MarkTwain,an American writer, published more than 30 books, hundreds of
short stories and essays and gave lectures around the world throughout his career.
MarkTwainleftschoolwhenhewastwelve.Hehadlittleschooleducation.Thou
ghhehadlittleschooleducation,hebecamethemostfamouswriterofhistime
.Hemademillionsofdollarsbywriting.HisrealnamewasSamuelLanghorneCl
emens,butheisbetterknownallovertheworldasMarkTwain,hispenname.
MarkTwainwasbornin1835andhewasnotahealthybaby.Infact,hewasnot
expectedtolivethroughthefirstwinter.Butwithhismother'stendercare,
hemanagedtosurvive.Asaboy,hecausedmuchtroubleforhisparents.Heuse
dtoplayjokesonallofhisfriendsandneighbors.Hedidn'tliketogotosc
hool,andheconstantlyranawayfromhome.Healwayswentinthedirectionof
thenearbyMississippi.Hewasnearlydrownedninetimes.Afterhisfather'sd
eathin1847,Marktwainbegantoworkforaprinter,whoonlyprovidedhimwit
hfoodandclothing.Then,heworkedas ariver-boatpilot(领航
员)andlaterjoinedthearmy.Butshortlyafterthathebecameaminer.Duringt
hisperiod,hestartedtowriteshortstories.Afterwardshebecameafull-time
writer.
In1870,MarkTwaingotmarried.Intheyearsthatfollowedhewrotemanybooks
includingTomSawyerin1876,andHuckleberryFinnin1884,whichmadehimfam
ous,andbroughthimagreatfortune.Unfortunately,MarkTwaingotintodebts
inbadinvestments(投资)andhehadtowrite
largenumbersofstoriestopaythesedebts.In1904,hiswifediedandthenon
eoftheirchildrenpassedaway.Attheageof70,hishairwascompletelywhite.
Heboughtmanywhitesuitsandneckties.Heworenothingbutwhitefromheadto
footuntilhisdeathonApril21,1910.
小题1: When Mark Twain was a little baby,.A.his mother thought he would dieB.he was as active as other boysC.he was not strong enoughD.he was always in hospital小题2: In his childhood,.A.Mark Twain learned a lot at schoolB.Mark Twain often went swimming with other boysC.Mark Twain often played s with other boysD.Mark Twain’s mother often worried about his safety小题3: In order to make a living, Mark Twain.A.often ran away from home.B.first worked for a printer.C.wrote stories in the beginning.D.joined the army after he worked in a mine.小题4: In the later years of his life, Mark Twain.A.continued writing until his death.B.wrote many stories and earned a lot of money.C.must have been very sad because he lost his wife and one of his children.D.lent too much money to others.