O．Henry，born in Greensboro，North Carolina，was the pen name of William Sydney Porter.His father，Algernon Sidney Porter，was a physician.When William was three years old，his mother died，and he was raised by his grandmother and aunt.William was a good reader，but at the age of fifteen he left school，and worked in a drug store and later on a Texas farm.After that，he moved to Houston，where he had a number of jobs，including that of bank clerk.After moving to Austin，Texas，in 1882，he married.

In 1884 he started a humorous weekly The  Rolling Stone.When the weekly failed，he joined The  Houston Post as a reporter and columnist(专栏作家)．In 1897 he was put into prison over some financial(财务的)dealings.While in prison，William started to write short stories to earn money to support his daughter Margaret.His first work，Whistling Dick’s Christmas Stocking(1899)，appeared in McClure’s Magazine.After serving three years of the five years’ sentence，he changed his name to O．Henry，hoping to forget his bitter past.

O．Henry moved to New York City in 1902 and from December 1903 to January 1906 he wrote a story a week for the New York World，and also published the stories in other magazines.His first collection，Cabbages and Kings，appeared in 1904.Many other works quickly followed，such as The Gift of the Magi and The Furnished Room.O.Henry’s best known work is The Ransom of Red Chief.His stories always have surprising endings.He published 10 collections and over 600 short stories during his lifetime.

O．Henry’s last years were shadowed by drinking，ill health，and financial problems.In 1907，he experienced a failed marriage.In 1910，O.Henry died after an illness.

小题1:What’s the passage mainly about?

A．A brief introduction to O．Henry.

B．O.Henry’s career and marriage.

C．How O．Henry became a well­known writer.

D．O.Henry’s best known works.小题2:It can be inferred from the passage that O．Henry ________.

A．didn’t like to study during his childhood

B．had little parental love as a child

C．was very interested in medicine and farming

D．took up only one job after he moved to Houston小题3:Which is the right time order for the following events in O．Henry’s life?

①He moved to New York City.

②He joined The Houston Post.

③Whistling Dick’s Christmas Stocking came out.

④The Furnished Room came out.

⑤Cabbages and Kings appeared.

A．①②③④⑤

B．②①③⑤④

C．③②①④⑤

D．②③①⑤④小题4:Which of the following works of O. Henry’s is the most popular according to the passage?

A．Cabbages and Kings.

B．The Gift of the Magi.

C．The Furnished Room.

D．The Ransom of Red Chief.