B．funny story about a frogjumping competition

C．books about the Mississippi

D．funny speeches at dinners

39．According to the passage，which of the following statements about Mark Twain is TRUE?

A．He is the greatest American writer.

B．He only wrote sad stories during his last years.

C．He not only wrote novels but also taught in schools.

D．His life experiences were rich.

40．The passage is mainly about Mark Twain's ______.

A．hometown B．writing career C．travels D．family

The long Hiccup

It all sta rted with Indian food but it ended in hospital.

For many people the subject of hiccups is a joke，but for Harry Mendis，a fifteenyearold schoolboy from Birmingham，it was something quite different.

His hiccups began on Sunday lunchtime and continued (持续) day and night for two weeks.After the first week，Harry's parents took him to hospital，but it took another week for the doctors to cure (治愈) his hiccups.

Harry，who is now back at school，told what happened to him.

"When I began to hiccup，I drank a glass of water but that didn't work.That evening I had hiccups every four seconds.We tried everything to stop them.I held my breath(屏住呼吸)and drank cold drinks.My father even tried to give me a shock but that didn't work either."

After a week，he went to the hospital.The doctors took an Xray of his chest but they couldn't find anything wrong.

"They gave me some medicine and my hiccups slowed down，but it was another week before the medicine work ed and my hiccups stopped."

Harry was very lucky.The world record holder of hiccupping is the American farmer Charles Smith，who hiccupped for more than sixtynine years.He stopped in 1990 at last，but nobody knows why.

41．Harry hiccupped for ______.

A．a week B．fourteen days C．three weeks D．one month

42．His hiccups started after he ______.

A．drank a glass of water B．held his breath

C．ate an Indian meal D．finished his homework

43．His parents took him to hosptial ______.

A．on Sunday night B．after giving him a shock

C．after doing everything for it D．a week later

44．His hiccups stopped on the week after the doctor ______.

A．let him take the medicine B．took an Xray of his chest