By Charles Scanlon, BBC Journalist, Americas

媒體英語會帶大家一起學習BBC撰稿人在報道世界大事時常用到的單詞和短語

Background:美國前總統(tǒng)林肯多年前寫給一名男孩的書信以6萬美元的高價（41萬人民幣）在美國售出。當這名八歲男孩告訴同學他見到了總統(tǒng)時，不僅沒人相信而且他還受到眾人的一陣譏諷。

Abraham Lincoln was facing the biggest crisis in American history. The Southern states had seceded from the Union and civil war was imminent.

But shortly after his inauguration in 1861 he still found time to write to a distressed eight year-old boy. George Patton had met the newly-nominated candidate the year before with his journalist father but he faced howls of disbelief when he told his classmates.

A teacher wrote to the White House and back came the terse four-line reply confirming the meeting.

Abraham Lincoln set the ideal for the presidency that all his successors have aspired to. The brief letter feeds the legend of the man and the austere gentility for which he was renowned.