People often ask me whether being President has made it more difficult to spend time with Michelle and our girls. But the surprising truth is that being in the White House has made our family life more "normal" than it's ever been.

    When Malia was born, Michelle and I were fortunate enough to spend a happy three months mostly at home with our baby girl. But then Michelle went back to work part time, and I returned to my schedule of teaching at the University of Chicago law school and serving in the state legislature(州议会). This meant that I would often be away in Springfield for three days at a time. Even when I was home in Chicago, I had papers to grade and briefs to write (写案情提要)and evening meetings to attend.

    Things didn't get any easier when I was elected to the Senate (参议员)and had to travel back and forth to Washington every week. Then our lives were thrown completely out of balance during a presidential campaign that kept me on the road almost constantly—leaving Michelle to carry an even heavier load for longer time.

    But to our surprise, moving to the White House was really the first time since the girls were born that we've been able to gather as a family almost every night. Michelle and I can go to parent-teacher conferences together. It's not always easy being a father of teenage girls. But it is pretty good to live together.

    So for an hour or so at dinner, my focus is not on my day, but on theirs. I can feel myself staying at the table a little longer, trying to spend more time with them. For as long as possible, I'm going to enjoy every minute of finally having us all together under one roof.

    First Lady Nancy Reagan once wrote, "Nothing can prepare you for living in the White House." She was right, of course. Nothing can prepare you. But your family can support you”.

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1.From the first paragraph, we know people are often curious about the president’s___________.

A wife’s life

B daughters’ life

C family life

D presidential life

解析：选C。C。推理判断题。按照常理，人们对总统先生的各个方面都会感兴趣，但第一段着重谈的是家庭生活方面，故选C。

2.What was the president’s life like when he was teaching at university?

A Easy.

B Busy.

C Comfortable.

D Worrying.

解析：选B。B。细节理解题。由第二段可知，奥巴马总统讲述自己在大学教书时的生活是比较忙碌的，没有时间和家人在一起。

3.What is the probable meaning of the underlined word ‘elected’ in paragraph 3?

A 选择

B 决定

C 推选

D 自愿

解析：选C。C。词义猜测题。当他被选为参议员后，就不得不常常在华盛顿与家之间奔波。

4.What is it that gave the president the chance to live as a family?

A Moving to the White House.

B Going to parent-teacher conference.

C Having dinner together.

D Support from family members.

解析：选A。A。细节理解题。由第四段可知，入住白宫后，奥巴马总统才有相对多的时间和家人在一起。

5.This passage is a__________.

A report

B science fiction

C story

D speech

解析：选D。D。文章体裁题。本文是奥巴马总统的一篇演讲。