When Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it was a revolution in communication． For the first time, people could talk to each other over great distances almost as clearly as if they were in the same room． Nowadays, though, we increasingly use Bell' s invention for taking photographs, accessing the internet, or watching video clips, rather than talking． Over the last two decades a new means of spoken communication has appeared: the mobile phone．

    The first real mobile telephone call was made in 1973 by Dr Martin Cooper, the scientist who invented the modem mobile handset． Within a decade, mobile phones became available to the public． The streets of modem cities began to feature sharp-suited characters shouting into giant plastic bricks． In Britain the mobile phone quickly became the same with the "yuppie" , the new type of young urban professionals who carried the expensive handsets as status symbols． Around this time many of us said that we would never own a mobile phone．

    But in the mid-90s, something happened． Cheaper handsets and cheaper calling rates meant that, almost overnight, it seemed that everyone had a mobile phone． And the giant plastic bricks of the 80s had changed into smooth little objects that fitted nicely into pockets and bags．

    Moreover, people' s timekeeping changed． Younger readers will be amazed to know that, not long ago, people made spoken arrangements to meet at a certain place at a certain time． But later Meeting times became approximate under the new order of communication: the Short Message Service （SMS） or text message． Going to be late? Send a text message! It takes much less effort than arriving on time, and it' s much less awkward than explaining your lateness face to face and the text message has changed the way we write in English． Traditional rules of grammar and spelling are much less important when you' re sitting on the bus, hurriedly typing "Will B 15mm late - C U @ the bar． Sorry! - ）"．

    Alexander Graham Bell would be amazed if he could see how far the science of telephony has progressed in less than 150 years．If he were around today, he might say "That' s gr8! But I' m v busy rite now．Will call U 2nite．"

1.What does the underlined part in Para． 2 refer to?

A．Houses of modern cities．                B．Sharp-suited characters．

C．New type of professionals．               D．Mobile phones．

2.According to Paragraph 4, why did Meeting times become approximate?

A．People were more likely to be late for their meeting．

B．SMS made it easier to inform each other．

C．Young people don' t like unchanging things．

D．Traditional customs were dying out．

3.If you want to meet your friend at the school gate this evening, which of the following message can you send him?

A .Call U@ SKUg8 2nite．                B．IM2BZ2CU 2nite．

C．CU@ the bar g8 2nite．            D．W84U@ SKUg8 2nite．

4.What does the passage mainly tell us about?

A．Alexander Graham' s invention．

B．SMS @ a new way of communication．

C．New functions of the mobile telephone．

D．The development of the mobile phone．

 

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.

Mark Twain was ________ in his childhood.    

A. a naughty boy          B. a good student

C. a handsome boy         D. a strong boy

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

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

A. a printer.               B. a miner

C. a tailor                 D. a soldier

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

Jack London is a famous American writer. His most widely known book is the Call of the Wild, the story of the adventure of a large dog in the frozen north.

Jack London was born on January 12, 1876, in San Francisco, California. His family was very poor, and Jack had to leave school to make money. He worked hard at many different jobs.

Later, Jack returned to school, but he didn’t stay. He wrote, “Life and pocket book were both too short.” In 1897, he went to Alaska to find gold. Instead, he found ideas there for his book stories. He returned home and started to write. His writings were successful, and he became rich and famous in his twenties.

Jack London was not a happy man, however. In poor health, he took his own life in 1916. He was then only 40 years old.

1. Jack London went to Alaska to __________________.

A. find ideas for his books   B. find gold    C. write his books and stories    D. find jobs

2. Jack London left school because __________________.

A. he had to work to help his family           B. he had completed his education

C. he wanted to become a writer              D. he wanted to find gold.

3. From what did Jack London get ideas for his books and stories?

A. His life in Alaska.                       B. His childhood friend.

C. A large dog in the north.                  D. His pocket book.

4. What do we know about Jack London?

A. He became famous but remained poor all his life.

B. Though he was poor, he was always happy.

C. He was not famous until he died in 1916.

D. He killed himself because of poor health.

 

Mark Twain，an American writer, published more than 30 books, hundreds of

short stories and essays and gave lectures around the world throughout his career. 

Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education. Thou

gh 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 Cl

emens, but he is better known all over the world as MarkTwain, 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 causedmuch trouble for his parents. He use

d to play jokes on all of his friends and neighbors. He didn't like to go to sc

hool, and he constantly ran away from home. He always went in the direction of

the nearby Mississippi. He was nearly drowned nine times. After his father's d

eath in 1847, Mark twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him wit

h food and clothing. Then, he worked as  a river-boat pilot (领航

员)and later joinedthe army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During t

his 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 fam

ous, 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 on

e of their childrenpassed away.At the age of 70, his hair was completely white.

He bought many white suits and neckties. Hewore nothing but white from head to

foot until his death on April 21, 1910.

1. When Mark Twain was a little baby,          .

A．his mother thought he would die

B．he was as active as other boys

C．he was not strong enough

D．he was always in hospital

2. In his childhood,        .

A．Mark Twain learned a lot at school

B．Mark Twain often went swimming with other boys

C．Mark Twain often played games with other boys

D．Mark Twain’s mother often worried about his safety

3. In order to make a living, Mark Twain       .

A．often ran away from home.

B．first worked for a printer.

C．wrote stories in the beginning.

D．joined the army after he worked in a mine.

4. In the later years of his life, Mark Twain      .

A．continued writing until his death.

B．wrote many stories and earned a lot of money.

C．must have been very sad because he lost his wife and one of his children.

D．lent too much money to others.

 

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, ________.

A．learned a lot at school

B．he often went swimming with other boys

C．his mother often worried about his safety

D．he often played games with other boys

【小题2】Which of the following shows the right order about Mark Twain?
a. He became a miner.           b. He worked as a printer.
c. He got into debts.             d. His father died.
e. He became a full-time writer.    f. He joined the army.

A．a—d—b—c—e—f	B．d—b—f—a—e—c
C．d—a—f—e—b—c	D．c—b—d—f—e—a

【小题3】In order to make a living, Mark Twain _______.

A．first worked as a printer

B．did many kinds of work

C．wrote stories in the beginning

D．joined the army after he worked in a mine

【小题4】Before his death, Mark Twain _______.

A．became a white man	B．was in low spirits
C．liked to buy all kinds of clothes	D．had nothing on