experts in 1945. They praised her poetic skills and her powerful descriptions about the black experience during the time.

　　Gwendolyn Brooks won her first major award in 1943 at the Midwestern Writers' Conference. Brooks was the first African­American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize and to be given a job in the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

　　5. Gwendolyn Brooks paid more attention in her poems to ________.

　　A. culture differences

　　B. drug use in African countries

　　C. the life of the black in America

　　D. the life of her own family

　　6. From the passage we can learn that ________.

　　A. at seven, Brooks' parents found that she had a gift for writing poems

　　B. Brooks' poems made black people gain freedom

　　C. some of Brooks' early poems were set in the South Side of Chicago

　　D. the poem A Street in Bronzeville made Brooks become rich

　　7. Which of the following statements about Brooks is NOT true?

　　A. She is an African­American writer.

　　B. Her first poem was published in 1930.

　　C. She was good at the language of poetry.

　　D. She was the first American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize.

　　8. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

　　A. Brooks spent her childhood in a poor black community

　　B. most of Brooks' writing was based on what she saw and heard

　　C. all of Brooks' books have been published

　　D. Brooks didn't receive college education

　　C

　　We consider a list of the best American books. Here are five that helped define the national character. Most from a century or so ago, they still entertain, teach, and inspire.

　　Moby Dick by Herman Melville

　　It was first published in 1851. It is full of the adventure stories of Captain Ahab and his continuous act of looking for and following white whales. They draw us into a universe full of attractive characters and stories.

　　The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams

　　It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1918. Adams came from one of America's most famous political dynasties and he provided his deep understanding about his family, including his experience as private secretary to his father, minister to England during the American Civil War.

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman