C．Hawking had two brothers and three sisters altogether.

　　D．Hawking's father graduated from London University.

　　A　[细节理解题。根据第二段"The eldest of Frank and Isobel Hawking's four children..."可知霍金是家中的长子，故A项正确。]

　　2．What is the meaning of the underlined word in the third paragraph?

　　A．Bringing great luck.

　　B．All of a sudden.

　　C．Happening at a bad time.

　　D．Causing trouble.

　　C　[词义猜测题。根据第三段"...who didn't have much money.And England was dealing with World War Ⅱ."可知当时他的父母没有钱，而且英国要处理二战事宜，政治环境也较为动乱，所以他的出生不合时宜。]

　　3．Where was Hawking born?

　　A．In Africa.　　　 B．In the US.

　　C．In Scotland. D．In Oxford.

　　D　[细节理解题。根据第三段"In an effort to look for a safer place，Isobel returned to Oxford to have their first child."可知，霍金在牛津出生。]

　　4．Why did Hawking choose to study science and the sky?

　　A．Because his father asked him to do so.

　　B．Because his mother had a great influence on him.

　　C．Because he was interested in them at an early age.

　　D．Because he was fond of doing research on stars.

　　C　[细节理解题。 根据第四段"...but at an early age，Hawking showed an interest in science and the sky."可知，因为霍金从小对科学和天空感兴趣，所以他选择研究这些领域，故C项正确。]

　　B

Willa Sibert Cather，Nebraska's most famous novelist，was born in 1873 in