French novelist Jules Verne (18281905) is often called the father of science fictions.Although he was not a great traveller himselfhis characters journeyed to the moon (in From Earth to Moon)Under the sea (in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea)into a volcano (in A Journey to the Centre of the Earth)around the world (in Around the World in Eighty Days) and to many other places.

Jules Verne was born in the French city of Nantes in 1828.When he was a boy he ran away from home to work on a ship.Howeverhis father soon found him and brought him home.After that he decided that any future travel he did would be in books.In 1847his father sent Jules to Paris to study to be a lawyer.Even though he was busy writingVerne passed his exams in 1849 with high marks.

When Jules told his father he did not want to be a lawyerhis father was very angry.He stopped sending his son any moneyso Jules had to earn a living by his writing.Over the next few years he wrote many stories and plays which brought him only a little money.Thenin 1856he met Honorine de Vianea richyoung widow with two children.The couple married the next year and their only child Michel was born in 1862.

After his marriageVerne worked as a businessman in Paris.Howeverhe was not very successful at his job and spent most of his time writing books and doing research for the next one.In 1863he published his novel Five Weeks in a Balloon and in the following year he published A Journey to the Centre of the Earth which brought him fame.His books became so popular and earned him so much money that he was able to leave his job and work full time on his writing.

In his lifetimeJules Verne wrote more than 50 books and he became a rich man.Many of this imaginative novels have been turned into films.

1.Jules Verne became rich because of his________.

Afather? Bmarriage

Cbusiness? Dwriting

2.When Jules Verne was brought home by his fatherhe decided that________.

Ahe would go on more travels in the future

Bhe would do as his father required

Che would be devoted to writing about future travels

Dhe would stop writing about future travels

3.Which book can be considered as a turning point in Jules Verne’s life?

AFive Weeks in a Balloon.

BA Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

CFrom Earth to Moon.

DTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

4.What can we infer from the passage?

AJules Verne was appreciated by film makers.

BJules Verne was not clever enough to learn law.

CJules Verne’s stories and plays won him big fame in the 1850s.

DJules Verne’s wife helped him a lot in his writing career.

 

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 simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the reader’s surprise.

1.In which order did O. Henry do the following things?

a. Lived in New York.   b. Worked in a bank.      c. Travelled to Texas.

d. Was put in prison.    e. Had a newspaper Job.    f. Learned to write stories.

A.e. c. f. b. d. a                           B.c. e. b. d. f. a

C.e. b. d. c. a. f.                           D.c. b. e. d. a f.

2.People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because__________.

A.they had surprise endings                 B.they were short

C.they showed his love for the poor           D.they were about New York City

3.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

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

A.He was well-educated.                   B.He was not serious about his work.

C.He was devoted to the poor.               D.He was very good at learning.

5.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 people of New York.            D.His exciting early life as a boy.

 

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