The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually and the first woman to win this prize was Baroness Bertha Felicie Sophie von Suttner in 1905. In fact, her work inspired the creation of the Prize. The first American woman to win this prize was Jane Addams, in 1931. However, Addams is best known as the founder of Hull House.
Jane Addams was born in 1860, into a wealthy family. She was one of a small number of women in her generation to graduate from college. Her commitment to improving the lives of those around her led her to work for social reform and world peace. In the 1880s Jane Addams travelled to Europe. While she was in London, she visited a ‘settlement house’ called Toynbee Hall. Inspired by Toynbee Hall, Addams and her friend, Ellen Gates Starr, opened Hull House in a neighborhood of slums in Chiacago in 1899. Hull House provided a day care center for children of working mothers, a community kitchen, and visiting nurses. Addams and her staff gave classes in English literacy, art, and other subjects. Hull House also became a meeting place for clubs and labor union s. Most of the people who worked with Addams in Hull House were well educated, middle-class women. Hull House gave them an opportunity to use their education and it provided a training ground for careers in social work.
Before World War I, Addams was probably the most beloved woman in America. In a newspaper poll that asked, “Who among our contemporaries are of the most value to the community?”, Jane Addams was rated second, after Thomas Edison. When she opposed America’s involvement in World War I, however, newspaper editors called her a traitor and a fool, but she never changed her mind. Jane Addams was a strong champion of several other causes. Until 1920, American women could not vote. Addams joined in the movement for women’s suffrage and was a vice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and was president of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. . Her reputation was gradually restored during the last years of her life. She died of cancer in 1935.
1 With which of the following subjects is the passage mainly concerned?
(a) The first award of the Nobel Peace Prize to an American woman
(b) A woman’s work for social reform and world peace
(c) The early development of Social Work in America
(d) Contributions of educated women to American society
2 Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(a) the work of Baroness Bertha Felicie Sophie von Suttner was an inspiration to Jane Addams
(b) Jane Addams is most famous for her opening of Hull House
(c) those who lived near Hull House had very poor literacy skills
(d) Jane addams considered herself as a citizen of the world rather than of one particular country
3 The word “commitment” in line 6 is closest in meaning to
(a) involvement
(b) obligation
(c) dedication
(d) enthusiasm
4 Jane Addams was inspired to open Hull House because:
(a) it gave educated women an opportunity to use their education and dev careers in social work
(b) she traveled to Europe in the 1880s
(c) she visited Toynbee Hall
(d) she was invited by a ‘settlement house’ in Chicago
5 The word “their” in line 15 refers to
(a) children of working mothers
(b) middle-class women
(c) visiting nurses
(b) labor union members
6 The word “contemporaries” in line 18 is closest in meaning to
(a) people of the same time
(b) famous people still alive
(c) elected officials
(d) people old enough to vote
7 According to the passage, Jane Addams’ reputation was damaged when she
(a) allowed Hull House to become a meeting place for clubs and labor union s
(c) joined in the movement for women’s suffrage
(c) became a founding member of the NAACP
(d) opposed America’s involvement in World War I
8 Where in the passage does the author mention the services provided by Hull House?
(a) lines 5-10
(b) lines 10-15
(c) lines 15-20
(d) lines 20-25
新托福阅读模拟题参考答案：1、b 2、b 3、c 4、c 5、b 6、a 7、d 8、b
这是一篇关于诺贝尔和平奖的新托福阅读模拟题，大家要仔细揣摩题意，注意积累词汇和句式，对托福写作及口语等都有很大的帮助。