Horatio Alger, Jr.
Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832–1899) was the author of more than 100 books for boys in the
second half of the nineteenth century that focused on the theme of success coming to
those who work hard to achieve it
. The son of a minister, Alger came from a prominent
Massachusetts family. He graduated with honors from Harvard in 1852 and graduated from
the Cambridge Divinity School eight years later. He served as a minister for a short time before
moving to New York City in 1866 to devote his time to writing inspirational books for boys.
In many of his books, he wrote about the poor and homeless children of the slums
of New York City, seeing them as unfortunate pawns of society who, if only given the
opportunity
, could improve their lot. A general plotline that he followed often was of a poor
boy who managed to achieve a respectable and successful life by working hard and taking
advantage of opportunities presented. Though his writing style was characterized by simplicity
and repetition, it was well received by his target audience; his books were enormously
popular
, selling millions of copies well into the first few decades of the twentieth century.
14. The word "that" in paragraph 1 refers to
A author
B books
C boys
D half
17. The word "who" in paragraph 2 refers to
A slums
B society
C pawns
D opportunity
15. The word "it" in paragraph 1 refers to
A the second half
B the nineteenth century
C 100
D success
18. The word "it" in paragraph 2 refers to
A style
B simplicity
C repetition
D audience
16. The word "them" in paragraph 2 refers to
A books
B children
O slums
D pawns
