When I told my father that I was moving to Des Moines, Iowa, he told me about the only time he had been there. It was in the 1930s, when he was an editor in the literary magazine of Southern Methodist University（SMU）in Dallas, Texas. He also worked as a professor at SMU, and there was a girl student in his class who suffered from a serious back disease. She couldn;t afford the operation because her family was poor.
Her mother ran a boardinghouse in Galveston, a seaside town near Houston, Texas. She was cleaning out the attic（阁楼）one day when she came across an old dusty manuscript（手稿）. On its top page were the words, “By O. Henry”. It was a nice story, and she sent it to her daughter at SMU, who showed it to my father. My father had never read the story before, but it sounded like O. Henry, and he knew that O. Henry had once lived in Houston. So it was possible that the famous author had gone to the beach and stayed in the Gainestown boardinghouse, and had written the story there and left the manuscript behind by accident. My father visited an O. Henry expert at Columbia University in New York, who authenticated the story as O. Henry’s.
My father then set out to sell it. Eventfully, he foud himself in Des Moines, meeting with Gardner Cowles, a top editor at the Des Moines Register. Cowles loves the story and bought it on the spot. My father took the money to the girl. It was just enough for her to have the operation she so desperately needed.
My father never told me what the O. Henry story was about. But i doubt that it could have been better than his own story.
49. Who found the O. Henry’s manuscript?
A. The girl’s mother. B. The author’s father.
C. The girl. D. The author.
50. Which of the following might explain the fact that the manuscript was found in the attic?
A. O. Henry once worked in Houston. B. O. Henry once stayed in Galveston.
C. O. Henry once moved to Des Moines. D. O. Henry once taught at SMU.
51. The underlined word “authenticated” in Paragraph 2 probably means __________.
A. named B. treated C. proved D. described
52. According to the text, why did the author’s father go to Des Moines?
A. To sell the O. Henry story. B. To meet the author himself.
C. To talk with the O. Henry expert. D. To give money to the girl.
【考点】考察历史知识类阅读
【文章大意】本文介绍了我的父亲为了帮助一位女学生动手术，而到Des Moines把女孩的母亲发现的欧亨利的手稿卖掉的故事。
49. 【答案】A
【试题解析】细节题。根据文章第二段1,2行She was cleaning out the attic（阁楼）one day when she came across an old dusty manuscript（手稿）. On its top page were the words, “By O. Henry”.可知正是她的母亲在打扫阁楼的时候发现了欧亨利的手稿的。故A正确。
50. 【答案】B
【试题解析】细节题。根据文章第二段4,5行he knew that O. Henry had once lived in Houston. So it was possible that the famous author had gone to the beach and stayed in the Gainestown boardinghouse, and had written the story there and left the manuscript behind by accident.可知欧亨利有可能在Gainestown boardinghouse住过，留下了这个手稿。所以女孩的妈妈才可能会得到这个手稿。故B正确。
51. 【答案】C
【试题解析】推理题。根据文章第三段Eventfully, he foud himself in Des Moines, meeting with Gardner Cowles, a top editor at the Des Moines Register. Cowles loves the story and bought it on the spot.可知我的父亲来到了Des Moines找到了一位买家愿意购买这个手稿，说明这是欧亨利的手稿。也就是说My father visited an O. Henry expert at Columbia University in New York, who authenticated the story as O. Henry’s.中的这位专家确认了能够手稿的确是欧亨利的。故C正确。
52. 【答案】A
【试题解析】细节题。根据文章第三段1,2行My father then set out to sell it. Eventfully, he foud himself in Des Moines, meeting with Gardner Cowles, a top editor at the Des Moines Register. Cowles loves the story and bought it on the spot.可知父亲要到Des Moines来卖欧亨利的手稿的。故A正确。
【长难句解析】
My father visited an O. Henry expert at Columbia University in New York, who authenticated the story as O. Henry’s.
【翻译】我的父亲去拜访了纽约哥伦比亚大学欧亨利的专家，他证明了这个故事是欧亨利的。
【分析】本句中的who authenticated the story as O. Henry’s修饰先行词O. Henry expert，这是一个非限制性定语从句。非限定性定语从句起补充说明作用，缺少也不会影响全句的理解，在非限定性定语从句的前面往往有逗号隔开，如若将非限定性定语从句放在句子中间，起前后都需要用逗号隔开。需要注意 which引导的非限定性定语从句是用来说明前面整个句子的情况或主句的某一部分。 在非限定性定语从句中，关系词不能用that。
