An oral history is a piece of writing based on an interview with a person who has lived through a significant period in history or experienced a historical event. His or her memories provide a personal view of the past.

     The first goal of all oral histories is to record stories about a specific subject. That subject may be a historical event like the D-Day invasion. It may be a period of history like the Depression, or a social or cultural trend, such as child labor. The first step in an oral history project, therefore, is to select a subject that interests you and is of historical significance.

     Before attempting to identify people to interview for your project, you must first gather background information about the subject. The Library of Congress, which houses thousands of oral histories, provides these tips for researching your subject.

     Before entering the library or logging onto the internet, decide on key words to use in your search. Use detailed search words. For example, search for rock and roll of the ’60s instead of the more general term music.

     Look through newspaper and magazine articles and Internet Web sites to identify documents that are related to your subject. Make copies of those that will help you plan your interview questions and discard all others.

     Discuss what you’ve read about your subject surprised you? What aspect of your subject would you like to know more about? Asking questions like these will help you to focus your subject and to identify the voice or voices you need to interview.

     Oral histories are as much about self as they are about subject. One goal of an oral history interview is to find out what happened. A second and equally important goal is to discover how people reacted to or were affected by what happened. The person you select to interview, therefore, should have had some experience with the subject – either as a participant or a witness.

     Once you have identified one or more people to interview, begin preparing your questions. The best questions are open-ended, encouraging the speaker to respond with more than a mere “Yes” or “No.” For example, an interviewer might have asked Clarence Hughart this question about his D-Day experience: Were you scared? That question, however, would probably not have elicited the sort of dramatic storytelling that Hughart provided.

     Make a list of ten possible interview questions. The first two or three should be fairly general, asking the interviewee to talk about his or her childhood, perhaps. These kinds of questions put people at ease. Save more sensitive questions until the interview has been underway for five, 10, or 15 minutes or more.

     After the interview come the final steps: writing a summary of the interview and then shaping it into a finished piece of writing.

		Deciding what you want to learn more about.		Selecting either a participant or a   __(9)  .		Making a list of possible interview questions.		(10)  with general questions and save more sensitive ones for later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hidden in our subconsciousness (潛意識) is a perfect mental picture. We see ourselves on a long trip that goes across the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows, we think in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle feeding on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, or row upon row of corn and wheat, of flat lands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hills, of city skylines and village halls.

But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw（拼圖玩具） puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles(通道), condemning the minutes for loitering --waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.

“When we reach the station, that will be it!” we cry. “When I’m 38.” “When I buy a new 450SL Mercdes Benz!” “When I put the last kid through college.” “When I have paid off the!” “When I get a promotion.” “When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after! ”

Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.

“Relish(appreciate) the moment” is a good motto, actually it isn’t the burdens of today that drive man mad. It is the regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.

So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more and cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. Then the station will come soon enough.

1.Why does the author describe the mental picture?

A．To lead us into a perfect world.                    B．To let people enjoy the scenery.

C．To introduce an actual trip of his.                 D．To compare it to our life’s journey.

2.How do people feel when they’re on their trip?

A．Puzzled.                     B．Happy.                C．Relaxed.              D．Impatient. 

3.What does the author mean by “Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today” in Line 2 Paragraph 5?

A．Regret and fear are responsible for the loss of today.

B．We must be careful of the two thieves: regret and fear.

C．regret and fear stop us from enjoying our present life.

D．We’re frequently challenged by the two : regret and fear.

4.Why does the author write the passage?

A．To teach us a good lesson.                           B．To tell us the right attitude to life.

C．To advice us to forget our worries.               D．To stop us wandering along the aisles.

 

—Who called me this morning when I was out?     

—A man calling ______ Robert.

A．him

B．himself

C．his

D．不填

 

Mr Chen was ___ early thirthies when he went abroad to have his further studies.

         A. of the       B.in the      C.in his      D. on his

.Everybody must have ___ own choice.

          A.her      B.one’s    C.his       D.our