My father had returned from his business visit to London when I came in, rather late, to supper. I could tell at once that he and my mother had been discussing something. In that half-playful, half-serious way I knew so well, he said, "How would you like to go to Eton?"

     "You bet," I cried quickly catching the joke. Everyone knew it was the most expensive, the most famous of schools. You had to be entered at birth, if not before. Besides, even at 12 or 13, I understood my father. He disliked any form of showing off. He always knew his proper station in life, which was in the middle of the middle class, our house was medium-sized; he had avoided joining Royal Liverpool Golf Club and went to a smaller one instead; though once he had got a second-hand Rolls-Royce at a remarkably low price, he felt embarrassed driving it, and quickly changed it for an Austin 1100.

     This could only be his delightful way of telling me that the whole boarding school idea was to be dropped. Alas! I should also have remembered that he had a liking for being different from everyone else, if it did not conflict with his fear of drawing attention to himself.

     It seemed that he had happened to be talking to Graham Brown of the London office, a very nice fellow, and Graham had a friend who had just entered his boy at the school, and while he was in that part of the world he thought he might just as well phone them. I remember my eyes stinging(刺痛) and my hands shaking with the confusion of my feelings. There was excitement, at the heart of great sadness.

     "Oh, he doesn’t want to go away," said my mother, "You shouldn’t go on like this.” “It’s up to him," said my father. "He can make up his own mind."

The house the writer’s family lived in was ________.

    A. the best they could afford            B. right for their social position

    C. for showing off                      D. rather small

His father sold his Roils-Royce because ________.

     A. it made him feel uneasy               B. it was too old to work well

     C. it was too expensive to possess            D. it was too cheap

The writer’s father enjoyed being different as long as ________.

    A. it drew attention to him                    B. it didn’t bring him in arguments

    C. it was understood as a joke              D. there was no danger of his showing off

What was the writer’s reaction to the idea of going to Eton?

    A. He was very unhappy.               B. He didn’t believe it.

    C. He was delighted.                   D. He had mixed feelings.

What was the writer’s reaction to the idea of going to boarding-school?

   A. He was very unhappy,                   B. He had mixed feelings.

   C. He was delighted,                       D. He didn't believe it.

When he wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain turned to Hannibal. The relationship between Hannibal and Twain began in November 1839, when Twain’s father decided to leave the village in Florida and move east about 35 miles to the somewhat larger and more prosperous Hannibal, on the banks of the Mississippi River. Twain marked his fourth birthday about a week after the family settled there. He showed little promise of becoming a long-term resident. However, because his health was so poor that his parents probably feared he would not survive childhood.
During the family’s first few years in Hannibal, Twain was too young to understand fully the changes going on around him. About the time the family moved into their new home. Twain’s health improved a lot. Instead of having to lead a quiet indoor life, he could roam the streets of Hannibal. Climb the surrounding hills, explore the area’s caves and splash about in local swimming holes. He reveled in his newfound freedom, spending nearly all his free time playing outdoors with the other boys in town and soon becoming a leader.
Twain’s carefree days did not last long, on March 24, 1847, his father died. For the next six years, his brother Henry, and his sister Pamela lived with their mother in the family home. Twain began taking odd jobs after school to bring in extra money. Within a year of his father’s death, he quit school and became an apprentice (学徒) printer, and when his brother Orion bought the Hannibal Journal in 1851, Twain went to work for him as a printer and editorial assistant. The stories he wrote for Orion’s paper, his first publications, taught him that he much preferred writing to typesetting. Thus, when he decided to leave Hannibal in May 1853, he already had an idea of his future career.
【小题1】 Why did little Mark Twain move and live in Hannibal?

When he wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain turned to Hannibal. The relationship between Hannibal and Twain began in November 1839, when Twain’s father decided to leave the village in Florida and move east about 35 miles to the somewhat larger and more prosperous Hannibal, on the banks of the Mississippi River. Twain marked his fourth birthday about a week after the family settled there. He showed little promise of becoming a long-term resident. However, because his health was so poor that his parents probably feared he would not survive childhood.

During the family’s first few years in Hannibal, Twain was too young to understand fully the changes going on around him. About the time the family moved into their new home. Twain’s health improved a lot. Instead of having to lead a quiet indoor life, he could roam the streets of Hannibal. Climb the surrounding hills, explore the area’s caves and splash about in local swimming holes. He reveled in his newfound freedom, spending nearly all his free time playing outdoors with the other boys in town and soon becoming a leader.

Twain’s carefree days did not last long, on March 24, 1847, his father died. For the next six years, his brother Henry, and his sister Pamela lived with their mother in the family home. Twain began taking odd jobs after school to bring in extra money. Within a year of his father’s death, he quit school and became an apprentice (学徒) printer, and when his brother Orion bought the Hannibal Journal in 1851, Twain went to work for him as a printer and editorial assistant. The stories he wrote for Orion’s paper, his first publications, taught him that he much preferred writing to typesetting. Thus, when he decided to leave Hannibal in May 1853, he already had an idea of his future career.

1. Why did little Mark Twain move and live in Hannibal?

A．Because he wanted to live in a larger and more prosperous city.

B．Because his father brought him there.

C．Because he wanted to wrote his novels there.

D．Because he wanted to become a long-term resident of Hannibal.

2. When did Mark Twain become healthy?

A．As soon as he arrived in Hannibal.

B．At the time when his family moved into their old home.

C．After his father died.

D．At the time when his family moved into their new home.

3. The last paragraph mainly tells us _________.

A．the happy childhood of Mark Twain

B．how Mark Twain became a famous writer

C．how Mark Twain to earn money to support his family

D．why Mark decided to leave Hannibal

My father had returned from his business visit to London when I came in, rather late, to supper. I could tell at once that he and my mother had been discussing something. In that half-playful, half-serious way I knew so well, he said, "How would you like to go to Eton?"

"You bet," I cried quickly catching the joke. Everyone knew it was the most expensive, the most famous of schools. You had to be entered at birth, if not before. Besides, even at 12 or 13, I understood my father. He disliked any form of showing off. He always knew his proper station in life, which was in the middle of the middle class, our house was medium-sized; he had avoided joining Royal Liverpool Golf Club and went to a smaller one instead; though once he had got a second-hand Rolls-Royce at a remarkably low price, he felt embarrassed driving it, and quickly changed it for an Austin 1100.

This could only be his delightful way of telling me that the whole boarding school idea was to be dropped. Alas! I should also have remembered that he had a liking for being different from everyone else, if it did not conflict(冲突) with his fear of drawing attention to himself.

It seemed that he had happened to be talking to Graham Brown of the London office, a very nice fellow, and Graham had a friend who had just entered his boy at the school, and while he was in that part of the world he thought he might just as well phone them. I remember my eyes stinging(刺痛) and my hands shaking with the puzzlement of my feelings. There was excitement, at the heart of great sadness.

"Oh, he doesn't want to go away," said my mother, "You shouldn't go on like this.” “It's up to him," said my father. "He can make up his own mind."

1.The house the writer's family lived in was ________.

2.His father sold his Roils-Royce because ________.

3.The writer's father enjoyed being different as long as ________.

4.What was the writer's reaction to the idea of going to Eton?

5.We can know from the passage that ________.

My father had returned from his business visit to London when I came in, rather late, to supper. I could tell at once that he and my mother had been discussing something. In that half-playful, half-serious way I knew so well, he said, "How would you like to go to Eton?"
"You bet," I cried quickly catching the joke. Everyone knew it was the most expensive, the most famous of schools. You had to be entered at birth, if not before. Besides, even at 12 or 13, I understood my father. He disliked any form of showing off. He always knew his proper station in life, which was in the middle of the middle class, our house was medium-sized; he had avoided joining Royal Liverpool Golf Club and went to a smaller one instead; though once he had got a second-hand Rolls-Royce at a remarkably low price, he felt embarrassed driving it, and quickly changed it for an Austin 1100.
This could only be his delightful way of telling me that the whole boarding school idea was to be dropped. Alas! I should also have remembered that he had a liking for being different from everyone else, if it did not conflict with his fear of drawing attention to himself.
It seemed that he had happened to be talking to Graham Brown of the London office, a very nice fellow, and Graham had a friend who had just entered his boy at the school, and while he was in that part of the world he thought he might just as well phone them. I remember my eyes stinging(刺痛) and my hands shaking with the confusion of my feelings. There was excitement, at the heart of great sadness.
"Oh, he doesn’t want to go away," said my mother, "You shouldn’t go on like this.” “It’s up to him," said my father. "He can make up his own mind."

1. 1.

   The house the writer’s family lived in was ________.

   1. A.
      the best they could afford
   2. B.
      right for their social position
   3. C.
      for showing off
   4. D.
      rather small
2. 2.

   His father sold his Roils-Royce because ________.

   1. A.
      it made him feel uneasy
   2. B.
      it was too old to work well
   3. C.
      it was too expensive to possess
   4. D.
      it was too cheap
3. 3.

   The writer’s father enjoyed being different as long as ________.

   1. A.
      it drew attention to him
   2. B.
      it didn’t bring him in arguments
   3. C.
      it was understood as a joke
   4. D.
      there was no danger of his showing off
4. 4.

   What was the writer’s reaction to the idea of going to Eton?

   1. A.
      He was very unhappy.
   2. B.
      He didn’t believe it.
   3. C.
      He was delighted.
   4. D.
      He had mixed feelings.
5. 5.

   What was the writer’s reaction to the idea of going to boarding-school?

   1. A.
      He was very unhappy,
   2. B.
      He had mixed feelings.
   3. C.
      He was delighted,
   4. D.
      He didn't believe it.