"Mark Twain" was the name used by Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910) when he wrote books. His father was a lawyer, but a poor one, who lived at Florida, Missouri. The family was so poor that Samuel did not receive much teaching. He had to learn all that he could from the people whom he met. His father died when he was very young, and then there was even less money than before.
Many of the men in this part of America worked in the ships on the great River Mississippi, and he did this himself at one time (1857).
Where did he find the name "Mark Twain"? It came from the great river itself. It was part of one of the cries used by men who worked in the ships. When a man called "By the mark twain!" he meant that the river was "two marks deep" there, that is to say, six feet deep ( "Twain" is an old form of the work "Two".) Samuel Clemens often heard these words when he was young, and he used them as a penname all his life.
During his work on the Mississippi he met travelers of all kinds, and this helped him a great deal when he started to write. But the number of travelers became smaller when war started in America in 1861. Many of the great ships on the river stopped work. Samuel left then and went to Nevada with his brother, who was at that time Governor of Nevada. There, near the town of Carson, Samuel became a gold miner, but he never made much money at the time. He soon saw that life in the gold mines was not for him. He also tried writing for the newspapers in Nevada, and this seemed more hopeful. He found that he could write.
He went to Europe in 1867 and visited France and Italy. In 1870 he married Olivia Langdon, and two years later he was spending nearly all his time writing. Among his books is his own story (1908).
He is now always known as Mark Twain, and many people do not even know that his family name was Clemens. He traveled in America and in England, and went to Oxford in 1907. He was one of the great American writers of the time, and could make his readers laugh – a thing which few writers can do. He died in 1910.
1."Mark Twain" was _________.
A. a famous American writer B. name of a book
C. a great river in America D. a large ship
2.As a child, Samuel did not get much education because _________.
A.his father died too early
B.the family was very poor
C. he disliked school very much
D. he could learn what he liked from the people he met
3. What gave him a great deal when he started writing? _______
A. His poor childhood B. The Mississippi river
C. All kinds of travelers he met D. His brother
4. We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. Samuel loved writing from his early age
B. Samuel did not love writing at the beginning
C. his writings to the newspaper were successful
D. his brother encouraged him to write more
5.According to the writer of the passage, a good writer could _________.
A. write a lot for his readers
B. make a lot of money for his family
C. cause his readers to laugh
D. travel everywhere he wanted
I came to India a year ago to find a village in which I could live and write but it was many months before I settled down happily in this Himalayan community.
I wasted a lot of time looking for the “typical” village. Yet no such thing exists. Conditions are quite different from village to village. But the villages I stayed in had much in common---poor, dirty and backward. Often the villagers themselves were puzzled and doubtful. Why had I come? I had put aside my work as a political journalist because my ideas had changed. I had come to believe that what was happening in the Third World was more important than anything else. But to understand how three—quarters of the world population live, and what effect their future might have on ours, I felt that I first had to try and share their way of life.
In the end I chose a mountain village because it was little cooler than those in the plains. I took the bus from town along a rocky road. Then came a rough walk down a steep path to the river. After this I began the climb into the hills. Whenever I stopped to catch my breath, there was a beautiful scene. After several hours’ walk the village came into sight.
1.After the writer had arrived in India,________.
A.he spent a year writing about the place he lived in
B.he spent quite some time looking for a suitable place to live in
C.he stayed in an Indian village working for the poor
D.he lived in a Himalayan community for many months.
2.While looking for a typical village, the writer found__________.
A.he was searching for the impossible
B.all the villages were exactly the same
C.he was doing something enjoyable
D.the villagers were curious about him
3.Before coming to India, the writer________.
A.had been a successful politician
B.had made a decision to work for India
C.had studied India culture for some months
D.had worked for newspapers and magazines
4.The write decided to change his way of life because__________.
A.he no longer found his work interesting
B.he hoped to live a peaceful life in the countryside
C.he wanted to find out more about the Third World
D.he wanted to try his luck in a foreign country
5.The village the writer finally chose to live in_________.
A.lay at the end of a rocky road
B.had a beautiful sight of the river
C.was a short walk from the river
D.had better weather than those in the plains.
In recent years advances in medical technology have made it possible for people to live longer than in the past. New medicines and machines are being developed every day to extend life. However, some people, including some doctors, are not in favor of these life extending measures, and they argue that people should have the right to die when they want. They say that the quality of life is as important as life itself and that people should not be forced to go on living when conditions of life have become unbearable. They say thatpeople should be allowed to die with dignity (尊严) and to decide when they want to die. Others argue that life under any conditions is better than death and that the duty of doctors is always to extend life as long as possible. And so the battle goes on and on without a definite answer.
1.The best title for this passage is _____.
A. The Right to Live B. The Right to Die
C. The Doctor’s Duty D. Life Is Better Than Death
2.
In recent years, people can live longer than in the past. It’s because of _____ .
A. the development of medical technology
B. big hospitals
C. good doctors
D. both B and C
3.According to some people whether a dying patient has the right to die or not is up to _____ .
. A. the doctors B. the surroundings
C. his or her family D. the patient himself or herself
4.In the writer’s opinion _____ .
A.death is better than life
B. life is better that death
C. neither death nor life is good
D. none of the above
5.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. Most of the medical workers join in the argument.
B. The argument has ended in favor of the patient.
C. The argument hasn’t ended yet.
D. The quality of life is not as important as life itself, so it is generally thought that people should not be allowed to die under any conditions.
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21----40各题所给的4 个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
A farewell party was going on. Sylvia Calver hated being the center of any pubic show where she didn’t know anyone. It made her 36 hot and she always felt she wanted to go away somewhere. But on an occasion like this when she knew 37 , there was no 38 to feel shy. 39she had made up her mind to 40 people’s attention for once in her life. Unlike others, Sylvia didn’t have any sad feelings herself at leaving Palmeira Court Hotel or saying goodbye to its 41 — she had left so many other 42 , and known too many people in her life to get upset by such things now.
Yet this 43 was a particular occasion, and she hadn’t had so many of those in her 44. She had put on her 45 black dress and her long earrings. She had wanted to enjoy being the center of 46 for one evening, but now they had 47 old Miss Hutton of all people to give the 48 speech, whom she disliked. Even so, she thought there was no sense in getting 49 about it, for it was the first rule her 50 had given her — avoid all anxiety, take things easy. So, surprising herself by enjoying her own well-rounded white arm as 51 showed through the sleeve of her 52 dress, she took a taste of her drink and then sat back comfortably with her cigarette. And her doctor’s orders worked! For 53 out slowly, she put Miss Hutton off the end of her 54 with a cloud of tobacco smoke, so that she smiled to herself at the old girl’s funny expression. She 55 herself quite well that night, even to her own surprise.
1.A.face B.show C.room D.dress
2.A.nothing B.nobody C.everything D.everybody
3.A.chance B.time C.reason D.use
4.A.So B.But C.For D.There
5.A.pay B.give C.enjoy D.offer
6.A.guests B.people C.places D.things
7.A.houses B.friends C.hotels D.parties
8.A.morning B.afternoon C.evening D.night
9.A.life B.work C.school D.home
10.A.large B.best C.most D.worst
11.A.service B.exhibition C.Group D.attention
12.A.ordered B.chosen C.wished D.helped
13.A.long B.great C.goodbye D.welcome
14.A.excited B.anxious C.puzzled D.pleased
15.A.teacher B.friend C.husband D.doctor
16.A.they B.he C.it D.she
17.A.black B.white C.red D.green
18.A.getting B.putting C.breathing D.speaking
19.A.action B.speech C.work D.performance
20.A.made B.enjoyed C.understood D.thought
____ other good students, the teacher thinks , Hank is ___ student.
A.Compared with , a most satisfied
B.Compared to , the most satisfied
C.Comparing to , the most satisfying
D.Compared with , a more satisfying
You can’t imagine what great trouble I have ___ I want very much.
A. to find the book B. finding the book
C. found the book D. find the book
