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 readers’ surprise.

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

a. Lived in New York.

b. Worked in a bank.

c. Traveled 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, b, e, d, a, f

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

People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because _____.

A. they had surprise endings                B. they were easy to understand

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

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

He was well-educated.

He was very good at learning.

He was devoted to the poor.

He was not serious about his work.

   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.

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.
【小题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. aB.c. e. b. d. f. aC.e. b. d. c. a. f.D.c. b. e. d. a f.
【小题2】People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because       
A.they had surprise endingsB.they were easy to understand
C.they showed his love for the poorD.they were about New York City
【小题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
【小题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.
【小题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.

On a cold winter day, I waited in line to see my hero, Jack Canfield, the author of The Success Principles, who was going to deliver a speech on his new book.

During his talk, Jack   41   his wallet, pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, and said, ‘‘Who wants this?”   42   shot up in the audience; people leaned forward to see whom Jack would   43  . But I jumped up, ran up the   44   to the stage, and grabbed the bill. As I was launching myself in the air,   45  raced through my mind — was I about to be humiliated(羞辱) in front of 800 people? Would they   46   security guards and take me from the stage?    47   my desire for bold (大胆的)action was louder than any   48  voice. As I got the bill from his hand, he said, “That’s it! We can’t wait for the   49   to come to us. We must take    50    to create what we want!’’

After his talk, I   51   to formally meet Jack and boldly asked for his personal e-mail address. Over the next months, I sent him emails   52   my points of view and dreams with him. He kindly e-mailed back lots of encouragement. But my life got busy   53  other things. I stopped e-mailing Jack.

A year later, my dreams had worn away. I thought Jack would inspire me into action, like a giant arrow that would show me the way.

I e-mailed him, and then again — but got no   54  . As I sat down at my computer to 55   my e-mails, I  56   woke up. What was I doing? I was waiting! Now I remembered the crowd, most likely   57   that hundred-dollar bill, while they sat glued to their chairs.

Usually we all have a “Jack” for whom we wait — whether it’s a person, a place or a thing. We   58   believe the gifts of life are just around the corner, and that everything will come in a(n)   59   way. So we don’t try. We  60  . But as Wayne Gretzky said,“You’ll always miss 100% of the opportunities you don’t take!” So I stopped waiting and started my writing career.

Now what are you waiting for?

1.A. brought in                    B. reached for                     C. took over                         D. handed in

2.A. Cheers                                    B. Shouts                              C. Heads                     D. Hands

3.A. offer                              B. trust                                  C. like                                   D. choose

4.A. path                               B. road                                  C. steps                                 D. route

5.A. thoughts                       B. opinions                           C. ideas                      D. plans

6.A. ask                                 B. call                                    C. demand                            D. order

7.A. And                               B. So                             C. But                                    D. Or

8.A. noisy                             B. doubtful                           C. meaningful                      D. helpful

9.A. opportunities                  B. consequences                  C. results                              D. aims

10.A. step                         B. measure                           C. way                       D. action

11.A. expected                            B. tried                                  C. permitted                        D. managed

12.A. stating                       B. describing                        C. presenting                       D. sharing

13.A. with                             B. in                                  C. about                                 D. over

14.A. news                                    B. message                           C. response                          D. reaction

15.A. check                                   B. examine                           C. inspect                             D. review

16.A. gradually                    B. suddenly                          C. immediately           D. slowly

17.A. desiring                               B. claiming                            C. begging                            D. dreaming

18.A. particularly                         B. honestly                           C. falsely                      D. correctly

19.A. difficult                B. impressive                C. early                         D. natural

20.A. give up                                 B. put up                         C. take up                     D. set up

 

In the age of reality television, success isn’t the only way to the public eye. Failure can also create fame, just like William Hung, 21, a native of Hong Kong.

Hung recently has made an agreement with US-based entertainment firms Koch Records and Fuse Music Network. They will publish a full-length record, titled “The True Idol” on April 6.

The idol is a civil engineering student at the University of California at Berkeley. He did a version of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” on the television show “American Idol 3”, on January 27. The Fox TV singing contest searches for pop stars among ordinary people. In the case of Hung, however, his act was so bad that the judges cut him off in mid-act.

Hung’s response? “I already gave my best, so I have no regrets at all.” That’s good, because any common person would have found plenty to regret: The off-key singing. The blue Hawaiian shirt worn with pants pulled up too high. The terrible dancing. The hips jerking (摇摆) to a beat that did not belong to the song, maybe not even to this planet. It was, by all accounts, bad.

But, it was this very bad act that sold well.

Marc Juries, president of Fuse, explained it this way: “Every one of us is happily guilty of singing our favorite song at the top of our lungs with complete freedom, completely off-key and completely unworried. That’s what William did and immediately won the hearts of America.”

Whatever it is, for the moment it’s big. Three websites devoted to Hung have gone up on the Internet in the past few weeks. Versions of his performance have been remixed with hip hop and techno-music and have made it to the top 10 request list at a Chicago radio station.

So, what does Hung think of this?

“There were all these people saying things about me. A lot were saying I was very courageous and that I was great on the show, but some didn’t have much respect for me and some were kind of mean.”

Now he says he’s not so sure whether to distance himself from the glamour (魅力) or to accept it. Returning to normal hasn’t been easy.

1.What is the main idea of this passage?

A.Sometimes an idol behaves quite foolishly.

B.Hung’s performance attracted the public eye.

C.How an unsuccessful person became famous.

D.Success sometimes does not require hard work.

2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 7 refer to?

A.William Hung.      B.Hung’s bad act.    C.Hung’s website.   D.The public’s opinion.

3.Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened to Hung?

a. The entertainment firms made an agreement with Hung.

b. The judges cut Hung off in mid-act in the singing contest.

c. Hung became popular among Americans.

d. Hung gave a terrible performance though he tried his best.

e. Three websites put Hung’s funny performance on the Internet.

A.d, b, e, c, a         B.a, c, d, b, e         C.a, d, b, c, e         D.d, b, a, e, c

 

Everybody has one of those days when everything goes wrong. This is what happened to Harry.

He got up one morning very late because he had forgotten to wind up his alarm clock. He tried to shave(刮脸)quickly and cut himself. When he got dressed he got blood all over his clean shirt, so he had to find another one. The only other shirt that was clean needed ironing(熨), so he ironed it. While he was ironing it, there was a knock at the door. It was the man to read the electricity meter(表). He showed him where the meter was, said good-bye and found that the iron had burnt a hole in his shirt. So he had to wear the one with the blood on it after all. By this time it was very late, so he decided he couldn’t go to work by bus. He telephoned for a taxi to take him to work. The taxi arrived and Harry got in and began to read the newspaper.

In another part of the town, a man had killed a woman with a knife and was seen to run away in a taxi. When Harry’s taxi stopped outside his office, a policeman happened to be standing there. He saw the blood on Harry’s shirt, and took him to the police station. He was kept till 3 o’clock in the afternoon before the police were sure that he was not the man they wanted. When he finally arrived at the office at about four, his boss took a look at him and told him to go away and find another job.

1.Harry had__________________________.

A.a lucky day

B.an unlucky day

C.a busy day

D.a good day

2.Put the following sentences into correct order according to the passage.

a. The man who read the electricity meter came.

b. Harry ironed his shirt.

c. Harry got blood all over his clean shirt.

d. There was a knock at the door.

e. Harry wore the shirt with blood on it.

A.a, b, c, d, e

B.b, a, d, c, e

C.b, a, c, d, e

D.c, b, d, a, e

3.Why did Harry wear the shirt with blood on it?

A.The iron had burnt a hole in his clean shirt.

B.The only other needed ironing.

C.He had only one shirt.

D.He cut himself and got blood all over his shirt.

4.Harry was taken to the police station because         .

A.his taxi stopped outside his office and a policeman happened to be there

B.there was blood on his shirt and he was in a taxi

C.a man killed a woman with a knife

D.the murderer was seen to run away in a taxi

5.His boss told him to go away and find another job because           .

A.he had been kept by the police

B.there was blood on his shirt

C.he was late for work

D.he had killed a woman

 

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