Tobias George Smollett was best known for his picaresque novels such as The Adventures of Roderick Random.（）

Mark Twain: One of America's Best Known and Best Loved Writers

Mark Twain wrote "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in 1884. Since then, the book has been published in at least 60 languages. Some people say it is the best book ever created by an American writer. American students still read this book. And parents, teachers and literary experts still debate the issues discussed in the book.

The writer who became Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835. He grew up in Hannibal, Missouri on the Mississippi River. After his father died in 1847, young Samuel went to work as an assistant to a publisher. 10 years later, he became a pilot on a steamboat that sailed on the Mississippi. He heard the riverboat workers call out the words "mark twain !" that was a measure for the depth of water.

In 1861, the American Civil War put an end to steamboat traffic on the Mississippi. So Clemens traveled west and became a reporter for newspapers in Nevada and California.

Began to Write

Later, he wrote funny stories and called himself Mark Twain. Twain became famous for his story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" in 1865. It tells about a jumping competition among frogs.

Twain also traveled a lot and began writing books about his travels. His stories about a trip to Europe and the Middle East were published in "The Innocents Abroad." And his stories about life in the western United States became the book called "Roughing It."

In 1870, he married Olivia Langdon and moved to Hartford, Connecticut. During the 1880's, he wrote books for children, such as "The Prince and the Pauper." It tells about a poor boy who trades identities with a member of England's ruling family. Twain also wrote "Life on the Mississippi." This book describes his days as a steamboat pilot and his return to the river 20 years later.

A Successful Writer and Speaker

Mark Twain was already a successful writer before he became famous as a public speaker. Over the years, he had invested a lot of money in unsuccessful businesses. In 1893, he found himself deeply in debt. So to earn money, he traveled around the world giving humorous talks. His speeches made people laugh and remember events they had experienced.

However, his later life was not a happy one. Two of his daughters died. His wife died in 1904 after a long sickness. Some critics think Mark Twain's later works were more serious because of his sadness. He died of heart failure in 1910.

Mark Twain was the first writer to use the speech of common Americans in his books. He showed that simple American English could be as fine an instrument for great writing as more complex language. Through his books, he captured American experiences as no other writer had.

Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn

Many of the stories 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 in 1876.

In that story, Tom bas 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 1800s.

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 bas 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.

&n

A．Y

B．N

C．NG

Although he designed buildings throughout the world, he was perhaps best known for his work in Japan.

A．尽管他所设计的建筑遍布世界各地，但他最为人熟知的作品可能还是在日本。

B．虽然他的建筑设计作品遍布全球，但是最了解他作品的可能还是日本人民。

C．尽管他曾为世界上很多地方设计过建筑，但其最好的作品可能还是在日本。

D．虽然作为一名建筑设计师他曾在世界各地工作过，但是他最了解的还是日本的情况。

Ernest Hemingway (1899—1961) : one of the best known and most influential American novelists and short-story writers. All his life Hemingway was fascinated by war—in World War I he worked for the Red Cross on the Italian front, in the Spanish Civil War and World War II he served as a war reporter. His experiences and observations provided him with materials and background for many of his best works, in which he concerned himself with mans courage in facing strong physical forces. "Grace under pressure" was Hemingways definition of courage. In his view, life is painful and complex. The only way to survive is to face what comes with honor, dignity, strength, knowledge and endurance. Hemingways overall message, as established in The Old Man and the Sea ( 1952) , his nearly flawless short novel which gained him the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and the Nobel Prize in 1954, is that although life is a lonely, losing battle, it is a struggle that a man can dominate in such a way that his loss has dignity and is itself a victory.

Which of the following is INCORRECT according to the passage?

A．Bennett"s play The History Boys has widespread appeal.

B．Bennett is the director of the National Theatre.

C．Hytner is best known for his direction of Adrian Lester in Henry V.

D．Pupils are not required to sit a full GCSE in some English literature.

The Masters of Business Administration (MBA), the best known business school label, is an introduction to general management. The traditional MBA, Harvard style, has remained largely unaltered since the 1950s, and seeks to provide a thorough knowledge of business functions through the case study—a feature incidentally borrowed from law school. In a similar fashion to law school, the graduate management programs train students to think in a particular way, ultimately teaching future business leaders how to analyze problems q9uickly and contrive(想出)concise solutions. However, business comprises more than merely manipulating numbers or sourcing rational answers to problems. Today, both companies and schools are increasingly aware that business is a human activity; it is ultimately by and about people.

John Quelch is a business school insider who detects the limitations of the traditional syllabus. According to Quelch, leadership is an area that schools have not fully addressed. "The basic technical training managers need is more wide spread. But leadership skills are in short supply. This could become a major constraint on the speed with which multinational companies can expand", he says. Leadership is notoriously hard to teach, but programs do have the capacity to provide a grounding in non-business areas and personal growth. "You want to produce graduates who will be effective. To do this, they need to know their own skills. Our job is not only to cram finance down their throats, but help develop them as people," explains Leo Murray, director of Cranfield School of Management in the U. K. Cran field uses philosophy in its core, which since 1997 has offered an evening lecture series en compassing (包括) both Aristotelian and present day thinking. Self-awareness is crucial at the school, which will grant the theme even more space. "These issues help people think," states Murray. The better you understand yourself, goes the logic, the better you can man age others. The Said Business School (SBS) at Oxford University champions a more integrated approach. John Kay, SBS director, is keen to leverage the intellectual might of the wider university. Access to faculty from other disciplines including philosophy, politics and economics, he believes, could give SBS an edge over other school. These are surely steps in the right direction. But there is more. In future, developing a gut instinct for business may be as important as understanding the figures. To create an MBA to meet the challenges of the 21st century business schools will have to try harder, and they know it.

Which of the following is NOT true?

A．The traditional MBA has remained the same for nearly half a century.

B．Harvard style. MBA courses emphasize case study.

C．In the past MBA placeda high premium on teaching students how to analyze problems quickly and contrive concise solutions.

D．MBA is a very specialized course on business management.

The best known of______'s novels are Sons and Lovers and Women in Love.

A．D.H. Lawrence

B．T.S. Eliot

C．John Galsworthy

D．George Bernard Shaw