I dont get five good, genuine,personal letters a year. The time is coming when the lette

r written with penand ink and sent as a personal message from one person to another will be as muchof a rarity as the gold pocket watch carried on a chain. Its a shame.

There is something special abouta personal letter. Its better than a phone call, no matter what the telephonecompany says. A phone call disappears into the air as soon as the receiver is putback on the hook. A good letter can last a lifetime.

Some of my most preciouspossessions are letters that have been written to me sometime in the past. Idont have a single memorable phone call stored in a box in my attic() or basement. Ivenever thrown away a good letter and, like any real treasure, I dont even haveto look at them to enjoy having them. I know I have them. The telephone callscome and go. They make no permanent impression on me and have no place in mymemory.

A personal letter is a good thingbecause you say things you cant say in a crowd and might not even say to theperson face to face. If you feel like it, a letter allows you to take yourselfand your thoughts more seriously than you would dare take them in conversation.And you can say things without interruption.

A good letter is, in many ways,the exact opposite of a political speech. A politician addressing a crowd hasto talk so broadly and generally about the issues in order not to offendanyone of the thousands of people listening that he usually ends up sayingnothing. A letter can be specific, and if the writer has some bias orprejudice, he can even reveal his true self by letting this show. Writing afriend, you shouldnt have to be careful. Abraham Lincolns letter to hisstep-brother telling him he wasnt going to loan him the eighty dollars heasked for tells you more about Abraham Lincoln than the Gettysburg Addressdoes.

Some of our best history has comethat way, from personal letters of famous people that scholars have dug up. Youget a better idea of what someone is really like from a personal letter theywerent expecting you to read than you get from a carefully considered publicstatement theyve made. We say real things in letters.

36.What is a shame according to the author？

A. People sometimes write letters with pen and ink.

B. People hardly carry a gold pocket watch.

C. People never receive anypersonal letters.

D. People rarely send any personal letters.

37.Whats the main idea of paragraphs 2 and 3？

A. What a good personal letter is.

B. What advantage personal letters have.

C. Why people dont write personal letters.

D. Why writing personal letters is so special.

38.What do “issues” in paragraph 5 mean？ .

A. The key points of a political speech.

B. The speakers bias and prejudice.

C. Problems that the audiences have.

D.Questions thatarise for discussion.

39.Why does the author use Abraham Lincolns example？

A. To show that a political address has to be general.

B. To show that letter writing sometimes offends people.

C. To show that people say real things in personal letters.

D. To show that even a great man has his dark side.

40.Whats the best word to describe the tone of the author？

A. Objective

B. Persuasive

C. Humorous

D. Ironic