首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Better Known as Mark Twain This remarkable man went to a log-cabin school until he was twelve years old. That was the end of
Better Known as Mark Twain This remarkable man went to a log-cabin school until he was twelve years old. That was the end of
admin
2013-01-22
27
问题
Better Known as Mark Twain
This 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. He received honorary degrees from Oxford University and Yale University. People speak of him as the best known humorous writer of all times. He also brought realism and western local color to American fiction. He made millions of dollars by writing articles, short stories, and books. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain.
Mark Twain was born in a small Missouri village near the Mississippi River in 1835. At that time, Andrew Jackson 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. 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 lire 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 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 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 down 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 Finn.
Mark Twain inherited his genius for humor from his mother. Obviously, he did not inherit it from his father. He once stated that he had never seen a smile on his father’s face. On the other hand, his mother had the rare ability to say humorous things with perfect innocence. This same ability made Mark Twain all extremely humorous public speaker.
After his father’s death in 1847, Mark Twain left school and became a printer’s apprentice. His mother felt that he could make a living and get some education in this way. He worked for the printer as an apprentice for two years. During that time he received only his board and clothes as pay.
By 1853, Mark Twain was tired of Missouri. He got an urge to see the world and started out with empty pockets. He worked as a printer in St. Louis, New York, and Philadelphia. Then, as a result of reading a book, he decided to go to the upper part of the Amazon River. He planned to make a fortune by collecting and selling cocoa. His only problem was money for the trip. That problem was solved in an un usual way. He found a fifty dollar bill on the sidewalk and left for Brazil the next day. He got as far as the Mississippi River and then ran out of money.
Next Mark Twain decided to become a river-boat pilot on the Mississippi. He followed his new profession for fifteen months. He memorized all the turns, shallow spots, and dangerous rocks in the 1200 miles from St. Louis to New Orleans. He learned about the pride and responsibilities of the pilots. He became an excellent pilot. However, his life as a pilot came to a sudden end. The river was closed to navigation at the outbreak of the Civil War. Then he joined the Confederate Army, but shortly after that, his company was disbanded. He did not join the army again.
He followed his brother Orion to Nevada in 1861 and consequently took up his next profession. He became a miner in this frontier region. During this period, he started to write short articles. The publish er of the Enterprise in Virginia City, Nevada, recognized Mark Twain’s ability and offered him a job as an editor with a salary of $ 25 a week. He walked 125 miles over bad roads and rough country to accept the job. It was at this time that he adopted the pen name "Mark Twain".
Later Mark Twain worked in San Francisco for a while and then became a miner again. In his spare time, he wrote a short story called "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." This story made him known all over the country, and he decided to become a full-time writer and lecturer. He went to New York in 1867 and published his first book that year. His next book, Innocents Abroad, was published in 1869. It was a report of his European tour as a Westerner saw it. It was a completely new kind of travel book. It gave him a national reputation.
In 1870, Mark Twain was married to Olivia Langdon in Elmira, New York. It was an extremely successful marriage. They were devoted to each other throughout their lives. His wife Olivia had a strong and lasting influence on his writing. She was always careful to remove all of the bad words. He always accept ed her changes without argument. In the years following his marriage, he wrote the books for which he is most famous: Tom Sawyer in 1876, Huckleberry Finn in 1884, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court in 1889.
Unfortunately, Mark Twain had no business ability at all. He made vast profits from writing and lecturing, but time after time, he lost money in bad investments. He finally lost his entire fortune in the publishing business in 1895. He took the responsibility for all of his debts. He wrote large numbers of stories in order to pay those debts. He made a successful tour around the world. He was finally able to pay. Despite the tremendous effort this had required, he had been able to keep his health. His life had worse tragedies than the financial ones, however. His wife Olivia died in 1904. Three of his children had died previously.
At the age of seventy, his hair was completely white. He decided to buy fourteen white suits and a hundred white neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death in Redding, Connecticut on April 21, 1910.
During 187and 1889, Mark Twain wrote ______ books for which he is most famous.
选项
答案
three
解析
本题是数字填空题,根据题目所给的时间是在马克·吐温结婚后的几年里,他共写作了三本很出名的书,见文章倒数第三段。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/52I7777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
Bloggingisapastimeformany,evenalivelihoodforafew.Forsome,itbecomesan【36】Suchbloggersoftenfeelcompelledtowr
ImprovingthebalancebetweentheworkingpartofthedayandtherestofitisagoalofagrowingnumberofworkersinrichWe
AstheworldcontinuestorecoverfromtheGreatRecession,governmentsandbusinessesarefocusedonhowtospureconomicgrowt
Formanyyears,peoplebelievedthatthebrain,likethebody,restedduringsleep.Afterall,wearerenderedunconsciousbysl
A、Forbidchildrentohavepets.B、StopbuyingpetsfromAfrica.C、Fightagainstmorenewdiseases.D、Easilygetinfectedbydise
Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayonthetopicofShouldSchoolsOfferHandwritingLessons?.You
A、Anewfitnessclub.B、Doingexercisetokeepfit.C、After-workactivities.D、Weekendplans.A女士问男士是否去过thenewfitnessclub,男士说
A、NowshewatchesTValot.B、Shethinkspopularthingsmakenogood.C、ShekeepswatchingTVaslittleaspossible.D、Although
TheworldsawJackasarichand______bachelor,butreallyhewasveryshy.
随机试题
女,35岁,在甲状腺次全切除后4小时,突感呼吸困难、颈部肿胀,口唇发绀,紧急处理第一步应()。
A.舌后坠B.脑脊液漏C.张口过度D.复视E.后牙早接触,前牙开双侧颏孔区骨折可出现
根据相关司法解释的规定,对于有可能通过调解解决的民事案件,人民法院应当调解。但对于下列哪些案件,人民法院不予调解?()
“空想社会主义”对现代化城市规划的形成,起到了重要作用,下列对“空想社会主义”的描述不正确的是()
【背景资料】某城市轨道交通工程项目,在施工过程中,项目经理部对施工阶段的质量控制措施摘录如下:(1)单位工程、分部工程和分项工程开工前,施工负责人向分包方全体人员进行书面技术交底。(2)项目经理对管理工程师提出的设计变更要求在
管理的自然属性主要取决于()。
在VisualFoxPro中,基类的最小事件集为Init、Destroy和______。
WhenhisplanetoucheddownatMontreal’sinternationalairport,DavidLaRochecollectedhisluggageandheadedfortheairport
Mr.MikeSmith:Itwasn’taneasydecision,butwe’vebeenaskingforadecentwageforyears.Nowatlastpeoplearebegi
TheThree-YearSolutionHartwickCollege,asmallliberal-artsschoolinupstateNewYork,makesthisoffertowell-prepared
最新回复
(
0
)