36. better known as mark twain

　　the remarkable man went to a log-cabin school until he was twelve years old. that was the end of his formal education. in spite of this, he became the most famous literary figure of his generation .

　　mark twain was born in a small missouri village near the mississippi river2 in 1835. at that time, andrew jackson3 was the president of the country. abraham lincoln was still a young farm laborer in illinois. the first railroad had been built seven years before. the industrial revolution was at hand. 4 the economic collapse of american prosperity, called the panic of 1837, still lay ahead. this was also the literary period later called the“new england renaissance ”

　　mark twain 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. he had been born in a tiny two-room cabin. eight people lived together there . he had four brothers and sisters. a slave girl lived with them too.

　　as a boy, mark twain caused much trouble for his parents. he used to play practical jokes on all of his friends and neighbors. the nature of his jokes often led to violence . he hated to go to school, and he constantly ran away from home. he always went in the direction of the nearby mississippi. he was fascinated by that mighty river. he liked to sit on the bank of the river for hours at a time and just gaze at the mysterious islands and the passing boats and rafts. he was nearly drowned nine different times. he learned many things about the river during those days. he learned all about its history and the unusual people who rode up and down5 it. he never forgot those scenes and those people. he later made them part of the history of america in his books tom sawyer and huckleberry finn6.

　　阅读自测

　　Ⅰ. this is the summary of the passage. try to fill in the blanks with proper words :

　　mark twain was born in a small village near the __________river in 1835. he was not a healthy baby, so he was not expected to live __________ the first winter. thanks to his mother’s __________care, he managed to survive . he has been born in a tiny two-room __________ . __________people lived together there. he had __________brothers and sisters and a girl live with them too. when he was a boy, he used to play __________jokes on his friends and neighbors. he hated to go to school but was __________ by the mighty river. he learned all about its history and __________the unusual people who rode __________ and __________ it. later in his works tom sawyer and he made them part of american history.

　　Ⅱ. quizzes:

　　1. what has four eyes ( Ⅰ) but cannot see?

　　2. it is said that river is richer than any other things. why?

　　参考答案

　　Ⅰ. mississippi / through / tender / cabin / eight / four / slave / practical / fascinated up / down / huckleberry finn

　　Ⅱ. 1. mississippi. 2. because on each side of the river, there is one bank.