A
Mark Twain left school when he was twelve.He had little school education. In spite of this, he became the most famous writer of his time.He made millions of dollars by writing.His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain, his pen name.
Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not expected to live through the first winter. But with his mother's tender care, he managed to survive.As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all of his friends and neighbours. He didn't like to go to school, and he constantly ran away from home.He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi River. He was nearly drowned nine times.
After his father's death in 1847, Mark Twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing.Then, he worked as a printer, a riverboat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a fulltime writer.
In 1870, Mark Twain got married.In the years that followed he wrote many books including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him a great fortune.
Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments(投资)and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died, and then three of their children passed away.
At the age of 70, his hair was completely white.He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.
【语篇解读】 本文是一篇记叙文。介绍了文坛巨匠马克·吐温的生平事迹和所取得的成就。
1．Mark Twain left school at 12 to ．
A．work as a miner B．write stories
C．join the army D．make a living
D [细节理解题。由第二段第一句可知，马克·吐温出生于1835年，由第三段第一句可知，1847年(他12岁那年)父亲去世后为了维持生计，马克·吐温开始为印刷商工作。]
2．Which of the following about Mark Twain is NOT true?
A．He was not a healthy boy.
B．He caused much trouble for his parents.
C．He gained lots of money by writing.
D．He had a happy childhood but a sad later life.
D [推理判断题。由第二、三段可知，马克·吐温儿时患病，父亲早逝，为了生计做工，由此可见他的童年并不快乐、幸福。故选D项。]
3． brought him fame and lots of money.
A．His works B．His investments
C．His printing D．His family
A [细节理解题。由第四段第二句可知，他的作品给他带来声誉和财富。]
4．The best title of this passage is ．
A．Mark Twain's Works
B．Mark Twain's Life
C．Mark Twain's Fame
D．Mark Twain's Success
B [主旨大意题。文章主要介绍的是马克·吐温的生平事迹，A、C、D 三项不具有概括主旨性。]
