Many of the stories written by Mark Twain take place in Hannibal, Missouri. The small wooden house where he lived as a boy still stands there. Next to the house is a wooden fence. It is the kind described in Twain's book, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," published in1876.

In that story, Tom has been told to paint the fence. He does not want to do it. But he acts as if the job is great fun. He tricks other boys into believing this. His trick is so successful that they agree to pay him money to let them finish his work. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is considered one of the best books about an American boy's life in THE the1800s.

Tom Sawyer's good friend is Huckleberry, or "Huck," Finn. Mark Twain tells this boy's story in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Huck is a poor child, without a mother or home. His father drinks too much alcohol and beats him.

Huck's situation has freed him from the restrictions of society. He explores in the woods and goes fishing. He stays out all night and does not go to school. He smokes tobacco.

Huck runs away from home. He meets Jim, a black man who has escaped from slavery. They travel together on a raft made of wood down the Mississippi River. Huck describes the trip:  "It was lovely to live on the raft. Other places seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft... Sometimes we'd have that whole river to ourselves for the longest time... We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them---. “

From the second paragraph we learn Tom Sawyer is a ______ boy.

A. kind       B. smart     C. clumsy     D. honest 

The reason why Huck runs away from home is that ______.

A. his family is poor              B. he wants to find a friend live with

C. there’s no warn in his home    D. he loves nature and likes to adventure

The underlined word “restrictions” can be replaced by _____.

A. limits    B. prohibition    C. forces    D. rules

Why did Huck feel comfortable living in a raft? Because _____.

A. Huck made the raft by himself     B. Huck could eat fresh food here

C. Huck could have the river there    D. Huck likes to be free

The stories of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” are probably _____.

A. completely imaginary               B. according Mark Twain’s experiences

C. Mark Twain’s autobiography(自传)   D. records from his last generation

Many people know the names Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison. However, most people don’t know the name of the man who invented the television, Philo Farnsworth.
Philo Farnsworth was born in 1906 and grew up on a potato farm. As a boy, he loved to learn about science, and he read a lot of science books. When he was only thirteen years old, he drew a picture of a machine that could send pictures as radio sends sounds. He got the idea from the way the potatoes were planted in the field. The potatoes grew in long lines, side by side. This made a shape in Philo’s mind. This shape helped Philo think of a way to send the TV picture onto a piece of glass. But he was poor, so Philo could not try to make his idea into a machine at that time.
Later, Philo worked at many different jobs. He worked with trees. He worked on broken radios. He worked on trains. He also worked as a street cleaner. At last, two rich men heard about his idea for television, and they gave him the money to make it. On September 7th, 1927, they watched Philo test the machine he built. When Philo turned on the machine, a small line could be seen on the glass. Philo said, “There you have it, electric television.”
Later, a big company, RCA, said they had made the first television. Philo had to spend a lot of money on lawyers to fight them. Finally, he won. Then, World War Two started in 1939. During the war, Philo spent a lot of money helping the US army instead of building up his television company. After the war, other bigger, richer companies started making televisions. In the end, Philo had to sell his company.
【小题1】Why does the author mention Bell and Edison at the beginning of the text?

A．To remember both of them.	B．To prove their wisdom.
C．To introduce the topic of the text.	D．To explain their relationships.

【小题2】According to the text, how old was Philo when he finished his invention of TV?

A．27 years old.

B．21 years old.

C．33 years old

D．39 years old

【小题3】Philo Farnsworth got the idea for TV from ______.

A．the radio

B．science books

C．potato fields

D．a machine

【小题4】 The underlined part “building up” in the last paragraph probably means “______”.

A．starting

B．selling

C．putting up

D．making bigger

【小题5】Which is the correct order of the following events?
a. Two rich men gave Philo money to do experiments.
b. Philo sold his own company.
c. Philo beat RCA in law.
d. Philo fixed broken radios.
e. Philo showed his invention to others.

A．d, a, e, c, b

B．e, d, c, b, a

C．d, c, e, b, a

D．a, c, b, d, e

When I was three years old, my parents discovered I was totally deaf. But instead of sending me to a school for the deaf, they decided to “mainstream” me. All of my peers and teachers world have normal hearing.
I was the only deaf child at Blue Creel Elementary School. From almost the first day there, the other kids made fun of me mainly because of my hearing aid and the way I talked. And I also had difficulty with most of my school work.
When the other kids made fun of me, I was sure that I was a bad person. I saw myself as a boy who wasn’t smart enough to keep up with the class.
Mrs. Jordan, my 5th grade teacher, changed all of that with a simple three-word phrase.
One morning, she asked the class a question. I read her lips from my front-row seat and immediately raised my hand because I was sure I had the right answer. But when she called on me, I was afraid. Here was an opportunity to impress the powerful teacher and show her I was worthy of her love. Maybe even impress my classmates a little. I didn’t want to blow it. despite my fears, I took a deep breath and answered Mrs. Jordan’s question.
I will never forget what happened next. Mrs. Jordan enthusiastically slammed （跺动）her right foot on the floor and turned her tight hand around in full circle until it pointed directly at me. With sparking eyes and a wide smile she cried, “THAT’S RIGHT STEPHEN!”
For the first time in my young life, I was a star. I sat a little taller in my chair.
From that day forward, my grades and speech improved greatly. My popularity among my peers increased. It was all because Mrs. Jordan believed in me and wasn’t afraid to express it. “THAT’S RIGHT STEPHEN!”
【小题1】What does the underlined word “mainstream”(in Para 1) mean?

A．Encourage a disabled child to live a normal life.

B．Include a disabled child in an ordinary class.

C．Treat a disabled child with respect.

D．Teach a disabled child at home.

【小题2】It can be inferred that when entering Blue Creek Elementary School, the writer     .

A．was not clever	B．could not focus on his study
C．lacked confidence	D．got along well with other kids

【小题3】When the writer answered Mrs. Jordan’s question, he        .

A．trembled with fear	B．stayed calm
C．was nervous	D．was excited

【小题4】From his experience, the writer may conclude that       .

A．the right words could change someone’s life

B．each of us has the courage to be great

C．all great heroes made mistakes

D．each day is a lucky day

As a boy ,Mark Twain caused much trouble for his parents . He used to play practical jokes on all his friends and neighbors .The nature of his jokes often led to violence. He hated to go to school, and he constantly ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi .He liked to sit on the bank of the river for hours at a time and just gaze at the mysterious island and the passing boats. He learned many things about the river during those days. He learned all about its history and unusual people who rode up and down it . He never forgot those scenes and those people .He later made them part of the history of America in the books Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Mark Twain received his genius （天才）from his mother . Obviously he didn’t get it from his father . He once stated that he had never seen a smile on his father’s face .On the other hand, his mother had the rare ability to say humorous things. The same ability made Mark Twain an extremely humorous public speaker.
【小题1】Because of the nature of his jokes when he was a child , Mark Twain would           

A．ran away from school

B．cause his parents to quarrel with others

C．get into trouble with his friends and neighbors

D．like to sit on the bank of the Mississippi River

【小题2】It can be learned from the text that          

A．Mark Twain’s father was a cruel man

B．Mark Twain never attended school on time

C．Mark Twain often went boating in the nearby river

D．Mark Twain’s mother was something of a humorist

【小题3】In his books Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain wrote much about          

A．the Mississippi and the people riding on it	B．his friends and neighbors
C．his school life	D．his parents

【小题4】It is implied that what affected Mark Twain’s character mostly was          

A．his practical jokes	B．his father’s seriousness
C．the history of the Mississippi	D．his mother’s genius for humor

Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. Though he had little school education, he became the most famous writer of his time. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clements, 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 tender care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble to his parents. He used to play jokes on all his friends and neighbors. He didn’t like to go to school, and he ran away from home from time to time. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi. He was nearly drowned(淹死) 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 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 a great fortune（财富）.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.

He died on April 21, 1910 at the age of 70.

1.Mark Twain was ________ in his childhood.    

A．a naughty boy	B．a good student
C．a handsome boy	D．a strong boy

2.Mark Twain began to write short stories when he _______.

A．was at school	B．was in the army
C．worked for a printer	D．was a miner

3.Before he became a full time writer Mark Twain had not been ___

A．a printer.	B．a miner
C．a tailor	D．a soldier

4.Mark Twain’s wife died _________

A．soon after she give birth to three children

B．at the same time with her children

C．before three of her children died

D．after Mark Twain had died