题目内容：

    When he was a little boy his uncle called him “Sparky”, after a cartoon horse named Spark Plug. School was all but impossible for Sparky. He failed every subject in the eighth grade. And his record in sports wasn’t any better. Though he did manage to make the school’s golf team, he lost the only important match of the season in no time.

Throughout his youth, Sparky was awkward socially. It wasn’t that other students disliked him; it was just that no one really cared all that much. Sparky was a loser. He, his classmates ... everyone knew it. So he learned to live with it. He made up his mind early that if things were meant to work out, they would. Otherwise he would content himself with what appeared to be his mediocrity.

One thing was important to Sparky, however — drawing. In his senior year of high school, he sent some cartoons to the yearbook. The editors rejected his ideas. Despite that, Sparky was convinced of his ability. He decided to become an artist. So, after completing high school, Sparky wrote to Walt Disney Studios. They asked for samples (样本) of his artwork. Despite careful preparation, he was rejected.

But Sparky still didn’t give up. Instead, he decided to tell his own life’s story in cartoons. The main character would be a little boy who symbolized the continuous loser and chronic (长期的) underachiever. You know him well. Because Sparky’s cartoon character went on to become a cultural phenomenon of sorts. People readily identified with this “lovable loser”. He reminded people of the painful and embarrassing moments from their own past, of their pain and their shared humanity.

The character soon became famous worldwide — Charlie Brown. And Sparky, the boy whose many failures never kept him from trying, is the highly successful cartoonist Charles Schultz. His cartoon strip (连环漫画), “Peanuts”, continues to inspire books, T-shirts and Christmas specials, reminding us that life somehow finds a way for all of us, even the losers.

1.What does the underlined word “mediocrity” in paragraphs two mean?

A.annoying violence. B.strange behavior.

C.hopeless feeling. D.being ordinary.

2.Before Sparky started his Charlie Brown cartoon, _______.

A.his artwork was rejected time and again

B.he thought himself really bad at drawing

C.some editors encouraged him to keep trying

D.his artwork was accepted by Walt Disney Studios

3.Why did Sparky’s cartoon character Charlie Brown become popular?

A.Everyone had pity on it.

B.It belonged to youth culture.

C.Its lovely image rid people of their pain in life.

D.People shared some similarities with the character.

4.What can we learn from Charles Schultz’s story?

A.Everyone is equal in life. B.All is well that ends well.

C.There is always a way out. D.Things speak for themselves.