阅读理解
Benjamin Franklin, Walter Isaacson tells us at the beginning of his long (but never boring)new
biography(传记), "is the founding father who winks at us."By that, Isaacson explains, he means
Franklin is the most human-and most modern-of the men who shaped the American republic.We
admire Washington, Jefferson and Adams, but they remain creatures of the 18th century.The man
we encounter in"Benjamin Franklin"-funny, pragmatic and selfaware-seems like one of us, or at least
someone we'd like to be.
Unlike Washington's cherry tree, Franklin's kite was real.His experiments with electricity made
him one of the great scientists of his day.He was a middleclass businessman whose success as a printer
and a journalist allowed him to retire at 42-and he devoted the rest of his life to his country.He was
diplomat who persuaded the French to back the American Revolution and the author of the first great
American autobiography.He was an excellent swimmer.There was almost nothing he couldn't do well,
except write poetry.But what truly distinguished Franklin was his talent of being great and human at the
same time.He owned slaves as a younger man, but in his last years became an abolitionist(废奴主义者). When he fathered an illegitimate(私生的) son, he acknowledged his fatherhood and took the
responsibility of raising the boy.
He seems strange today in the joy he took in compiling and creating all those selfimprovement
maxims he published in Poor Richard's Almanac(年鉴)- "early to bed, early to rise"and so on.
Generations of lazy boys could have been happier without that.But he was no hypocrite.Isaacson tells
us Franklin practiced what he preached, and often laughed at himself while he did so.
By a happy accident, this is the second excellent biography of Franklin to appear in two years, after
Edmund S. Morgan's inspiring"Benjamin Franklin."
1. What type of literature does this passage belong to?
A. Research paper.
B. Book review.
C. Biography.
D. Short story.
2. The underlined word"maxims"in Paragraph 3 probably means________.
A. proverbs
B. standards
C. requests
D. orders
3. With the fact that Franklin shouldered the responsibilities of raising his illegitimate son, the
author wants to prove that________.
A. Franklin had made a big fortune in his business before he got devoted to polities
B. Franklin might be the only parent to support the child at that time
C. Franklin was a great man who seems human to us
D. Franklin was improving his character when he got on in ages
4. The underlined word"himself"in Paragraph 3 refers to________.
A. Richard's Almanac
B. Walter isaacson
C. anyone of the readers.
D. Benjamin Franklin
5. In which part of a magazine can we most probably find this article?
A. Society and the Arts.
B. World Affairs.
C. Business Report.
D. Advertisement.
