Considered by many to be America's finest author,Jack London,whose name  was John Griffith Chaney,was born in San Fran?cisco,California,on January 12,1876. Much of his youth was spent in Oakland,California.

  Jack had little formal schooling. At first,he attended school only through the Sth grade,although he desired to read,educating himself at public libraries,especial?ly the Oakland Public Library. In later years ( mid-1890s) ,Jack returned to high school in Oakland and graduated. He was eventually admitted to University of Cali?fornia,Berkeley,but stayed only for six months,finding it to be "not alive enough".

  Jack's life experiences included being a labourer,factory worker,oyster pirate on the San Francisco Bay,member of the California Fish Patrol,sailor,railroad ho?bo,and gold miner. In his teens,he joined Coxey's Army in its famous march on WashingtonD. C. , and was later arrested for vagrancy (流浪罪) in Erie County,New York. As a journalist,Jack covered the Russo-Japanese War for the Hearst newspapers in 1904,and in 1914,he covered the Mexican Revolution for Collier's.

  It was during his crosscountry travels that he came to know about socialism. He became known as the "Boy Socialist of Oakland" because of his passionate (充满热情的) street corner speeches. In fact,he unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Oak?land several times as the socialist party candidate.

  In 1900,Jack married his maths tutor and friend,Bessie Maddern. It was a Vic?torian marriage typical of the time,based on "good breeding", not love. With Bess,he had two daughters—Joan and Becky. Following his separation from Bess three years later,he married his secretary,Charmian Kittredge,whom he considered his "Mate Woman" and with whom he found true love. Together,they played,travelled,wrote and enjoyed life. Their one child,Joy,only lived for thirtyeight hours. In 1907,with Charmian,Jack sailed the Pacific to the South Seas in the Snark,which became the basis for his book,The Cruise of the Snark,

5. Jack left University of California,Berkeley because he thought       .

   A. he did badly there

   B. it was not dynamic enough

   C. he was forced to do so

   D. it didn't have outstanding professors

6. Which of the following can best describe Jack London's life in his early years?

   A. Hard. B. Lucky. C. Comfortable. D. Happy.

7. Jack is a failure as         .

   A. a husband   B. a candidate

   C. an author   D. a journalist

8. Wc can learn from the passage that         .

   A. Jack London married Bessie Maddern due to religion

   B. Jack London had a happy life with Charmian Kittredge

   C. Jack London and Charmian Kittredge had two children

   D. Jack London didn't like schooling when he was young

阅读理解

  I may not be the wisest person on this planet,but I will tell you a little secret of happiness:help others,and live life. It is that sim?ple. Just help a friend study for a test,or volunteer at a nursing home. I learned this after a long,hard search.

I was feeling really down because my longtime friend had died. Then I started a sixweek volunteering at a nursing home all day every Saturday. My routine was to serve the meal and clean up. After that,I would wait for the head nurse to tell me what to do.

  One day I was told to go to Room 117 to make sure the patient was all right. In the room I found a boy of eight sitting in his bed watching a movie. I was shocked to see a child in this seemingly forgotten nursing home for the old. He was so small and weak that you had to look closely to find him. He motioned for me to sit down. I grabbed his medical chart from which later I found out he had a terminal illness.

We started to talk,and I found out that his family rarely visited,and all he did every day was watch TV. I wanted to cry for him,and for my lost friend. As we talked,he had a smile on his face,and I asked him why.

  "In the entire two hours I've been here you've never lost that smile. With this horrible disease,how do you still manage to stay happy?"

  He thought for a moment,and then said that too many people are dead even before they die. They walk around feeling that God has cursed (诅咒) them and that they have nothing to live for. The boy said that he would not be like that. He wakes every morning thankful to see another sunrise. He keeps his window open so that he can smell the flowers and feel the heat of the sun. He also said that he has hope.

  "Too many people haven't seen much of that around here," he said. "Life is full of hope and we need to live life before it is gone."

  I don't know what happened to him. I assume he passed away,but his lesson lives on. I now wake up and live each day to the fullest. The key to life is not mon?ey or fame,but the lessons we learn from it.

1. The nursing home in the passage is mainly for       .

   A. the elderly   B. the homeless

   C. the disabled   D. the abandoned

2. The boy stayed happy mainly due to       .

   A. wonderful TV programmes

   B. his positive attitude

   C. good medical condition

   D. others' encouragement

3. The writer participated in the volunteering job in order to       .

   A. find out the secret   B. search for help

   C. enrich experiences   D. get out of sadness

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

   A. A lesson in hope

   B. The life of a sick boy

   C. A voluntary job

   D. The meaning of life

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