(Ò»)

Gertrude Chandler listened. Another train was passing her house in Putnam, Connecticut. She loved living across the street from the railway station.

Sometimes, Gertrude was ill and had to stay home from school. When she was not feeling well, books were her friends. One day in 1899, while she was reading a book, Gertrude, at the age of 9, glanced (Ƴ) out the window at a train. She could see inside its last car. She saw a small stove (¯×Ó), cups, and a coffee pot. How comfortable it looked! It was like a little home. Wouldn't it be wonderful to live in a boxcar?

After high school, Gertrude decided to find a job. She had always loved to write. Soon she was writing for a newspaper in her town. Later, at age twenty­six, she wrote her first real book. With her sister Frances, Gertrude wrote more books. Most of these were for grown­up readers.

In 1924, Gertrude wondered again about living in a train car. She decided to write a story called The Boxcar Children. The characters in the book were called the Alden children. They were named Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. Afraid of living with a grandfather they had never met, the Alden children made a home for themselves in an old red boxcar they discovered in the woods. The oldest boy Henry worked in a nearby town to buy food and other things they needed. The brave children made a happy life for themselves and had many adventures (ÆæÓö) together. When Gertrude became a teacher, she read the boxcar book to her pupils.

During the next thirty years, Gertrude wrote eighteen more books about the boxcar children. She died in 1979, but her well­loved books live on. The adventures of Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny still bring smiles to the faces of young readers.

1£®What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A£®Why Gertrude's family lived near a train station.

B£®How Gertrude got the idea of living in a boxcar.

C£®Why Gertrude's friends were mostly books.        D£®How Gertrude spent her days off school.

2£®What happened to the Alden children?

A£®They had to support themselves.       B£®They lived in a boxcar on a train.

C£®They had no families to live with.    D£®They had many adventures on a train.

3£®What can we learn about Gertrude Chandler?

A£®She wrote most of her books with Frances' help.B£®She dropped out of school at a very young age.

C£®She is known for her books for children.     D£®She liked traveling by train.