单选题
William Sydney Porter (1861—1910), who wrote under the pseudonym of O. Henry, was born in North Carolina. His only formal education was to attend his Aunt Lina"s school until the age of fifteen, where he developed his lifelong love of books. By 1881 he was licensed pharmacist. However, within a year, on the recommendation of a medical colleague of his Father"s, Porter moved to La Salle County in Texas for two years herding sheep. During this time, Webster"s Unabridged Dictionary was his constant companion, and Porter gained a knowledge of ranch life that he later incorporated into many of his short stories. He then moved to Austin for three years, and during this time the first recorded use of his pseudonym appeared, allegedly derived from his habit of calling "Oh, Henry" to a family cat. In 1887, Porter married Athol Estes. He worked as draftsman, then as a bank teller for the First National Bank.
In 1894 Porter founded his own humor weekly, the Rolling Stone, a venture that failed within a year, and later wrote a column for the Houston Daily Post. In the meantime, the First National Bank was examined, and the subsequent indictment of 1886 stated that Porter had embezzled funds. Porter then fled to New Orleans, and later to Honduras, leaving his wife and child in Austin. He returned in 1897 because of his wife"s continued ill-health; however she died six months later. Then, in 1898 porter was found guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment in Ohio. At the age of thirty five, he entered prison as a defeated man; he had lost his job, his home, his wife, and finally his freedom. He emerged from prison three years later, reborn as O. Henry, the pseudonym now used to hide his true identity. He wrote at least twelve stories in jail, an after re-gaining his freedom, went to New York City, where he published more than 300 stories and gained fame as America"s favorite short story writer. Porter married again in 1907, but after months of poor health, he died in New York City at the age of forty-eight in 1910. O. Henry"s stories have been translated all over the world.
单选题
Why did the author write the passage?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 此题要求把握全文内容。一般的短文理解最少都会考一个这样的内容。常用的问题方式除了本题之外,还有“What"s the main idea of the passage/What does the author wants US to know by writing this passage?”等。本文介绍了美国著名短篇小说家欧·亨利的生平。B符合题意。
单选题
According to the passage, Porter"s father was ______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 根据原文中第一段第四行“on the recommendation of a medical colleague of his father"s Porter moved to La Salle Country...”可知,他是经父亲的一位医学同事的推荐而去的Texas。由此我们可以推测,他父亲应该是位医生。其中并未说明他父亲所起的直接作用,因而没有办法证明他爸爸应对他的经历负责。所以C为答案。
单选题
The word "allegedly" in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
单选题
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 第一段倒数第四行“He then moved to Austin for three years, and during this time the first recorded use of his pseudonym appeared”,由此可知,D为正确答案。文中只提到他在再婚后不久去世,没提及他第二任妻子的情况,因此A是错误的。文中提及他15岁退学,20岁成为药剂师,并没有提及他退学的原因是为了成为药剂师。因此B不符合文章。由第二段第一句,可知Rolling Stone和Houston Daily Post是两份独立的刊物。因而C也是错误的。