OnNovember19,1863,AbrahamLinco-名校题库网

On November 19,1863, Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery. The Civil War was still going on. There was much criticism of President Lincoln at the time. He was not at all popular. He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness. The principal speaker was to be Edward Everett, a famous statesman and speaker of the day. Everett was a handsome man and very popular everywhere.

It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg. Late that night, alone in his hotel room and tired out, he again worked briefly on the speech. The next day Everett spoke first. He spoke for an hour and 57 minutes. His speech was a perfect example of the rich oratory of the day. Then Lincoln rose. The crowd of 15,000 people at first paid little attention to him. He spoke for only nine minutes. At the end there was little applause. Lincoln turned to a friend and remarked, "I have failed again." On the train back to Washington, he said sadly, "That speech was a flat failure, and the people are disappointed."

Some newspapers at first criticized the speech. But little by little as people read the speech they began to understand better. They began to appreciate its simplicity and its deep meaning. It was a speech which only Abraham Lincoln could have made.

Today, every American school child learns Lincoln′s Gettysburg Address by heart. Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given in American history.

It can be inferred from the text that___________

A.Lincoln prepared his speech very carefully before he went to Gettysburg
B.Lincoln was very busy at the time and didn' t have much time to prepare his speech
C.Lincoln's speech was full of rich words
D.Lincoln' s speech was very long

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答案： B

本题解析：

推断题。由第二段前两句“It is said that Lincoln prepared his speech on the train while going to Gettysburg．Late that night,alone in his hotel room and tired out,he again worked briefly on the speech．"可知A选项错误，B选项正确。由第三段第三句“They began to appreciate its simplicity and its deep meaning．"可知 C选项错误．林肯的演说用词简洁，而非华丽。由第二段倒数第四旬“He spoke for only nine minutes．”可知D选项错误。