One of the best-known American writers is Samuel Langhorne Clemens, whose pen-name is Mark Twain. Born in 1835, Twain grew up in the Mississippi River town of Hannibal, Missouri. Like many other boys of his day, Twain dreamed of traveling on riverboats and of becoming a riverboat pilot(舵手) someday. He used his memories of the life of the river town in his two most famous books, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer.
As a young man Twain held many jobs. He was a printer, a gold miner, and for a long time, he was a riverboat pilot. During his pilot days, he adopted(采用) the name Mark Twain. This was something used by the boatmen to mean the water measured two fathoms, or twelve feet, which was deep enough for safe passage.
Finally, Twain became a famous writer. He traveled a great deal, writing and speaking, and was very popular both in the United States and in Europe.
Twain’s style of writing was simple and direct. Among the things he wrote about were superstitious(迷信的) people and people who were easily fooled. He used his unusual gift for humor to write about many things of importance.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens _____________________ .
A. is the best-known American writer
B. never left the town of Hannibal, Missouri
C. is the hero of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer
D. used Mark Twain as his pen-name
Many boys of that time _________________________ .
A. wanted to become writers
B. were anxious to work on a riverboat
C. just wanted to be passengers on the Mississippi
D. wished to become friends of Mark Twain.
Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain was probably about _________ .
A. boys’ life of his day
B. the life of a riverboat pilot
C. the life of a river town
D. Twain’s travel on riverboats
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Fathom was a unit used by boatmen to measure the depth of the water.
B. People could be easily amused by Mark Twain’s writing.
C. Europeans showed little interest in Mark Twain’s writings.
D. Mark Twain’s books could be easily understood for his style.