Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky in 1809. His mother died when he was ten years old. Later, his family moved to Illinois and his father remarried [1]remarry: 美: [riˈmeri] 英: [riːˈmæri] v. 再婚. The family was poor, so they had to struggle just to live. In Illinois, there were neither teachers nor [2]neither … nor … : 既不……也不；两者都不 schools, but Lincoln’s stepmother [3]stepmother: 美: [ˈstepˌmʌðər] 英: [ˈstepˌmʌðə(r)] n. 继母 encouraged him to study [4]encourage sb. to do sth. : 鼓励某人去做某事. He learned to read and write while working on the farm.
At twenty-one, Lincoln left home. He soon received a law license [5]license: 美: [ˈlaɪs(ə)ns] 英: [‘laɪs(ə)ns] v. 许可；批准 and became a lawyer [6]lawyer: 美: [ˈlɔjər] 英: [ˈlɔːjə(r)] n. 律师. People trusted [7]trust: 美: [trʌst] 英: [trʌst] n. 信任；信托；相信；信赖 v. 信任；相信；信赖；希望 him and began to call him “Honest Abe”.
During the following years, he took a more active part in politics [8]take an active part in: 积极参加 . Soon he was not only a highly [9]highly: 美: [ˈhaɪli] 英: [‘haɪli] adv. 非常；很；高标准地；高级地 respected lawyer but also a well-known politician [10]politician: 美: [ˌpɑləˈtɪʃ(ə)n] 英: [ˌpɒləˈtɪʃ(ə)n] n. 政治家；政客；从政者；见风驶舵者. He was elected [11]elect: 美: [ɪˈlekt] 英: [ɪ’lekt] v. 选举；选择；推选 the sixteenth president of the United States in 1860, and in the next year the Civil [12]civil: 美: [ˈsɪvɪl] 英: [ˈsɪv(ə)l] adj. 国民的；平民的；国家的；民事的（非刑事的） War [13]Civil War: 内战；美国内战 broke out [14]break out: (战争等)突发；(囚犯等)逃脱.
The Civil War was between the southern states that wanted to leave the Union [15]union: 美: [ˈjunjən] 英: [ˈjuːnjən] n. 联盟；工会；联合；联合会 and form their own country and the northern states that wanted to keep all the states as one country. The southern states wanted to keep the laws that allowed them to [16]allow sb. to do sth. : 允许某人做某事 own slaves [17]slave: 美: [sleɪv] 英: [sleɪv] n. 奴隶；完全受（某事物）控制的人；完全依赖（某事物）的人. Both the northern states and President Lincoln wanted to get rid of [18]get rid of: 除掉；摆脱 those laws. On April 9, 1865, the Civil War ended and all slaves were set free [19]set free: 释放；使获得自由.
Less than [20]less than: 不到；小于；低于 a week later, on April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was shot [21]shoot: 美: [ʃut] 英: [ʃuːt] n. 幼苗；嫩芽；新枝；拍摄 v. 开（枪或其他武器）；射击；发射；射杀 *过去式 shot 过去分词 shot at the Ford Theatre in Washington, DC. He died the next day from his wounds.
Word Bank
| ↑1 | remarry: 美: [riˈmeri] 英: [riːˈmæri] v. 再婚 |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | neither … nor … : 既不……也不；两者都不 |
| ↑3 | stepmother: 美: [ˈstepˌmʌðər] 英: [ˈstepˌmʌðə(r)] n. 继母 |
| ↑4 | encourage sb. to do sth. : 鼓励某人去做某事 |
| ↑5 | license: 美: [ˈlaɪs(ə)ns] 英: [‘laɪs(ə)ns] v. 许可；批准 |
| ↑6 | lawyer: 美: [ˈlɔjər] 英: [ˈlɔːjə(r)] n. 律师 |
| ↑7 | trust: 美: [trʌst] 英: [trʌst] n. 信任；信托；相信；信赖 v. 信任；相信；信赖；希望 |
| ↑8 | take an active part in: 积极参加 |
| ↑9 | highly: 美: [ˈhaɪli] 英: [‘haɪli] adv. 非常；很；高标准地；高级地 |
| ↑10 | politician: 美: [ˌpɑləˈtɪʃ(ə)n] 英: [ˌpɒləˈtɪʃ(ə)n] n. 政治家；政客；从政者；见风驶舵者 |
| ↑11 | elect: 美: [ɪˈlekt] 英: [ɪ’lekt] v. 选举；选择；推选 |
| ↑12 | civil: 美: [ˈsɪvɪl] 英: [ˈsɪv(ə)l] adj. 国民的；平民的；国家的；民事的（非刑事的） |
| ↑13 | Civil War: 内战；美国内战 |
| ↑14 | break out: (战争等)突发；(囚犯等)逃脱 |
| ↑15 | union: 美: [ˈjunjən] 英: [ˈjuːnjən] n. 联盟；工会；联合；联合会 |
| ↑16 | allow sb. to do sth. : 允许某人做某事 |
| ↑17 | slave: 美: [sleɪv] 英: [sleɪv] n. 奴隶；完全受（某事物）控制的人；完全依赖（某事物）的人 |
| ↑18 | get rid of: 除掉；摆脱 |
| ↑19 | set free: 释放；使获得自由 |
| ↑20 | less than: 不到；小于；低于 |
| ↑21 | shoot: 美: [ʃut] 英: [ʃuːt] n. 幼苗；嫩芽；新枝；拍摄 v. 开（枪或其他武器）；射击；发射；射杀 *过去式 shot 过去分词 shot |
