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 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 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.

　　閱讀自測

　　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?

　　參考答案

　　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.

　　參考譯文

　　密西西比河上的舵手

　　這 位聲名顯赫的人物12 歲前在一所由原木搭建的小木屋學校上學, 他的正規教育僅 此而已。盡管如此, 他仍成為他那一代最著名的文學家。

　　馬克· 吐溫, 1835 年出生于密蘇里州的一個小村莊, 靠近密西西比河。那時, 安德 魯· 杰克遜是這個國家的總統。亞伯拉罕· 林肯仍是伊利諾斯州的一位年輕的農場工人。 第一條鐵路七年前就已建成。第一次工業革命迫在眉睫。美國繁榮經濟的崩潰, 即“ 1837 年大恐慌”, 也即將發生。這也是后來在文學史上被稱為“ 新英格蘭文藝復興”的時期。

　　馬克· 吐溫從小體弱多病。事實上, 誰也沒料到他能活過第一個冬天。然而, 在母親 的悉心照料下, 他還是活了下來。馬克· 吐溫出生在一幢僅兩室的狹小木屋里。那屋里擠了 八口人, 他有四個兄弟姐妹, 還有一個女奴和他們一起住。

　　馬克· 吐溫小時候給父母惹了很多麻煩。他老是對他所有的朋友和鄰居制造惡作劇。 他的惡作劇常常招來一頓暴打。他討厭上學, 還不斷地從家里跑出來, 總是朝著附近的密 西西比河方向走去。馬克· 吐溫被那條浩瀚壯觀的河流迷住了: 他喜歡在岸邊一坐幾個小 時, 目不轉睛地盯著一個個神秘的島嶼和過往的船只與竹筏。有九次他都差點溺水而亡。 在那些日子里, 馬克· 吐溫學了很多有關這條河的知識, 了解了它的歷史和河上來來往往 不同尋常的人。他永遠都忘不了那些景色和那些人。后來, 馬克· 吐溫把那一切作為美國 歷史的一部分寫進了他的著作《湯姆· 索耶歷險記》和《哈克貝里· 費恩歷險記》。