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The Cherokee Indians(切罗基族) of the early 1800's were intelligent and hardworking people.
Most could read.Some lived in log cabins and others lived in large houses.A Cherokee named
Sequoyah made an alphabet for his language so it could be read and written as well as spoken.
As early as 1802 the state of Georgia and the federal government had signed an agreement with the
Cherokee Indians that stated that the Indian land belonged to Georgia.In 1829 President Jackson had a
"removal bill" introduced to Congress.The bill said that all Cherokee Indians would have to move to a
reservation in Oklahoma.Georgia took the Cherokee Indians' land and began to break it into small pieces
to be given to the white settlers.All contracts between Cherokee Indians and whites were canceled.
Anyone owing money to a Cherokee Indian didn't have to pay back.Some whites attacked and burned
the Cherokee Indians' homes.The Cherokee Indian leaders were arrested and their homes were taken
away.
In 1835 two Cherokees who were not elected leaders of the tribe signed a treaty(协议) with the
federal government.The treaty arranged for the Cherokee Indians to move away from Georgia.The
treaty was not good because no elected leader had signed it.More than 16,000 Cherokees signed a
petition(请愿书) asking that the treaty should be canceled.President Jackson refused.In 1838 ten
thousand American soldiers were sent to Georgia to remove the Cherokees from the land they had
lived on as long as anyone could remember.They were taken to a makeshift prison until the trip west
could begin.
The trip to Oklahoma began in cold weather.More than four thousand Cherokee Indians died on
the trip.One fourth of the tribe died on the trail(小道) known as the "Trail of Tears". The Cherokees
call this trail Nunnadaultsunyi, meaning "The Place Where They Cried".
1. We learn from the first paragraph that the Cherokee Indians of the early 1800's ______.
A. had no their own language
B. passed on their knowledge by word of mouth
C. lived a very primitive life
D. could build houses
2. What happened to the Cherokee Indians after the "removal bill" was introduced to Congress?
A. They were allowed to ask all their money back.
B. They moved to a better place.
C. They lost their land.
D. They sold their land to the white settlers.
3. We can infer from the third paragraph that the treaty ______.
A. was against the will of the Cherokee Indians
B. didn't take effect in the end
C. was turned down by President Jackson
D. was misunderstood by most Cherokee Indians
4. The trail to Oklahoma is called "Trail of Tears" because ______.
A. many Cherokees escaped from the trip
B. the weather was very cold during the trip
C. Cherokees walked beside a big river
D. many Cherokees lost their lives during the trip