Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in Scotland in 1850. He had to end his college studies because his health was poor. He began to travel, looking for a place that was good for his health. And he wrote about his travels. Inland Voyage(1878) was about journeys by canoe(独木舟) on the rivers and canals of Belgium and France. Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes followed it in next year.
People loved his travel books, and they also found his poems beautiful. In 1879 he travelled to California in a very uncomfortable ship and then by train across the United States to San Francisco. He married in California, but his poor health made him and his wife travel again.
Readers of his travel books and poetry were surprised when Treasure Island came out in 1883. It was not at all like his earlier writing, but both children and grown-ups loved it.
Treasure Island was finished in Switzerland. Stevenson then continued to travel. He loved the islands of the southern Pacific Ocean, and he found that his health was better there. In the end, he and his wife made their home in Samoa. It was there that he wrote Kidnapped(1886), the story of David Balfour and Alan Breck. It was followed (but not immediately) by Catriona, which continues the story of David Belfour and tells of other exciting adventures of David and Alan, and of David’s love for Catriona Drummond. In between the two stories about David Belfour came another surprising book, the “thriller” called The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Stevenson died in Samoa in 1894, and he is buried there.
56. Which of the following about Stevenson is true?
A. He lived to be 50.
B. He quit college because he was poor.
C. He was buried in his homeland.
D. He was also a popular poet.
57. Stevenson settled in Samoa because ______.
A. it was very beautiful
B. it was good for his health
C. he was too old to travel on
D. he finished his book Kidnapped there
58. In which order did the following books come out?
a. Travels with a Donkey b. Treasure Island c. Kidnapped
d. Catriona e. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
A. a, b, c, d, e B. a, b, c, e, d C. b, c, a, e, d D. c, a, b, d, e
59. The passage is probably taken from ______.
A. a newspaper
B. an advertisement
C. a book introduction
D. a public speech