Question

When he was a little boy, his uncle called him “Sparky” after a comic-strip (連環(huán)畫) horse named Spark Plug. School was all but impossible for Sparky.

He failed every subject in the eighth grade. And though he did manage to make the school’s golf team, he lost the only important match of the season straight away.

Throughout his youth, Sparky was awkward socially. It wasn’t that the other students disliked him. It was just that no one really cared all that much. In fact, Sparky was surprised if a classmate ever said hello to him outside of school hours. Sparky was a loser. Him, his classmates… everyone knew it. So he learned to live with it. He made up his mind that if things were meant to work out, they would.

One thing was important to Sparky, however-drawing. He was proud of his artwork. No one else enjoyed it. But that didn’t seem to matter to him. In his senior year of high school, he sent some cartoons to the yearbook. The editors refused to consider his ideas. Despite (即使；盡管) that, Sparky was sure about his ability. He even decided to become an artist.

So, after finishing high school, Sparky wrote to Walt Disney Studios. They asked for samples (樣本) of his artwork. Despite careful preparation, it too was refused. One more confirmation that he was a loser.

But Sparky still didn’t give up. Instead, he decided to tell his own life’s story in cartoons. The main character would be a little boy who symbolized the boy who always lost. You know him well. Because Sparky’s cartoon character went on to become a kind of cultural phenomenon (現(xiàn)象). People readily identified with this “l(fā)ovable loser”. He reminded people of the painful and embarrassing moments from their own past, of their pain and their shared humanity.

The character soon became famous worldwide: “Charlie Brown”. And Sparky, the boy whose many failures never kept him from trying, whose work was refused again and again, is the highly successful cartoonist Charles Schultz. His cartoon strip Peanuts continues to inspire books, T-shirts and Christmas specials, reminding us, as someone, that life somehow finds a way for all of us, even the losers.

1.The underlined part “he learned to live with it” in Paragraph 3 probably means that Sparky _______.

A. decided not to make an effort in school

B. learned to say no to being treated badly

C. didn’t care because no one called him a loser

D. came to accept not being cared about by other students

2.Before he started the Charlie Brown cartoon, _________.

A. Sparky doubted whether being an artist was in his future.

B. some yearbook editors encouraged Sparky to keep on drawing

C. no one valued Sparky’s artwork and it was refused again and again

D. samples of Sparky’s artwork were accepted by Walt Disney Studios

3.Why did Sparky’s cartoon character become so popular?

A. Because Sparky’s experience was so sad.

B. Because people felt they could have to do with it.

C. Because it was a kind of cultural phenomenon.

D. Because it inspired people to fight for their own lives.

4.What can we conclude (推斷) from the article?

A. Sparky never lost confidence in his ability.

B. Artists often have little chance of becoming successful.

C. The writer believes that others’ opinions don’t matter.

D. The writer believes that no loser will become successful in the end.

Answer 1