阅读理解。
Mark Twain was my hero when I was nine because that was when I discovered Tom Sawyer. But
even at the height of my admiration, I couldn't agree with him that Anne, the main character in Anne of
Green Gables, was "the dearest and most loveable child in fiction since the best-known Alice". I had
read Anne of Green Gables as well as Tom Sawyer, and she had made me as sick as a dog.
Another Mark Twain's quote will explain my problem. He said, "When I was a boy of 14, my father
was so ignorant (无知的) that I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21,
I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." I gradually understood his words
as growing up. When I picked up the book again a few years later, I too was astonished at how much it
had improved-and shortly afterwards shocked by the fact that not only could I be a fool in all sporting,
artistic and practical matters, I could also be so when it came to reading too.
On rereading, then, I learned that Anne is indeed a dear and most lovable child. I couldn't help
adoring the girl who insists that her name be spelled with the "e" instead of Ann as she believes that is "so
much more distinguished." She is a brave and determined survivor of a severe upbringing who has refused
to let her circumstances crush her spirit. She arrives at Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert's farm with
everything unfavorable-orphaned, unwanted and her biggest trouble of red-hair and freckled (有雀斑的)
face. However, she gets along well, through her strange way of seeing things, through her honest love of
beauty and lovable attempts to master her unreasonable desires. She finally wins over the Cuthberts, their
neighbors and millions of readers who have met her over the 101 years since the book was first published.
When I settle down with it these days, I've come to see the truth in Mark Twain's praise for the book,
and this reminds me of the great truth that you are never too young to start rereading.
1. According to Paragraph 1, we can know the writer ______.
A. believed Anne to be loveable
B. admired Mark Twain because of Anne
C. regarded Tom Sawyer as the dearest child
D. disagreed with Mark Twain's opinion on Anne
2. By referring to Mark Twain's remark on his father, the writer wants to prove that ______.
A. people's attitude may change
B. learning can change a person
C. the relationships between people can improve
D. young people never make correct judgments
3. The reason why the writer admires Anne now is that _______.
A. she is an ambitious girl
B. she is welcome by the readers
C. she adapts to her environment well
D. she changes her name to make it easy to remember
4. The writer's purpose of writing the passage is to ______.
A. recommend Anne of Green Gables
B. express admiration towards Mark Twain
C. prove that people's first impression can not be right
D. encourage us to reread the books that we may not like at first
