Exercise 1:
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.
Question 1: According to the passage, Porter’s Father was ___________.
A. the person who gave him a life-long love of books
B. a medical doctor
C. a licensed pharmacist
Question 2: Why did the author write the passage?
A. to outline the career of a famous American
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
Question 3: The word “imprisonment” in paragraph 2 is closet in meaning to
_________.
A. captivity B. escape C. insult D. punishment
Question 4: What is the passage primarily about?
A. The life and career of William Sydney Porter.
B. The way to adopt a nickname.
C. [Link]’s influence on American literature.
D. The adventures of [Link].
Question 5: The author implies which of the following is true?
A. Porter’s wife might have lived longer if he had not left her in Austin when he fled.
B. Porter was in poor health throughout his life.
C. O. Henry is as popular in many other countries as he is in America.
D. Porter would probably have written less stories if he had not been in prison for
three years.
Question 6: Which of the following is true, according to the passage?
A. Porter left school at 15 to become a pharmacist
B. Porter wrote a column for the Houston Daily Post called “Rolling Stone”
C. The first recorded use of his pseudonym was in Austin
D. Both of Porter’s wives died before he died
Question 7: The word “pseudonym” in the passage refers to ___________.
A. William Sydney Porter B. O. Henry
C. Athol Estes D. the Aunt Lina
