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 care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all his friends and neighbors. He didn’t like to go to school, and he often ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi(密西西比河). He was nearly drowned nine times.
After his father’s death, Mark Twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. 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 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 his 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.
29. In his childhood, Mark Twain, ________.
A. his mother often worried about his safety
B. he often played games with other boys
C. learned a lot at school
D. he often went swimming with other boys
30.Which of the following shows the right order about Mark Twain?
a. He became a miner. b. He worked as a printer.
c. He got into debts. d. His father died.
e. He became a full-time writer. f. He joined the army.
A. d—a—f—e—b—c B. c—b—d—f—e—a
C. a—d—b—c—e—f D. d—b—f—a—e—c
31. In order to make a living, Mark Twain _______.
A. joined the army after he worked in a mine
B. wrote stories in the beginning
C. did many kinds of work
D. first worked as a printer
32. From the passage we can see that Mark Twain _______.
A. had a happy childhood
B. was a good boy and always did what he was asked
C. was very naughty when he was young
D. lived a pleasant life
ADCC
A. Profits enlarging B. Technology developing C. Education investing D. Benefits transferring E. Dominance disappearing F. A nation rising |
The following is an imaginary diary entry written by US president. This diary is part of Global Trends 2025, which was written by the US National Intelligence Council
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The
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Global wealth and economic power will shift from West to East.
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The transition from old fuels to new will be slow, as will the development of new technologies that present feasible alternatives to fossil fuels or help eliminate food and water problems. All current technologies are inadequate, and new ones will probably not be commercially possible by 2025