Mark Twain is a name not usually connected wi...

Mark Twain is a name not usually connected with Broadway(百老汇), but now his play “Is He Dead” will receive its first public performance on November 29.

“Is He Dead” was written by Mark Twain in 1898 but was never performed. It was rediscovered in 2002 by Shelley Fisher Fishkin, an English professor and director of the American Studies Program at Stanford University. It was published the following year by the University of California Press.

The story is about a group of poor artists who fake the death of their friend in order to increase the value of his work.

“Is He Dead” is set in France in the 1840s and centers on the French painter Jean-Francois Millet. “Millet was probably the most popular European painter in the United States in Twain’s lifetime,” Fishkin said in a telephone interview. “Americans greatly admired him because he focused on the life of the common man and the common woman.”

According to Fishkin, “Is He Dead” is a satire(讽刺) about how value is created in the art world. Twain wrote the play when he was coming out of the hardest time of his life.

1.What’s “Is He Dead” about?

A．The death of a poor artist in the 1840s.

B．A trick played by a group of poor artists.

C．A story about the French painter Jean-Francois Millet.

D．An experience Mark Twain had gone through.

2.From the second paragraph we learn that ______.

A．the play was one of Mark Twain’s early works

B．no one knew the play until 2002

C．Fishkin is an expert on Mark Twain’s works

D．the play was published in 2002

3.According to Fishkin, Jean-Francois Millet was admired by Americans because ____.

A．he was a famous French painter at that time

B．he focused on the life of ordinary Americans

C．his works showed respect for ordinary people

D．Mark Twain agreed on his thoughts

4.We can infer from the passage that Mark Twain ______.

A．had experienced several difficult times for no money

B．was a good novelist but a bad playwright(剧作家)

C．was a writer who only cared about ordinary people’s life

D．was dissatisfied with some methods of creating the value of art work

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

　"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.

1."Mark Twain" was _________.

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

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

2.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

3. 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

4. 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

5.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

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Ann lent me an interesting novel________by Mark Twain this morning and I am very________with her kindness.

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Ideally _____ for Broadway theatre and Fifth Avenue, the New York Park Hotel is a favorite with many guests

A locating         B being located      C having been located      D located

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

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---. “

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

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

2.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

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

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

4.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

5.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

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

American author Mark Twain once noted that “life would be surely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18.” Twain’s words were only one of many complaints about aging. The ancient Greek poet Homer called old age “hateful”, and William Shakespeare termed it “terrible winter”.

Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the known world before he died around 323 B.C., may have been looking for a river that healed the ravages of age. During the 12th century A.D., a king called Prester John ruled a land that had a river of gold and a fountain of youth.

But the name linked most closely to the search for a fountain of youth is 16th-century Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon. He thought it would be found in Florida. In St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S., there’s a tourist attraction. It is said to be the fountain of youth that Ponce de Leon discovered soon after he arrived in what is now Florida in 1513. However, elderly visitors who drink the spring’s water don’t turn into teenagers.

But the tale of the search for a fountain of youth is so appealing that it survives anyway, says Ryan K. Smith, a professor of history. “People are more attracted by the story of looking and not finding than they are by the idea that the fountain might be out there somewhere.”

Still, a few grains of truth have helped to support the story. Kathleen Deagan, a professor of archaeology, says a graveyard and the remains of a Spanish mission dating back to St. Augustine’s founding in 1565 have been discovered near the so-called fountain of youth. Michelle Reyna, a spokesperson for the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in St. Augustine, says the fountain has been a tourist attraction since at least 1901 and may have been attracting visitors since 1860.

1.According to the passage, who searched for a fountain of youth_________?

A. Ponce de Leon　　 　 　 B. William Shakespeare.

C. Kathleen Deagan　　　 D. Michelle Reyna

2.What does the underlined word “ravages” in the second paragraph probably mean_______?

A. Growth　 　　　　     B. Limits          C. Damages          D. Benefits

3.What is the attitude of people towards the fountain of youth________?

A. People find much pleasure in looking for it.

B. People believe the existence of it somewhere.

C. People have no interest in searching for it.

D. People consider the idea of the fountain of youth absurd.

4.The passage mainly tells us ________.

A. how the fountain of youth came into being　

B. why some famous people hate becoming old

C. how to remain young forever

D. whether the fountain of youth exists

5.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage_________?

A. The underlined words “the story” refers to Alexander the Great ruling a land that had a river of gold and a fountain of youth.

B. Augustine, which is the oldest city in the U.S, lies in Florida.

C. Some elderly visitors find themselves younger after drinking the water from the fountain of youth.

D. Kathleen Deagan is the spokesperson for the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park.　　

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

American author Mark Twain once noted that “life would be surely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18.” Twain’s words were only one of many complaints about aging. The ancient Greek poet Homer called old age “hateful”, and William Shakespeare termed it “terrible winter”.

Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the known world before he died around 323 B.C., may have been looking for a river that healed the ravages of age. During the 12^th century A.D., a king called Prester John ruled a land that had a river of gold and a fountain of youth.

But the name linked most closely to the search for a fountain of youth is 16^th-century Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon. He thought it would be found in Florida. In St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S., there’s a tourist attraction. It is said to be the fountain of youth that Ponce de Leon discovered soon after he arrived in what is now Florida in 1513. However, elderly visitors who drink the spring’s water don’t turn into teenagers.

But the tale of the search for a fountain of youth is so appealing(有吸引力的) that it survives anyway, says Ryan K. Smith, a professor of history. “People are more attracted by the story of looking and not finding than they are by the idea that the fountain might be out there somewhere.”

Still, a few grains of truth have helped to support the story. Kathleen Deagan, a professor of archaeology, says a graveyard and the remains of a Spanish mission dating back to St. Augustine’s founding in 1565 have been discovered near the so-called fountain of youth. Michelle Reyna, a spokesperson for the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in St. Augustine, says the fountain has been a tourist attraction since at least 1901 and may have been attracting visitors since 1860.

1.According to the passage, who searched for a fountain of youth?

A. Ponce de Leon  B. William Shakespeare. C. Kathleen Deagan   D. Michelle Reyna

2.What does the underlined word “ravages” in the second paragraph probably mean?

A. Growth. B. Limits.      C. Damages.         D. Benefits.

3.What is the attitude of people towards the fountain of youth?

A. People find much pleasure in looking for it.

B. People believe the existence of it somewhere.

C. People have no interest in searching for it.

D. People consider the idea of the fountain of youth absurd(荒谬的).

4.The passage mainly tells us _____.

A. how the fountain of youth came into being

B. why some famous people hate becoming old

C. how to remain young forever

D. whether the fountain of youth exists

5.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The underlined words “the story” refers to Alexander the Great ruling a land that had a river of gold and a fountain of youth.

B. Augustine, which is the oldest city in the U.S, lies in Florida.

C. Some elderly visitors find themselves younger after drinking the water from the fountain of youth.

D. Kathleen Deagan is the spokesperson for the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Mark Twain, the famous American writer and a great master of humor, liked to play jokes on others. But once a joke was played on him. One day Mark Twain was invited to give a talk in a small town. At lunch he met a young man, one of his friends.

The young man said that he had an uncle with him. He told Mark Twain that his uncle never laughed or smiled, and that nobody and nothing was able to make his uncle smile or laugh.

"You bring your uncle to my talk this evening," said Mark Twain. "I'm sure I can make him laugh."

That evening the young man and his uncle sat in the front. Mark Twain began to speak. He told several funny stories and made everyone in the room laugh. But the man never even smiled. Mark Twain told more funny stories, but the old man still kept quiet. Mark Twain continued to tell his funny stories. Finally he stopped. He was tired and quite disappointed.

Some days later, Mark Twain told another friend what had happened." Oh," said his friend, "I know that man. He's been deaf for years."

1.The writer wrote the passage mainly to ________.

A. tell readers Mark Twain liked playing jokes

B. tell readers a joke played on Mark Twain

C. tell readers Mark Twain was a great writer

D. tell readers how to tell a funny story

2.One day Mark Twain met ________ at lunch.

A. a friend            B. his brother        C. his teacher        D. a young girl

3.Mark Twain stopped finally because he was ________.

A. disappointed        B. sorry            C. ill                D. sleepy

4.Mark Twain couldn't make the old man laugh because ________.

A. his jokes were not funny

B. the old man wasn't interested in the jokes

C. the old man could tell more funny jokes

D. the old man was deaf

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Mark Twain, ____ his rich life experience, wrote many popular stories.

A. picking up　　　 B. making up

C. drawing upon　　 D. contrasting with

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。

1.What does the woman think of Mark Twain’s biography?

A. Informative.　　 B. Adventurous.　　 C. Boring.

2.Which place inspired the fictional town in Mark Twain’s book?

A. New Orleans.　　 B. Hannibal.　　 C. New York City.

3.What happened to Mark Twain in 1859?

A. He met Horace.　　 B. He left his hometown.　　 C. He became a steamboat pilot.

4.How did Mark Twain get his pen name?

A. It was given by his father.　　 B. It came from his job.　　 C. It was suggested by Pilot Horace.

高二英语长对话简单题查看答案及解析