Question

    Samuel L. Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, started off his writing career (事业) in 1865 with his big hit story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County — a story-within- a-story told to a listener by an old California miner. From that day on, the works of the great humorist always had different animals.

Some members of Twain’s literary (文学的) animals were based on real animals, such as the Clemens family’s named pet cats. Some were imaginary, like that celebrated jumping frog.

As a boy in Missouri, he got pleasure from knowing the animals of the woods; in old age,  he felt a deep relationship with the animals large and small that he met in his travels. His cats, family dog, horses, donkeys, and calf also won his three daughters’ love at their Hartford home. On March 22, 2018, to mark this part of Twain’s personal life, The Mark Twain House & Museum opened a new exhibition (展览), Tails of Twain: How Animals Shaped the Man & His Work. The exhibition was rich with exhibits from the museum’s collections.

The king of the animals in Twain’s world was the cat, “the only creature in heaven or earth or anywhere that don’t have to obey (听从) somebody or other, including the angels.” He was known to be the proud pet parent of 19 cats during his childhood. As an adult, the Clemens  home always had a named cat. Even on vacation, the Clemens family borrowed cats from locals to live with them. Dogs were considered second-class pets, but Twain liked them. Twain once wrote an ode (颂诗) to his dead dog Burns: “She lived a quiet harmless life in Hartford ...”

In true Twainism, humans were not as loved as the “Higher Animals”. Even the most low- down animal, however, was superior in Twain’s eyes to “the human race.” After all, he did write once “Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel.”

1.What can we learn about The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County?

A.It tells a story of Twain’s family pet.

B.It was written for Twain’s three daughters.

C.It made Twain pay attention to animals.

D.It was Twain’s first great success as a writer.

2.What’s the main purpose of the new exhibition?

A.To introduce how Twain spent his childhood.

B.To exhibit some of Twain’s best-sellers.

C.To show Twain’s different hobbies.

D.To show Twain’s love for animals.

3.What does the underlined word “superior” in the last paragraph probably mean?

A.richer B.better

C.quieter D.stronger

Answer

1.D

2.D

3.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了著名的作家Mark Twain对于动物的喜爱之情。作为一个在密苏里州的孩子，他从认识森林里的动物中获得乐趣；晚年时，他对旅行中遇到的大大小小的动物都产生了深厚的感情。在吐温看来，即使是最下等的动物也要比人类更好。

1.

细节理解题。根据第一段Samuel L. Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, started off his writing career (事业) in 1865 with his big hit story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County — a story-within- a-story told to a listener by an old California miner. From that day on, the works of the great humorist always had different animals.可知Samuel L. Clemens，也被称为Mark Twain，在1865年开始了他的写作生涯，他获得巨大成功的小说“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”是一个故事里的故事，故事是一个加利福尼亚的老矿工给听众讲的。从那天起，这位伟大的幽默作家的作品中总是有不同的动物。由此可知，The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County是吐温作为作家的第一次巨大成功。故选D。

2.

推理判断题。根据第三段中As a boy in Missouri, he got pleasure from knowing the animals of the woods; in old age, he felt a deep relationship with the animals large and small that he met in his travels. His cats, family dog, horses, donkeys, and calf also won his three daughters’ love at their Hartford home. On March 22, 2018, to mark this part of Twain’s personal life, The Mark Twain House & Museum opened a new exhibition, Tails of Twain: How Animals Shaped the Man & His Work.可知作为一个在密苏里州的孩子，他从认识森林里的动物中获得乐趣；晚年时，他与旅行中遇到的大大小小的动物都产生了深厚的感情。他的猫、家养的狗、马、驴和小牛也在Hartford的家中赢得了他的三个女儿的爱。2018年3月22日，为了纪念马克·吐温的这段私人生活，马克·吐温家和博物馆举办了一场新展览，名为“How Animals Shaped the Man & His Work”。由此可推知，新展览的主要目的是展示吐温对动物的爱。故选D。

3.

词义猜测题。根据后文After all, he did write once “Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel.”可知毕竟，他曾经写道：“在所有的动物中，人类是唯一残忍的。”由此可知，在吐温看来，即使是最下等的动物也要比人类更好。即划线单词意思为“更好的”。A. richer更富有的；B. better更好的；C. quieter更安静的；D. stronger更强壮的。故选B。