One of the best-known American writers is Samuel Langhorne Clemens, whose pen-name is Mark Twain. Born in 1835, Twain grew up in the Mississippi River town of Hannibal, Missouri. Like many other boys of his day, Twain dreamed of becoming a pilot(舵手) of a river boat in order to travel along the river happily. His early life in the river town was written into his two most famous books, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

As a young man Twain held many jobs. He was a printer, a gold miner, and for a long time, he was a pilot of a river boat. During his pilot days, he changed his name into Mark Twain. When he travelled by boat, he began to write down what he saw along the river and what he talked with the local people. Finally, Twain became a famous writer. His works were sold out in America and Europe, and were translated into many languages, including Chinese, Japanese and French. Twain’s style of writing was simple and direct. He liked to write about important things in a humorous style.

1.Samuel Langhorne Clemens _______________ .

A. is the best-known American writer

B. never left the town of Hannibal, Missouri

C. is the hero of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer

D. used Mark Twain as his pen-name

2.Many boys of that time __________________ .

A. wanted to work on a river boat

B. just wanted to be passengers on the Mississippi

C. wanted to become writers

D. wished to become friends of Mark Twain.

3.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain was probably about .

A. boys’ life of his day B. the life of a river boat pilot

C. the life in a river town D. Twain’s travel on riverboats

4.According to the passage, which of the following is true?

A. Mark Twain’s early life in a river town was not happy.

B. Mark Twain’s dream to be a pilot of a river boat never came true.

C. Europeans showed great interest in Mark Twain’s writings.

D. Mark Twain’s books could hardly be understood for his style.

For too many people, the harm begins early in life. Four out of ten babies born in the United States do not form a strong relationship with either parent, and they will pay for that in the rest of their lives.

New research from Princeton University confirms what other researchers have already found: the number of babies who are lack of the close relationship is rather big, which prevents them having a fair chance of having a successful life.

That finding is supported by many other research projects, including a study from the University of Rochester showing that nearly one third of US parents don’t know what to expect from their newborns, or how to help them grow and learn and get along with others. Babies, as others have pointed out, don’t come with an owner’s guide book.

The basic problem, according to the Princeton’s study, is that 40 per cent of babies in the US live in fear or distrust of their parents, and that will turn into aggressiveness (侵犯), defiance (违抗) and hyperactivity (多动) as they grow into adults.

Of that number, 25 per cent don’t have a close relationship with their parents because the parents don’t satisfy their needs. And 15 per cent find their parents are so troubling that they will avoid them whenever possible.

That will not necessarily result in a lifetime of violence, but it will make living a successful life much more difficult.

“They can overcome(克服) it,” sociologist Sophie Moullin of Princeton, the leader of that study, said in a telephone interview. “It’s not a make-or-break situation, but they might find it harder to control their behaviour.”

Moullin, along with his teammates from Columbia University and the University of Bristol in England, studied more than 100 research projects, to reach their conclusions.

Many reasons lead to the problem, including poverty(贫穷), ignorance(无知), and stress among parents who are so busy with their own problems that a new child is sometimes more than they can deal with.

Yet strong relationships, the researchers say, are amazingly simple to achieve.

1.According to the writing style of the passage, it may be a___________.

A. news report B. book report C. novel D. review

2.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. About 40 % of the newborns do not form a strong relationship with either parent.

B. Some parents are too busy with their own problems to deal with a new child.

C. Parents’ failing to satisfy their babies’ needs may cause future problems.

D. Babies who fail to have close relationships with their parents are sure to have an unsuccessful life.

3.What may be discussed in the following paragraph?

A. Findings of other projects similar to this topic.

B. Examples of the results of lacking strong relationships.

C. Simple ways of achieving strong relationships with a baby.

D. Reasons for failing in building up strong relationships with a baby.

4.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A. It’s harder to control children’s behaviour

B. What a little love means to a little one

C. The problems of the parents in the United States

D. The problems of the babies in the United States

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