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 penname.
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 care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all his friends and neighbors. He didn’t like to go to school, and he often ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi(密西西比河). He was nearly drowned nine times.
After his father’s death, Mark Twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat 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 full time 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 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 his 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.
【小题1】In his childhood, Mark Twain, ________.

　"Mark Twain" was the name used by Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910) when he wrote books. His father was a lawyer, but a poor one, who lived at Florida, Missouri. The family was so poor that Samuel did not receive much teaching. He had to learn all that he could from the people whom he met. His father died when he was very young, and then there was even less money than before.

　　Many of the men in this part of America worked in the ships on the great River Mississippi, and he did this himself at one time (1857).

　　Where did he find the name "Mark Twain"? It came from the great river itself. It was part of one of the cries used by men who worked in the ships. When a man called "By the mark twain!" he meant that the river was "two marks deep" there, that is to say, six feet deep ( "Twain" is an old form of the work "Two".) Samuel Clemens often heard these words when he was young, and he used them as a penname all his life.

　　During his work on the Mississippi he met travelers of all kinds, and this helped him a great deal when he started to write. But the number of travelers became smaller when war started in America in 1861. Many of the great ships on the river stopped work. Samuel left then and went to Nevada with his brother, who was at that time Governor of Nevada. There, near the town of Carson, Samuel became a gold miner, but he never made much money at the time. He soon saw that life in the gold mines was not for him. He also tried writing for the newspapers in Nevada, and this seemed more hopeful. He found that he could write.

　　He went to Europe in 1867 and visited France and Italy. In 1870 he married Olivia Langdon, and two years later he was spending nearly all his time writing. Among his books is his own story (1908).

　　He is now always known as Mark Twain, and many people do not even know that his family name was Clemens. He traveled in America and in England, and went to Oxford in 1907. He was one of the great American writers of the time, and could make his readers laugh – a thing which few writers can do. He died in 1910.

"Mark Twain" was _________.

 A. a famous American writer    B. name of a book      

 C. a great river in America      D. a large ship

As a child, Samuel did not get much education because _________.

 A. his father died too early          B. the family was very poor 

C. he disliked school very much

D. he could learn what he liked from the people he met

What gave him a great deal when he started writing? _______

 A. His poor childhood               B. The Mississippi river   

 C. All kinds of travelers he met        D. His brother

We can infer from the passage that ________.

 A. Samuel loved writing from his early age  

 B. Samuel did not love writing at the beginning

 C. his writings to the newspaper were successful            

 D. his brother encouraged him to write more

According to the writer of the passage, a good writer could _________.

A.write a lot for his readers            B. make a lot of money for his family

C. cause his readers to laugh           D. travel everywhere he wanted

“Mark Twain” was the name used by Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835～1910) when he wrote books.His father was a lawyer，but a poor one，who lived in Florida，Missouri.The family was so poor that Samuel did not receive much teaching.He had to learn all that he could from the people whom he met.His father died when he was very young，and then there was even less money than before.
Many of the men in this part of America worked in the ships on the great Mississippi River，and he did this himself at one time (1857).
Where did he find the name “Mark Twain”？ It came from the great river itself.It was part of one of the cries used by men who worked in the ships.When a man called “By the mark twain！” he meant that the river was “two marks deep” there，that is to say，six feet deep ( “Twain” is an old form of the word “Two”.) Samuel Clemens often heard these words when he was young，and he used them as a pen name all his life.
During his work on the Mississippi he met travelers of all kinds，and this helped him a great deal when he started to write.But the number of travelers became smaller when war started in America in 1861.Many of the great ships on the river stopped work.Samuel left then and went to Nevada with his brother，who was at that time Governor of Nevada.There，near the town of Carson，Samuel became a gold miner，but he never made much money at the time.He soon saw that life in the gold mines was not for him.He also tried writing for the newspapers in Nevada，and this seemed more hopeful.He found that he could write.
He went to Europe in 1867 and visited France and Italy.In 1870 he married Olivia Langdon，and two years later he was spending nearly all his time writing.Among his books is his own story (1908).
He is now always known as Mark Twain，and many people do not even know that his family name was Clemens.He traveled in America and in England，and went to Oxford in 1907.He was one of the great American writers of the time，and could make his readers laugh—a thing which few writers can do.He died in 1910.
【小题1】“Mark Twain” was         .

A．Samuel loved writing from his early age

B．Samuel did not love writing at the beginning

C．his writings to the newspaper were successful

D．his brother encouraged him to write more

A．write a lot for his readers

B．make a lot of money for his family

C．cause his readers to laugh

D．travel everywhere he wanted

Prepare: Plan ahead and think about what you are going to say. In the words of Mark Twain, it usually takes you more than three weeks to prepare for it.

Know your subject: Always make sure that you know the subject and have background information at hand for question time.

Know you audience: Find out who you will be addressing so that you can tailor(适合) your comments accordingly.

Make a point: Keep your speech short and brief and have a few clear points that you need to convey(传达).

Practice: Never learn your speech by heart as your speech will become stilted, but do practice it a few times in front of the mirror, your parents or your dog.

Eye contact: If the thought of looking into a sea of faces scares you, adjust your gaze（注视）regularly at different points in the room to create the same effect.

First impressions: Your first impression is important when making a public presentation. Find out about dress codes(准则) at the place so that you look your best and, if possible, check the microphone beforehand to ensure you know how to use it.

Get help: If public presentations are a major part of your life, read up on the art of speech---writing and delivery to improve your skills.

1.The advice benefits (有益于)____________________.

2.Knowing your subject helps you __________.

3. The underlined word “stilted” probable means ________ here.

4.If asked for more advice besides what has been mentioned in the text, you may suggest ______.

Ⅲ阅读 (共两节，满分40分)
第一节阅读理解 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
      The old shopkeeper led me through to the back of the shop．The room was filled with boxes and
photographs of people dressed in old-fashioned clothes，holding packages in their hands．
“Who are these-people?”I asked．   
“Satisfied customers，”answered young Mr. Hopkins．“We have a very wide choice of items for
sale．Whenever I serve a new customer, I always take their picture．”Mr. Hopkins pointed to an ancient
camera standing next to one wall．“Now, how can I serve you?”he added．
By this time，I had started to trust Mr. Hopkins and had begun to appreciate the lovely items on
sale. I needed to buy Christmas presents for my family and friends，and this seemed to be the perfect
place to purchase them．I spent a very pleasant hour being shown the commodities in Mr. Hopkins’shop．
No matter what I asked for, Mr. Hopkins found it for me．Finally, I bought an antique jewelry box，a pair
of riding boots，a leather-bound edition of the Complete Works of Mark Twain, and a sewing machine．
I was very excited that I had found such a good little shop．I promised Mr. Hopkins that l would
come back soon. “I will tell all my friends about your lovely place，”I told the shopkeeper．
“Please do not do that, sir" , said Mr. Hopkins．“This is a special place for special people．You must
keep this shop a secret．” Then he took my photograph and handed me the picture straight away．
“That was quick!”I exclaimed．I looked at the photograph．In the picture I looked proud and excited holding the presents I had bought in Mr. Hopkins’dusty shop．
On Christmas Day, my friends and relatives were delighted with the presents I had bought for them．
For weeks．my brother begged me to show him where to find this wonderful little shop．I finally agreed to take him to London to show him．   
When we arrived in London，we walked along Oxford Street，past the department store and
Found nothing．The little shop was no longer there．In its place was an empty space being used as a car
park．I checked the area again。There was the music shop，and there was the department store．In between
should have been Hopkins and Son, but it wasn’t there．
As l was staring at the place where the shop should have been, a old policeman came along．“Are
you looking for something sir?”he asked．
I turned and said“I am looking for a little shop called Hopkins and Son．I thought it was here．”
“Oh yes，”said the policeman．“There was a shop here once called Hopkins and Son．It sold all
sorts of things，but it was knocked down over 30 years ago．”
I looked again at the place where the shop had been．Then I reached into my pocket and took out
the photograph that Mr. Hopkins had taken of me holding my presents in the little shop．   
    “How strange”I exclaimed．
41．The photos in the back of the shop showed
A. the items that Mr. Hopkins had sold          B．Mr. Hopkins’family members
C．Mr. Hopkins’former customers           D．the antique paintings
42．How did the writer like the shop?
A．He found it a modem big shop．
B．He thought it a wonderful shop for all Christmas presents．
C．He thought it a good shop with an ancient camera．
D．He found it a dusty, old but friendly and lovely little shop．
43．Which of the following is true about the shop?
A．It was a well-known little shop in London。
B．It was a special shop selling special presents．
C．It was between a music shop and a department store．
D．It was knocked down a few weeks ago.
44．The word “the commodities’in the 4th paragraph means         ．
A．the goods in the shop                    B. the writer’s works
C．Mr. Hopkins' photographs                D．Some presents left by other customers
45．Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
A．Christmas Shopping                    B．Hopkins and His Son
C．The Strange Experience                 D．The Strange Little Shop