"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood. The happy childhood is hardly worth your while. "Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood. And worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." That was Frank McCourt reading the opening lines of his book Angela's Ashes, released in 1996.
This Irish American author best known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography Angela's Ashes that recorded his poor upbringing, died of cancer on Sunday, The New York Times reported. He was 78.
Born in New York City, he was the eldest of the seven children born to Irish immigrant parents. Angela's Ashes was a memoir(回忆录)that captured an irresponsible, drunkard(酒鬼)father with a gift for story-telling. When not drunk, his father was absent, turning his back on a family so poor, McCourt wrote, that they were reduced to burning the furniture in their rented hut to keep warm. His mother struggled to raise her many children after his father left the family.
In Angela's Ashes, he wrote of hunger, a home flooded with rainwater and the unbearable humiliation(耻辱)of seeking handouts from charities in the Irish city. But he told the story in a way that is expressive, warm and light-hearted.
Frank McCourt left Ireland at the age of 19 to return to New York City where he was born. He earned a degree in English education and taught creative writing for nearly thirty years. After retiring in 1987, he decided to write about his childhood. "Angela's Ashes" became a huge success and brought McCourt a 1997 Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award and other honors. Millions of copies of the book were sold worldwide and it was adapted into a 1999 movie starring Emily Watson and Robert Carlyle.
小题1:In the first paragraph, by saying "The happy childhood is hardly worth your while", the writer really means that ________.
A．a lot of readers don't deserve happy childhood
B．his childhood is not worth of others' sympathy
C．his childhood is mixed with happiness and misery
D．smooth childhood surely will not draw readers' attention小题2:From the passage, we know Frank McCourt's father is ________.
A．humorous and trustworthy
B．alcohol-addicted but loves his family
C．poor but warm-hearted
D．irresponsible but gifted in telling stories小题3:Which of the statements about the book “Angela’s Ashes” is right?
A．This book is intended to show respect to McCourt’s father.
B．The author wrote the book in a sad and serious tone(语调).
C．The book enjoyed great popularity after it came out.
D．The author got two awards because of the book.小题4: What's the text mainly about?
A．A brief introduction to Frank McCourt and one of his works.
B．A literary review(评论) on Frank McCourt's book.
C．An account of Frank McCourt's miserable childhood.
D．A comment on Frank McCourt's life experience.
