Many American presidents in the 19th century were born in poor families. They spent their childhood in little wooden rooms. They got little education . Washington and Lincoln, for example, never went to school and they taught themselves. Lincoln once did jobs of a worker, shopkeeper and post officer in his early years.
A large number of U. S. presidents had experiences in the army. The two best known were Ulysses Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Grant was a general ( * * ) in the American Civil War and Eisenhower was a hero in the Second World War. It happened that they graduated from the same school—West Point Military Academy . One may be surprised to learn that both of them did not do well in the school. Eisenhower, for example, was once fined (罚款) because he broke the rules of the school.
The jobs of U. S. presidents are tiring. He must keep an eye on anything important which happens both at home and abroad. Every day, a lot of work waits for him to do, and he has to make many important decisions. When Franklin Roosevelt was a child, he was once brought to visit President Taft. The old president said to him, “When you grow up, you should not be president. It’s a tiring job.”
小题1:In the nineteenth century, many U.S. presidents .
A．did not have much knowledge in their work
B．had been workers, shop-keepers and post officers in their early years
C．couldn’t receive good education before they grew up
D．didn’t want to go to school during their childhood小题2:President Eisenhower became well-known .
A．while studying in West Point Military Academy.
B．during the American Civil War
C．after he was elected President of the U. S.
D．during World War II小题3:In this passage, “keep an eye on” means “ ”.
A．pay close attention to
B．not pay attention to
C．look at something with one eye
D．never keep in mind小题4:Which of the following do you think is right according to the last paragraph?
A．In the U. S. no one wanted to be president because it was tiring.
B．None of the presidents except Taft could do the tiring job.
C．It is an important and tiring job to be a president in the U. S.
D．President Taft didn’t want Roosevelt to be a president because he was too young.小题5:Which do you think is the main idea of the second paragraph?
A．Many of the U. S. presidents had served in the army before they took office.
B．Only those who didn’t work hard at school but were good at fighting could be presidents.
C．Grant and Eisenhower became well-known because they both graduated from West Point Military Academy.
D．Eisenhower was President at the beginning of the Second World War.
