monument that would, in part, celebrate the end of slavery. So the money poured in, as single-dollar donations from grandmothers and pennies from the piggybanks of schoolchildren.
On August 11, 1885, the front page of the World announced, “ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!” The goal had been reached, even slightly beyond, thanks to more than 120,000 contributions.
【1】What does the underlined word “re-assemble” (Para. 1) probably mean?
A. Put together. B. Take apart.
C. Transport. D. Repair.
【2】Which of the following was the greatest move in Joseph Pulitzer’s success?
A. Attacking the rich people.
B. Celebrating the end of slavery.
C. Printing every contributor’s name in the World.
D. Persuading children to donate their pocket money.
【3】What did Joseph Pulitzer try to convey to his readers about the Statue of Liberty?
A. It was a symbol of independence.
B. It was a monument for the whole USA.
C. It was a wonder in the building history.
D. It was a favor from the rich French people.
【4】What was the main purpose of Joseph Pulitzer’s efforts?
A. To protect the Statue of Liberty.
B. To win working-class readers over.
C. To expand the circulation of his paper.
D. To raise money for the Statue of Liberty.
在线课程【答案】
【1】A
【2】C
【3】B
【4】D
【解析】
这是一篇记叙文。1885年，法国将自由女神像送给美国人民。运抵美国之后，由于纽约缺少资金，因此不能重新安装自由女神像。美国报业大亨Pulitzer得知此事之后，为筹集资金做了很多努力，最后他终于为自由女神像筹集了足够的资金。
【1】词义猜测题。由第一段可知，自由女神像是法国送给美国人民的礼物，为了运送它，女神像被分解成350块，装在214个木箱里。问题是纽约没有钱来把它重新装配起来。故画线词“reassemble”与put together意思相近，表示重新组装。故A选项正确。
【2】细节理解题。由第四段Perhaps Pulitzer’s cleverest trick was the promise 10 publish the name of every single contributor in the pages of the World, no matter how small the contribution 可知，Pulitzer其中最伟大的一项举措就是承诺把每位捐款人的名字都公布在《世界报》上。结合上下文对比他做的其他努力，这是 Pulitzer成功的最大举措。故C选项正确。
【3】细节理解题。由第三段the statue was a monument not just for New York City but, indeed, for all of America.关于女神像，Pulitzer想对读者传达的思想就是它是全美国的纪念碑。故B选项正确。
【4】细节理解题。由第三段Pulitzer set the fund-raising goal of the World at $ 100,000 以及最后段可知，Pulitzer所做的努力就是为自由女神像筹集资金。故D选项正确。
根据定义或解释、说明是猜测词义的重要方法之一。小1题要猜测re-assemble的意思，由前文的解释To ship it, the statue was broken down into 350 pieces. And now, spread across Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbour, it sat in 214 wooden packing boxes 为了更好的运输自由女神像，女神像被分解成350块，装在214个木箱里。可知，法国送给美国的是一个完整的女神像，出于运输方便的原因，所以被分解运输到美国。到了美国之后，一定是要重新组装起来的，所以我们猜测re-assemble是重新组装。故A选项正确。所以同学们在猜测词义时，要准确利用所给出的定义或解释、说明的信息进行词义猜测。