Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word: for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
In the fall of 1903, O. Henry was living in a room at the small Hotel Marty in New York City. He had published a few stories in local magazines, but was still relatively unknown when editors at the New York World newspaper sent a young reporter 1 (track) down this mysterious writer. By the next day, O. Henry had an agreement with the newspaper to write one story a week for the magazine section of their Sunday edition. The World had 2 (large) daily circulation in the world, and O. Henry’s stories about New York life became immensely popular. By the time he left the newspaper after less than three years, O. Henry had established his reputation 3 a gifted storyteller and master of surprise endings.
O. Henry was the pen name used by William Sydney Porter, who was born in North Carolina. At the age of twenty, he moved to Texas. 4 he held a variety of jobs, eventually becoming a bank teller. He married and became a reporter and columnist for the Houston Post. After a few years, his wife 5 (diagnose) with a serious infectious disease, and he was accused of illegally taking the money of the bank where he worked. Some people have claimed 6 he was stealing money to help pay his wife’s medical bills. O. Henry fled to Central America, but his wife was too ill to accompany him. Months later, 7 her condition worsened, he returned and turned himself in to the police. His wife soon died, and O. Henry spent three years in prison in Ohio. It was during his time in prison that he began writing the stories that would make him famous. W. S. Porter 8 (emerge) from prison as O. Henry.
In 1902 O. Henry moved to New York City and started trying to sell his stories. In a few years his luck changed for the better, and his position with the New York World helped make him a 9 (celebrate) author. He published more than three hundred stories and gained worldwide acclaim. O. Henry’s writing is admired for its colorful and realistic depictions of the everyday lives of New Yorkers. His stories are known for their plot twists and surprise endings. In fact, O. Henry’s own life ended with a “twist” — his funeral was somehow scheduled in the same church at the same time as someone else’s wedding! The O. Henry Award 10 (honor) the authors of the best stories printed each year in American magazines.
