On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery（公墓）. The Civil War was still going on. There was much criticism (批评) of President Lincoln at the time. He had been invited to speak at Gettysburg only out of politeness. The other speaker was to be Edward Everett, a famous statesman (政治家) 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. Later that night, alone in his hotel room and tired out, he again worked briefly on the speech. The next day Everett spoke first. His speech lasted an hour and 57 minutes and it was a perfect example 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（掌声）. Lincoln turned to a friend and said, “I have failed again.”
Some newspapers at first criticized (批评) the speech. But little by little, as people read the speech, they began to like its simplicity（简洁）and its deep meaning. It was a speech which only Abraham Lincoln could have made.
Now everyone thinks of it as one of the greatest speeches ever given in American history.
小题1: In 1863, Abraham Lincoln was __________________ in Gettysburg.
A．warmly welcomed
B．unpopular
C．greatly praised
D．very polite小题2:Lincoln was invited to speak at the National Soldiers Cemetery because he was __________.
A．a famous speaker of the day
B．very handsome and polite
C．President of the United States at the time
D．a popular statesman小题3: It can be inferred from the text that __________________________________.
A．Lincoln had 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 seemed to be a failure for the first time
D．Lincoln’s speech was a little shorter than Everett’s one小题4:Lincoln’s speech was __________________.
A．an immediate success
B．not accepted at all
C．a total failure
D．not well-received at first小题5:Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
A．Lincoln’s speech has deep meaning though it is simple in style.
B．Neither Lincoln’s speech nor Everett’s was popular then.
C．Lincoln’s speech proved to be a great success later.
D．Everett’s speech was thought to be perfect at that time.
