| 阅读理解。 |
| Andrew Carnegie was a 19th century steel tycoon (大亨) who became one of the 20th century's most famous philanthropists (慈善家). His life story is one of the most famous rags-to-riches accounts in United States history. Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, on November 25, 1835. The son of a weaver, he came with his family to the United States in 1848 and settled in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. At age thirteen, Carnegie went to work as a bobbin (线轴) boy in a cotton mill (纱厂). He then moved rapidly through a succession of jobs with Western Union and the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1865, he resigned to establish his own business enterprises and eventually organized the Carnegie Steel Company, which started the steel industry in Pittsburgh. At age sixty-five, he sold the company to J. P. Morgan for $ 480 million and devoted the rest of his life to his philanthropic activities and writing, including his autobiography (自传). Many persons of wealth have contributed to charity, but Carnegie was perhaps the first to state publicly that the rich have a moral obligation to give away their fortunes. In 1889 he wrote The Gospel (福音) of Wealth, in which he asserted that all personal wealth beyond what was required to supply the needs of one's family should be regarded as a trust fund to be administered for the benefit of the community. Carnegie set about giving away his fortune through innumerable personal gifts and through the establishment of various trusts. In his thirties, Carnegie had already begun to give away some of his fast accumulating funds. His first large gifts were made to his nature town. Later he created seven philanthropic and educational organizations in the United States, including Carnegie Corporation of New York, and several more in Europe. One of Carnegie's lifelong interests was the establishment of free public libraries to make available to everyone a means of self-education. There were only a few public libraries in the world when, in 1881, Carnegie began to promote his idea. He and the Corporation subsequently (随后) spent over $56 million to build 2,509 libraries throughout the English-speaking world. After this program was ended in 1917, the Corporation continued for about forty years an interest in the improvement of library services. Other major programs in the Corporation's early history included adult education and education in the fine arts. During his lifetime, Carnegie gave away over$350 million. He died in Lenox, Massachusetts on August 11, 1919. |
| 1. Carnegie became wealthy by ____. |
| A. his investment in weaving industry B. his father's financial support C. starting his steel business from nothing D. his philanthropic activities |
| 2. What is the correct order of events related to Carnegie? a. He sold his company. b. He organized the Carnegie Steel Company. c. He worked in a cotton mill. d. He came to the United States. e. He wrote The Gospel of Wealth. |
| A. c,d,e,b,a B. c,b,a,d,e C. d,c,b,e,a D. d,b,a,e,c |
| 3. Which of the following is TRUE about Carnegie? |
| A. He was the first wealthy person who contributed to charity. B. He believed that it was the duty of the wealthy to help society. C. He called on the wealthy to give away all of their fortune to help the poor. D. He was willing to give personal gifts only to his friends and relatives. |
| 4. Carnegie established public libraries in order to ____. |
| A. become famous B. earn more money C. improve library services D. help people educate themselves |