When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P. T. Barnum. Mr. Barnum thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles’ parents along with him, and they traveled the world together.

He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a name, General Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.

During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall. Tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty five.

Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a schoolteacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.

The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about 2000 guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding marriage. The couple even met with President on their honeymoon just before going to live in Tom’s house in Connecticut.

Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored (发起) “Tom Thumb” weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.

56. Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Charles’ parents supported him and performed together with him.

B. Charles was found and hired by the famous showman.

C. Charles put lots of advertisements to arouse interest.

D. Charles’ success was largely due to Mr. Barnum’s help.

57. Tom would dance on a wooden plate held by an eight-foot-tall person probably because ______________.

A. the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom was dancing

B. it made Tom look taller

C. the eight–foot–tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted

D. the difference between them would make Tom look even smaller

58. The underlined words “talk of the town” in the second paragraph from the bottom means ______________.

A. it was in the newspaper                       B. people spread bad rumors about it

C. it was the most popular topic                    D. it was discussed in a city meeting

59. What does the author think about Tom’s wedding?

A. It helped people cheer up in a dark time.              B. People gave it too much of their attention.

C. It was funny and ridiculous.                         D. Tom and Lavinia were stupid.