The Grandmother Who Led Her Country

In 1948, a group of Jewish people who felt the need for a safe homeland created a new nation. The nation, called Israel(以色列), was formed in the desert along the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea(地中海). Over the years, Jews from all corners of Earth came to live there.

When the Israeli prime minister died suddenly in 1969, Golda Meir became the third leader of the Israeli people. To some people in other countries, the choice of this 71-year-old grandmother was a surprise. But in Israel, Golda Meir had been well-known for over 20 years. She had already served as minister of labor and minister of the interior(内部). Many Israelis were sure that she was just the kind of strong leader that they needed in their many battles with their close neighbors, the Arab countries.

As a child in Russia, Golda Meir had lived in poverty. When she was four, she had seen frightening killings in her city. Soldiers thundered through the streets burning homes. Her father had boarded up doors and windows as he tried to protect his family. Jewish families escaped as best they could. Many, like Golda’s family, came to America to start a new and safer life.

Golda decided then, as a child, that to survive she would have to be strong and sure in her actions. She began to build her life around the idea of finding a safe home for Jews, so that young children would not live in fear as she had.

Golda Meir married and had children, but she continued to devote much of her energy to helping Jews find and build their new homeland. Her ideas and strength made her a kind of architect(建筑师) of a new society.

1. Golda Meir was born in________.

a. Arabia       

b. America

c. Russia

2. The word in paragraph 4 that means to remain alive is________.

3. The story does not say so, but it makes you think that________.

a. some groups will work hard to live as they choose

b. Israel never did become esta-blished as a country

c. Israelis need leaders who are quiet people

4. When the Israelis formed their new home,________.

a. they all became world leaders

b. battles began with their Arab neighbors

c. they formed an architecture school

5. Jews in Israel found a quiet life without struggles.

a. Yes.     b. No.   c. Does not say.

6. On the whole, this story is about ________.

a. how a Jewish leader helped form Israel

b. the Israeli way of life

c. Golda Meir’s childhood

参考答案:1.c 2.survive 3.a 4.b 5.b 6.a