O．Henry(1862-1910)was a productive American short-story writer, a master of surprise endings, who wrote about the life of ordinary people in New York City．
William Sydney Porter(O．Henry)was born in Greenboro, North Carolina．When William was three, his mother died, and he was raised by his paternal grandmother and aunt．William was an eager reader, but at the age of fifteen he left school, and then worked in a drug store and on a Texas farm．He moved to Houston, where he had a number of jobs, including that of bank clerk．After moving to Austin, Texas, in 1882, he married．
In 1884 he started a humorous weekly The Rolling Stone．It was at this time that he began heavy drinking．When the weekly failed, he joined the Houston Post as a reporter and columnist．In 1897 he was charged with embezzling money from the bank, although there has been much debate over his actual guilt．In 1898 he entered a prison at Columbus, Ohio．
While in prison O．Henry started to write short stories to earn money to support his daughter Margaret．His first work, "Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking"(1899), appeared in McClure's Magazine．After doing three years of the five years’ sentence, Porter was set free in 1901 and changed his name to O．Henry．
O．Henry moved to New York City in 1902 and from December 1903 to January 1906 he wrote a story a week for the new York World, also publishing in other megazines．Henry's first collection, Cabbages And Kings apeared in 1904．The second, The Four Million, was published two years later and included his well-known stories“The Gift of the Magi”and “The Furnished Room”．The Trimmed Lamp(1907)included“The Last Leaf”．O．Henry published 10 collections and over 600 short stories during his lifetime．
O．Henry's last years were shadowed by alcoholism, ill health, and financial problems．O．Henry died of a very bad liver disease on June 5, 1910, in New York．Three more collections, Sixes And Sevens(1911), Rolling Stones(1912)and Waifs And Strays(1917), appeared after his death．
(1)
Which of the following do you think didn't contribute to his career as a novelist?
[ ]
A．
While a boy, he was fond of reading．
B．
He did various jobs and had different experiences．
C．
He once worked on a magazine and a newspaper．
D．
He was addicted to drinking alcohol．
(2)
The underlined word “embezzle” probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
to steal
B．
to swallow
C．
to cheat
D．
to hide
(3)
________ was O．Henry's first collection．
[ ]
A．
Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking
B．
Cabbages And Kings
C．
The Gift of the Magi
D．
The Trimmed Lamp
(4)
In all, how many O．Henry's collections were published?
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