When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing．His mother took him to see the famous showman, P．T．Barnum．Mr. Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show．He hired Chades’s parents along with him, and they traveled the world together．
He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a new name, General Tom Thumb．He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes．When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads．To excite great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England．
During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people．He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall．
Tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money．By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich．He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty-five．Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well．One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a school teacher．Tom was able to win her love, and they married．
The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town．They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about two thousand guests．Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding ceremony．The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon．
Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war．Not willing to let this bit of sunshine weaken, communities throughout the country put forward “Tom Thumb” weddings．In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun．
1．“Talk of the town” means ____．
A．it was in the newspaper
B．people spread mean rumors about it
C．it was the most popular thing happening
D．it was discussed in a city meeting
2．Which of the following best suggests the fact that Stratton was smart?
A．He became a billionaire at twenty-five．
B．He learned how to sing, dance and act at a very young age．
C．He met with President Lincoln during his honeymoon．
D．He married a school teacher．
3．Why did Stratton dance on a wooden plate held by an eight-foot-tall person?
A．Because the wooden plate would make the dance sound loudly．
B．Because people would feel Stratton taller．
C．Because only the eight-foot-tall man could support Stratton．
D．Because the difference between them would make Stratton look even smaller．
4．From the last paragraph, we can conclude that ____．
A．only wedding can make people feel full of sunshine
B．people are always disappointed during war time
C．entertainment can serve an important purpose
D．people should be married when they are young．