Mark Twain was a pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was born on November 30, 1835, in a small town in Florida, rile USA. He 1 a few naughty boys who later 2 in his stories. At the age of 12, his father died. and he began to work, first as a printer, then on a river boat. Those years on the boat went into his book “Life 3 the Mississipi”. 4 the Civil War he worked as a reporter and used Mark Twain as his pen name. The stories he wrote in this period 5 him famous and popular. He made a lot of money by writing, lecturing and running 6 publishing house. But he spent all of it on high living and 7 business. Mark Twain 8 as a “funny man”. But in fact he took a serious view of fife. Many sad things happened in his own life. All his 9 helped to shape his stories 10 showed the dark side of society. He died as an old man of 75 in 1910.

    My favorite great book is The Adventure of Tom Sawyer（套姆索耶历险记）by Mark Twain．Tom lives with his aunt Polly in a quiet street．He’s a lively and clever young boy，and he finds himself in many exciting adventures．He runs away with his two friends，Huck Finn and Joe to an island in the middle of the Mississippi River for several days．With Huck he goes looking for treasure with Becky he gets lost in a cave．and finally they find a box of gold．

    My favorite scene in the book is when everyone thinks Tom is dead．He decides to go to his own funeral．He hides and watches for a time and then suddenly he appears．Everyone is surprised to see him but they’re also pleased to see him alive．

    Tom is the hero of the story but there are other important characters．Huck is an outsider and everyone is afraid of him．Becky is pretty with fair hair．Joe is Tom’s best friend and Injun Joe is the bad man of the story．

    The story is about children growing up．It describes how strangers are seen in small towns of America．Finally，it talks about freedom．social rules and how people are punished（惩制）for bad behavior．

    Who do I think The Adventure of Tom Sawyer is a great book? Mark Twain wrote the story in 1876，but it’s still read and loved by people all over the world Today．And although it’s only a story．Twain wrote it in the everyday English of the southern states of America in the 19th century，so it sounds very real．Today it’s thought to be one of the greatest books in American literature．Go on-read it! I know you’ll enjoy it，too．

1．Where does Tom run away with his two friends?

A．To a quiet street．                                      B．To a small town．

C．To an island．                                            D．To a forest．

2．Who is the bad man in the story?

A．Huck Finn．           B Injun Joe．                C．Becky．                 D．Polly．

3．How did people feel when Tom appeared at his own funeral?

A．They were surprised and pleased．                     B．They were surprised and sad．

C．They were worried and excited．                 D．They were frightened and happy．

4．The whole book is mainly about ________．

A．freedom and social rules                              B．children’s bad behavior

C．the growth of young children                             D．Mark Twain himself

阅读短文, 根据短文内容回答问题。(共10分，每小题2分)

Mark Twain was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was born on November 30, 1835, in a small town in Florida, the USA. He grew up with a few naughty boys who later appeared in his stories. Perhaps you are familiar with some of his books, as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. At the age of 12, his father died, and he began to work, first as a printer, then a pilot on a river boat. Those years on the boat went into his book Life on the Mississippi.

    During the Civil War he worked as a reporter and used Mark Twain as his pen name. The stories he wrote in this period made him famous and popular. He made a lot of money by writing, lecturing and running his own publishing house. But he spent all of it on his high living and unsuccessful business.

    Mark Twain was known as a world-wide famous writer and a humorist, which means funny man. But in fact, he took a serious view of life. Many sad things happened in his own life. All his experiences helped to shape his stories which showed the dark side of the society. He died as an old man of 75 in 1910.  (200)

1.What did Mark Twain do when he was 12?

2.Did Mark Twain write himself and his friends in his stories?

3.When did Mark Twain become famous?

4.What is Mark Twain’s writing style?

5.What does the passage mainly tell us and what does the writer think of Mark Twain?