Mark Twain has been called the inventor of the American novel. And he surely deserves additional praise: the man who popularized the clever literary attack on racism. I say clever because anti-slavery fiction had been the important part of the literature in the years before the Civil War. H. B. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is only the most famous example. These early stories dealt directly with slavery. With minor exceptions, Twain planted his attacks on slavery and prejudice into tales that were on the surface about something else entirely. He drew his readers into the argument by drawing them into the story. Again and again, in the postwar years, Twain seemed forced to deal with the challenge of race. Consider the most controversial, at least today, of Twain's novels, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Only a few books have been kicked off the shelves as often as Huckleberry Finn, Twain's most widely read tale. Once upon a time, people hated the book because it struck them as rude. Twain himself wrote that those who banned the book considered the novel "trash and suitable only for the slums ." More recently the book has been attacked because of the character Jim, the escaped slave, and many occurences of the word nigger. (The term Nigger Jim, for which the novel is often severely criticized, never appears in it.) But the attacks were and are silly--and miss the point. The novel is strongly anti-slavery. Jim's search through the slave states for the family from whom he has been forcibly parted is heroic. As J. Chadwick has pointed out, the character of Jim was a first in American fiction--a recognition that the slave had two personalities, "the voice of survival within a white slave culture and the voice of the individual: Jim, the father and the man." There is much more. Twain's mystery novel Pudd'nhead Wilson stood as a challenge to the racial beliefs of even many of the liberals of his day. Written at a time when the accepted wisdom held Negroes to be inferior to whites, especially in intelligence, Twain's... Recent criticism of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn arose partly from its _ . A) target readers at the bottom B) anti-slavery attitude C) rather impolite language D) frequent use of "nigger"
D
(Question)
Green invaders are taking over America. Not invaders from space, but plants! You might not think of plants as dangerous, but in this case they are threatening nature's delicate food chain. The invaders are plants brought here from other countries to make gardens and yards look pretty. Ever since people started to arrive on America's shores, they have carried along trees, flowers, and vegetables from other places. Now there are so many of those plants, they are crowding out the native plants that have lived here since before human settlers arrived. And that's a problem, says Dr. Doug Tallamy. He's insect expert at the University of Delaware. He explains that almost all the plant-eating insects in the United States are specialized, which means they eat only certain plants. Monarch butterfly caterpillars ,for example, dine on milkweed. If people cut down milkweed and replace it with another plant, the butterflies will not have the food source that they need to survive. But the trouble doesn't stop there. When insects can't get the right plants to eat and they die off, then the birds don't have enough bugs for their meals. Tallamy points out that almost all migrating birds depend on insets to feed their young. "We cannot let the plants and animals around us disappear." says Tallamy, "The way to preserve them is to give them food to eat. But when we plant non-native plants, we are _ the food chain, because then we don't have the insects the birds need to live." Fewer of the right plants mean fewer bugs, and fewer bugs mean fewer birds. And that's bad for the Earth, because we need a variety of living things to keep the planet healthy and beautiful. The good news is, garden centers sell native plants. "Just Google 'native plants' and your location, and you can find out which plants really belong where you live," says Tallamy We can know whether a plant is native by _ . A) Googling on the Internet B) asking Dr. Doug Tallamy C) looking up in books D) searching in garden
(Answer)
A
Question: "Super Dan", as top-seeded Lin Dan of China is better known in the badminton world, had his Olympic dream come true after claiming the men's singles gold by beating Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia on August 17 in the Beijing Olympics. His father, Lin Jianbin, said "Super Dan"has waited for four years to get this championship and he felt very proud of his son, as well as his prospective daughter-in-law Xie Xingfang, who is also a badminton player and won silver in women's singles at the Beijing Games. An SMS: The beginning of a love story Lin was born in Shanghang County, Longyan in Fujian Province. He first met Xie Xingfang when he was 14-years-old. 16-year-old Xie was attending a national youth team badminton training camp in Jinjiang, Fujian and Lin was also there. Tall and beautiful, Xie became the Snow White in the heart of Lin Dan, and he tried to please her and get chances to chat with her after the training sessions. He did not go beyond that. Before the Spring Festival in 2004, Lin finally mustered(,) the courage and sent Xie Xingfang a text message - I LOVE YOU. In fact, Xie Xingfang had already realized Lin Dan was fond of her. And covertly , she began to pay attention to Lin's movement and performance on the court. "He is very interesting, got a lot of ideas, and is a lovely boy." Two Kisses In May 2004 at the Thomas Cup in Jakarta, their love relationship was first known to the public. Xie sat with her teammates and watched the men's team playing. When Lin Dan won the match, he rushed to the bench and kissed Xie, a move that Xie did not expect Lin to do in public. A photographer captured this moment. At the All England Open in 2007, Lin kissed her again in public, making Xie feel like the happiest woman in the world. After Lin won his third title at the Open, he did not stay to watch Xie play. Xie defeated her opponent and won the championship. When she was called to accept the trophy(,) , Lin suddenly emerged at the central venue, holding red roses and gave her the flowers, and a passionate... When are the plans of this couple after the Olympic except _ ? A) to start business B) to go to school C) to go on vacation D) to get married
Answer:
A