Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions.

William Shakespear is the world's famous English playwright. He was born at Stratford-on-Avon in 1564. He married Anne Hathaway when he was eighteen and had three children. After that he left his family and went to London to begin his career as an actor, and later, a playwright. He wrote about thirty seven plays of all kinds: comedies, tragedies and historise. He retired in 1611 and spent the last years of his life in Stratford. He died in 1616 and was buried in the church of Stratford.

1.Who is Shakespear?....................................................

2.When was he born?......................................................

3.When did he marry?.......................................................

4.How many children did he have?.....................................................

5.How many plays did he write?...........................................................

6.What kinds of plays did he write?............................................................

7.Did he die at Stratford?............................................................

8.How old was he when he died?...................................................................

9.Where was Shakespear buried?....................................................................

1. Read the passage and answer the questions below. (2ms)

William Shakespeare is probably the most famous playwright in history. He was born on 23 April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon in England. He was one of eight brothers and sisters. His father, John Shakespeare, was a successful businessman. William went to school in Stratford and learnt Latin and Greek, but he didn’t go to university. At the age of fifteen he went straight to work in his father’s business. When he was eight, he met and fell in love with Anne Hathaway. She was eight years older than him. They got married in November 1582, and six months later their daughter Susanna was born. In 1585 they had twins, Hamnet and Judith. Little is known about the following seven years of his life. We only know that he moved to London, leaving Anne and the children in Stratford, and that by 1592 he was writing plays and working as an actor.

His plays were very popular and he made a lot of money. In 1597, he bought a big house in Stratford for his family, but he stayed in London for further 13 years. He continues to write and act and also bought a theater. In 1611, he finally retired and moved back to Stratford. In total, Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets (fourteen-line poems). He died in Stratford on his birthday, on 23 April 1616, and was buried in the church where he had been christened 52 years earlier.

1. Apart from writing plays, what did Shakespeare also do? _____________________________________________

2. How many plays did Shakespeare write?

________________________________________________________________

3. Did he spend all his life in Stratford?

_________________________________________________________________

4. When did he die?

_________________________________________________________________

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), 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 a 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 a 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 he now used to hide his true identity. He wrote at least twelve stories in jail, and 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.

What is the passage primarily about?

A. The life and career of William Sydney Porter

B. The way to adopt a nickname

C. O.Henry’s influence on American literature

D. The adventures of O.Henry

Mark Twain, the author of the The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, is one of America's best loved storytellers. He (grow up) in a small town on the Mississippi River. As a young boy, he (admire, greatly) the pilots of the riverboats and dreamed about being a riverboat pilot on the mighty river. He pursued his dream, and by the age of 22, he himself (become) a riverboat pilot. Later in life, when he (become) a writer, many of his stories (contain) elements of his own experiences. He wrote many humorous stories and articles about life on the Mississippi River before he (die)in 1910 at the age of 74. Sadly, Twain (work) on a new story for several months before his death, but he (finish, never) it. Over the years since his death, his boyhood home in Hannibal, Missouri, (become) a favorite place for Americans to visit to learn about Twain and life on the Mississippi at the turn of the 19th century

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), 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 a 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 a 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 he now used to hide his true identity. He wrote at least twelve stories in jail, and 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.

Why did the author write the passage?

A. to outline the career of a famous AmericanB. because of his fame as America’s favorite short story writer

B. because of his fame as America’s favorite short story writer

C. because it is a tragic story of a gifted writer

D. to outline the influences on O. Henry’s writing

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the comet answer to each of the questions.

If parents bring up a child with the sole aim of turning the child into a genius, they will cause a disaster. According to several leading educational psychologists, this is one of the biggest mistakes, which ambitious parents make. Generally, the child will be only too aware of what his parents expect, and will fail. Unrealistic parental expectations can cause great damage to children.

            However, if parents are not too unrealistic about what they expect their children to do, but are ambitious in a sensible way, the child may succeed in doing very well – especially if the parents are very supportive of their child. Michael Collins is very lucky. He is crazy about music, and his parents help him a lot by taking him to concerts and arranging private piano and violin lessons for him. They even drive him 50 kilometers twice a week for violin lessons. Michael’s mother knows very little about music, but his father plays the trumpet in a large orchestra. However, he never makes Michael enter music competitions if he is unwilling.

            Winston Smith, Michael’s friend, however, is not so lucky. Both his parents are successful musicians, and they set too high a standard for Winston. They want their son to be as successful as they are and so they enter him for every piano competition held. They are very unhappy when he does not win. Winston is always afraid that he will disappoint his parents and now he always seems quiet and unhappy.

Winston’s parents push their son so much and he …………...

A. has won a lot of piano competitions

B. cannot learn much from them 

C. has become a good musician

D. is afraid to disappoint them

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), 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 a 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 a draftsman, then as a bank teller for the First Nation 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 he now used to hide his true identity. He wrote at least twelve stories in jail, and after regaining 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.

The word "his" in paragraph 1 refers to ________.

A. William Sydney Porter

B. Porter’s father

C. a medical colleague

D. Webster

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 38 to 45.

If parents bring up a child with the sole aim of turning the child into a genius, they will cause a disaster. According to several leading educational psychologists, this is one of the biggest mistakes which ambitious parents make. Generally, the child will be only too aware of what his parents expect, and will fail. Unrealistic parental expectations can cause great damage to children

However, if parents are not too unrealistic about what they expect their children to do, but are ambitious in a sensible way, the child may succeed in doing very well – especially if the parents are very supportive of their child.

          Michael Collins is very lucky. He is crazy about music, and his parents help him a lot by taking him to concerts and arranging private piano and violin lessons for him. They even drive him 50 kilometers twice a week for violin lessons. Michael’s mother knows very little about music, but his father plays the trumpet in a large orchestra. However, he never makes Michael enter music competitions if he is unwilling.

          Winston Smith, Michael’s friend, however, is not so lucky. Both his parents are successful musicians, and they set too high a standard for Winston. They want their son to be as successful as they are and so they enter him for every piano competition held. They are very unhappy when he does not win. Winston is always afraid that he will disappoint his parents and now he always seems quiet and unhappy.

Question:The phrase "crazy about" in in the paragraph 3 mostly means______.

A. surprised at

B. extremely interested in

C. completely unaware of

D. confused about