Question

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 the stories finished with a sudden change at the end, to the readers' surprise.

1. People enjoyed reading O. Henry's stories because _______.

A. they had surprising endings.

B. they were easy to understand.

C. they showed his love for the poor.

D. they were about New York City.

2.O. Henry went to prison because _______.

A. people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper.

B. 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.

3.What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?

A. He was well-educated.

B. He was very good at learning.

C. He was devoted to the poor.

D. He was not serious about his work..

4. 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 poor people in New York.

D. His exciting early life as a boy.

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.B

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：短文大意：欧·亨利是一位美国短篇小说家的笔名，他的真名叫威廉·西德里·波特，1862年出生于北卡罗来纳州。他的童年生活十分美好，他没有正经的上过几年学，却能自学成材；在他20岁的时候，欧·亨利来到了德克萨斯州，在那儿干过许多不同的工作，最先是在一家报社工作，然后去了一家银行,然而那家银行丢失了一些钱，人们怀疑欧·亨利就是那个贼，他因此被送进了监狱，在那儿的三年时间里，他学会了短篇小说的写作。出狱之后，他来到纽约并继续他的写作生涯，撰写了大量关于纽约和纽约贫民生活的作品，人们喜欢他的小说，因为他写的故事非常流畅，结尾却时常横生枝节，让读者回味无穷。

1.A推理判断题。题意：人们喜欢看欧亨利的故事是因为什么？A. they had surprising endings. 有令人惊喜的结尾；B. they were easy to understand.容易理解；C. they showed his love for the poor.展示了对穷人的爱；D. they were about New York City.是关于纽约的。根据短文最后一句：People liked his stories, because the stories finished with a sudden change at the end, to the readers' surprise.（人们喜欢他的故事，是因为故事结尾突然变化，令读者惊奇。）故选A。

2.D 细节理解题。题意：欧亨利进了监狱是因为什么？A. people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper.人们以为他偷了报社的钱；B. he broke the law by not using his own name.因为他不用本名犯法了；C. he wanted to write stories about prisoners.他想写有关囚犯的故事； D. people thought he had taken money that was not his.人们认为他拿了不属于自己的钱。文中描述他入狱的句子是：When some money went missing from the bank, O. Henry was believed to have stolen it.（句意：当银行里的一些钱丢失后，欧亨利被认定为偷盗者）故选D。

3.B推理判断题。题意：在欧亨利开始写作前我们知道他什么？A. He was well-educated. 他受过良好的教育；B. He was very good at learning.他擅长学习；C. He was devoted to the poor. 他致力于帮助穷人；D. He was not serious about his work..他对工作不严谨。根据短文，欧亨利没怎么上学，但他坚持自学。故选B。

4. C 细节理解题。题意：欧亨利在哪儿获得他短故事的主要材料？A. His life inside the prison. 他的监狱生活； B. The newspaper articles he wrote.他写给报社的文章；C. The city and poor people in New York. 纽约及纽约的穷人；D. His exciting early life as a boy.小时的精彩生活。短文倒数第三句：He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there.（句意：他主要写的是纽约及那儿的穷人的生活）。可以推测出本题选C。

考点：考查人物传记类短文阅读。