1、
O. Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank, when some money went missing from the bank O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the reader’s surprise.
1. In which order did O. Henry do the following things?
a. Lived in New York. b. Worked in a bank. c. Travelled to Texas. d. Was put in prison. e. Had a newspaper Job. f. Learned to write stories.
A. e. c. f. b. d. a B. c. e. b. d. f. a C. e. b. d. c. a. f. D. c. b. e. d. a f.
2. People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because
A. they had surprise endings B. they were easy to understand C. they showed his love for the poor
D. they were about New York City
3. O. Henry went to prison because .
A. people thought he had stolen money from the newspaperB. he broke the law by not using his own name
C. he wanted to write stories about prisoners D. people thought he had taken money that was not his
4. What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?
A. He was well-educated.B. He was not serious about his work.
C. He was devoted to the poor.D. He was very good at learning.
5. Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?
A. His life inside the prison. B. The newspaper articles he wrote.
C. The city and people of New York. D. His exciting early life as a boy.
2、
One day a few years ago a very funny thing happened to a neighbour of mine. He is a teacher at one of London’s big medical schools, He had finished his teaching for the summer term and was at the airport on his way to Russia to give a lecture.
He had put a few clothes and his lecture notes in his shoulder bag, but he had put Rupert, the skeleton (人体骨骼) to be used in his lecture, in a large brown suitcase (箱子). At the airport desk, he suddenly thought that he had forgotten to buy a newspaper. He left his suitcase near the desk and went over to the shop.
When he got back he discovered that someone had taken his suitcase by mistake. He often wonders what they said when they got home and found Rupert.
1. Who wrote the story?
A. Rupert’s teacher. B. The neighbour’s teacher.C. A medical school teacher. D. The teacher’s neighbour.
2. Why did the teacher put a skeleton in his suitcase?
A. He needed it for the summer term in London.B. He needed it for the lecture he was going to give.
C. He wanted to take it to Russia for medical research.D. He wanted to take it home as he had finished his teaching.
3. What happened at the airport?
A. The skeleton went missing . B. The skeleton was stolen .
C. The teacher forgot his suitcase. D. The teacher took the wrong suitcase .
4. Which of the following best tells the teacher’s feeling about the incident?
A. He is very angry . B. He thinks it rather funny .
C. He feels helpless without Rupert.D. He feels good without Rupert .
5. Which of the following might have happened afterwards?
A. The teacher got back the suitcase but not Rupert.
B. The teacher got back neither the suitcase nor Rupert.
C. The teacher got back Rupert but not the suitcase.
D. The teacher got back both the suitcase and Rupert.
