Mark TwainMark Twain

Samuel Samuel Langhorne Langhorne ClemensClemens

11/30/183511/30/1835

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04/21/191004/21/1910

American American short story short story writerwriter

HumoristHumorist

good at writing about good at writing about children’s adventureschildren’s adventures

• born by the Mississippi Riverborn by the Mississippi River• at 11, lost fatherat 11, lost father•at 13, stopped schoolingat 13, stopped schooling

• between 18-22, travelled about, between 18-22, travelled about, a pilota pilot• ever managed stock; wrote fun ever managed stock; wrote fun stories for local newspapersstories for local newspapers

• began to use the pen name of began to use the pen name of MARK TWAINMARK TWAIN in 1863 in 1863

• Mark TwainMark Twain means means Two-Fathom Two-Fathom deepdeep the depth of water

necessary for the steamer boats to pass safely

• In 1872, his “writing-only” period In 1872, his “writing-only” period began.began.

his masterpieceshis masterpieces

18761876

The The Adventures Adventures

of Tom of Tom SawyerSawyer

his masterpieceshis masterpieces

18811881

The The Adventures Adventures of of Huckleberry Huckleberry FinnFinn

his masterpieceshis masterpieces

18811881

The The Prince Prince and the and the PauperPauper

his short storieshis short stories• The Cop and The Cop and the Anthemthe Anthem• Running for Running for GovernorGovernor• The £ 1,000,000 The £ 1,000,000 Bank-NoteBank-Note

Mark Twain left school when he

was twelve. He had little school education. In spite of this, he became the most famous writer of his time. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain, his penname.

Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not expected to live through the first winter. But with his mother's tender care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all of his friends and neighbours. He didn't like to go to school, and he constantly ran away from home.

He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi ( 密西西比河 ). He was nearly drowned ( 淹死 ) nine time

s. After his father’s death in 1847, Mark twain began to work for a printer ( 印刷商 ), who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river － boat pilot ( 领航员 ) and later joined the army. But shortly after t

hat he became a miner ( 矿工 ).

During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a full--time writer. In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him a great fortune.

Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments ( 投资 ) and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died, and then three of their children passed away.

At the age of 70, his hair was completely white. He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.

1. Mark Twain was ____ in his childhood. A. a naughty boyB. a good studentC. a handsome boyD. a strong boy

2. Mark Twain began to write short stories when he ____. A. was at schoolB. was in the armyC. worked for a printerD. was a miner

3. Before he became a full time writer Mark Twain had not been ____. A. a printerB. a minerC. a tailorD. a soldier

4. Mark Twain's wife died ____. A. after she gave birth to three childrenB. after Mark Twain had diedC. before three of her children diedD. at the same time with her children

5. Before his death, Mark Twain ____. A. became a white manB. was in low spiritsC. liked to buy all kinds of clothesD. had nothing on

答案：ADCCB