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】People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because___________.

One of the best-loved American writers was William Sydney Porter, or O.Henry. From 1893 he lived with his family in a house in Austin, Texas, which is now a museum. Visitors to Austin can see the house. It was saved from destruction (破坏) and turned into a museum in1934. The museum is a good way to learn about the interesting life of the American writer.
William Porter rented this house in Austin and lived there with his wife Athol and daughter Margaret for about two years. Many objects in the museum belonged to the Porters. Others did not. An important piece in the room is the original photograph over here. It was taken there in the house about 1895. The piano there goes back to the 1860s. His wife took lessons on it when she first moved to Austin.
Porter did not start his career as a successful writer. He worked at a farm, land office and bank. He also loved words and writing. The museum has a special proof of Porter’s love of language --- his dictionary. It is said that he had read every word in that dictionary.
Later William Porter was forced to leave Austin because he was charged with financial wrongdoing at the bank and lost his job. Because he was afraid of a trail (审判), he left the country secretly. But he returned because his wife was dying. After her death, he faced the trial and became a criminal. He served three and a half years in a prison in Ohio.
William Porter would keep his time in prison a secret. But there was one good thing about it. It provided him with time to write. By the time he was freed, he had published 14 stories and became well known as O.Henry.
Porter later moved to New York City and found great success there. He published over 180 stories in the last eight years of his life.
【小题1】O.Henry’s house in Austin has been well kept up till now so that ____.
A. Americans can explore their history
B more visitors will be attracted to Austin
C. visitors can learn about O.Henry’s life
D. it can show the way of life in the 1860s
【小题2】What do we know about the piano in the house?

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. c. e. b. d. f. a    B. e. c. f. b. d. 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 easy to understand

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 that was not his

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 from the newspaper

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.

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.

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

3.O. Henry went to prison because       .

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

5.Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?

One of the best-loved American writers was William Sydney Porter, or O.Henry. From 1893 he lived with his family in a house in Austin, Texas, which is now a museum. Visitors to Austin can see the house. It was saved from destruction (破坏) and turned into a museum in1934. The museum is a good way to learn about the interesting life of the American writer.

William Porter rented this house in Austin and lived there with his wife Athol and daughter Margaret for about two years. Many objects in the museum belonged to the Porters. Others did not. An important piece in the room is the original photograph over here. It was taken there in the house about 1895. The piano there goes back to the 1860s. His wife took lessons on it when she first moved to Austin.

Porter did not start his career as a successful writer. He worked at a farm, land office and bank. He also loved words and writing. The museumm has a special proof of Porter’s love of language --- his dictionary. It is said that he had read every word in that dictionary.

Later William Porter was forced to leave Austin because he was charged with financial wrongdoing at the bank and lost his job. Because he was afraid of a trail (审判), he left the country secretly. But he returned because his wife was dying. After her death, he faced the trial and became a criminal. He served three and a half years in a prison in Ohio.

William Porter would keep his time in prison a secret. But there was one good thing about it. It provided him with time to write. By the time he was freed, he had published 14 stories and became well known as O.Henry.

Porter later moved to New York City and found great success there. He published over 180 stories in the last eight years of his life.

1.O.Henry’s house in Austin has been well kept up till now so that ____.

A. Americans can explore their history

B more visitors will be attracted to Austin

C. visitors can learn about O.Henry’s life

D. it can show the way of life in the 1860s

2.What do we know about the piano in the house?

A. It was hated by Porter’s daughter.

B. It has a long history of about 150 years.

C. Porter’s wife gave music lessons on it.

D. Porter usually created music on it.

3.How does the museum prove (证明) Porter was fond of language?

A. With a dictionary he used.

B. With the records they keep.

C. Using the books they wrote.

D. Using the photograph they keep.

4.Why did Porter escape from Austin?

A. He didn’t want to lose his job.

B. He didn’t want to make trouble.

C. He meant to save his wife’s life.

D. He was charged with a crime.

5.From the last two paragraphs we know that _______.

A. Porter became famous suddenly

B. Porter spent his time in prison writing

C. Porter suffered a lot from his time in prison

D. life in prison provided what he could write for Porter