成人高考

C

Uncle Sam is a tall，thin man. He‘s an older man with white hair and a white beard. He often wears a tall hat，a bow tie， and the stars and stripes of the American flag.

Who is this strange，looking man?Would you believe that Uncle Sam is the US government?But why do you call the US government Uncle Sam?

During the War of 1812，the US government hired meat packers to provide meat to the army. One of these meat packers was a man named Samuel Wilson. Samuel was a friendly and fair man. Everyone liked him and called him Uncle Sam.

Sam Wilson stamped the boxes of meat for the army with a large US for United States. Some government inspectors came to look over Sam‘s company. They asked a worker what the US on the boxes stood for. As a joke，the worker answered that these letters stood for the name of his boss，Uncle Sam.

The joke spread，and soldiers began saying that their food came from Uncle Sam. Before long，people called all things that came from the government “Uncle Sam‘s”，“Uncle Sam” became a nickname for the US government.

Soon there were drawings and cartoons of Uncle Sam in newspapers. In these early pictures，Uncle Sam was a young man. He wore stars and stripes，but his hair was dark and he had not a beard. The beard was added when Abraham Lincoln was President. President Lincoln had a beard.

The most famous picture of Uncle Sam is on a poster from World War I. The government needed men to fight in the war. In the poster，a very serious Uncle Sam points his finger and says “I want YOU for the US Army.”

( )59. “Uncle Sam” became a ________ for the US government.

A. boss

B. nickname

C. picture

D. businessmen

( )60. Uncle Sam often wears tall hat，________ and the stars and stripes of the American flag.

A. dark hair

B. a bow tie

C. a box

D. a shirt

( )61. Government inspectors came to ________ Sam‘s meat-packing company.

A. ask

B. stand for

C. look over

D. see

( )62. In the drawing and cartoons of Uncle Sam ________.

A. he wore the stars and stripes

B. the never had a beard

C. he had no hair

D. he wore a bow tie

D

The Red Cross is an international organization which cares for people who are in need of help. A man in Paris hospital who needs blood，a woman in Mexico who was injured in an earthquake，and a family in India that lost their home in a storm may all be aided by the Red Cross.

The Red Cross exists in almost every country around the globe. The world Red Cross organizations are sometimescalled the Red Crescent，the Red Mogen David，the Sun，and the Red Lion. All of these agencies share a common goal of trying to help people in need.

The idea of forming an organization to help the sick and wounded during a war started with Jean Henri Dunant. In 1859，he observed how people were suffering on a battle field in Italy. He wanted to help all the wounded people regardless of which side they were fighting for. The most important result of his work was an international treaty called the Geneva Convention. It protects prisoners of way the sick and wounded，and other citizens during a war.

The American Red Cross was set up by Clara Barton in 1881. Today the Red Cross in the United States provides a number of services for the public，such as helping people in need，teaching first aid and providing blood.

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