Frankenstein is one of the world’s most famous horror stories. It’s
about a doctor who creates a new man from the body parts of dead people and
brings it to life. But the experiment goes wrong and the monster(怪兽) kills the doctor and
many others. The story has been read by millions since it was first published
and in the last hundred years it has been made into dozens of movies. Many
people are surprised to learn its writer was a 19-year-old woman, called Mary
Shelley.
Mary was born into a rich London
family in August 1797. She was educated by her parents and when she was 13
decided to become a writer. In 1812, she met the famous writer Percy Shelley
and they soon got married. Sadly for Mary, their first child died soon after
birth in Italy. In her diary, Mary wrote about a dream: “I dreamt that my little baby came to life again—that it had only been cold and that we rubbed it before the
fire and it lived.”
In 1816, Percy Shelley and
19-year-odl May visited the poet Lord Byron at his home in Switzerland. Because
of the bad weather they stayed indoors reading horror stories. One night, Byron
asked everyone to write their own story. Mary thought of her dream and wrote
the story Frankenstein.
Frankenstein was published when Mary was 21,
and became a huge success. Many people didn’t
think a 19-year-old woman could write so well and believed her husband was the
real writer.
Although famous, Shelley’s life was full of sadness. Only one of her four children lived
and in 1822 her husband died in a swimming accident. Mary was broken-hearted
and decided not to marry again. She devoted herself to her child and continued
to write until her death in 1851.
1. What do we know about he story Frankenstein?
A. It was really written by Mary
Shelley’s husband.
B. It was been read by millions
of people.
C. It was written to remember
Shelley’s husband.
D. It is the most famous story in
the world.
2.Where was Mary Shelley when she wrote the
story Frankenstein?
A. In
England. B. In
Italy. C. In Switzerland. D. In France.
3. In which order to the following take place?
a. Bad weather made everyone stay
indoors reading horror stories.
b. The story Frankenstein was
first published.
c. Mary wrote about a dream in
her diary.
d. Mary met the famous writer
Percy Shelley.
e. Movies based on the story of
Frankenstein were made.
A. a, c, b, e,
d B. d, c, a, b, e
C. c, a, b, d, e D. b, a, d, c, e
4. How old was Mary Shelley when she died?
A.
43 B. 48 C.51 D. 54
5.What can we learn about Mary Shelley from
this passage?
A. She experienced a lot of
sadness in her life.
B. She wasn’t considered a good writer during her life.
C. She was educated at her local
school.
D. She became very rich because
of the story Frankenstein.