Mark Twain: “The Father of American Literature”

美國文學之父：馬克?吐溫One hundred years after Twain’s death, his memorable characters live on. by Pamela Osment

In 1835, the return of Halley's comet caused great excitement in the world. That same year in another historic event, the baby who would become the "Father of American Literature" was born.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens - Known later as Mark Twain - began life on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Mo. When Clemens was around 4, his family moved to Hannibal, Mo., a river town situated on the Mississippi River. His new home provided him with lots of excitement and adventure as steamboats from New Orleans and St. Louis stopped there regularly. The new environment also proved to be fertile ground for a boy with an active imagination and a gift for storytelling.

Discovering his talent
When Clemens was only 11, his father died, leaving the family in financial difficulty. At 13, the boy had to quit school and find a job, working first for a printer. Next he worked for his brother, a newspaper publisher, and it was then that Clemens discovered how much he enjoyed writing . in his free time, he began writing and submitting humorous pieces to his brother's newspaper.

Realizing a dream
Though Clemens liked writing he had always dreamed of piloting steamboats on the mighty Mississippi River. While in his 20x, he decided to do it, training and then working as a riverboat captain for three years.
His experiences left a lasting impression on him and even provided the pen name Mark Twain, which he would later use.

Finding fame
In 1863, Clemens began publishing regularly as Mark Twain, but fame eluded him. Then in 1865 he found success with his short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." However, it was his books about two boys growing up along the Mississippi River that would bring him lasting prominence. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn introduced readers to a child's world of delightful adventures.

Living on
Twain published over 60 works during his lifetime. Then, as he himself had predicted, he died the same year Halley's comet returned - in 1910. One hundred years ago, the world lost a literary giant. But his words still live on in the lives of America's favorite fictional boys, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

More Information:
A Few Mark Twain Facts:
1. Halley's comet could be seen at the night Mark Twain was born and the night he passed away.
2. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the fictional town of St. Petersberg was based on Twain's hometown of Hannibal, Mo.
3. As a riverboat pilot Twain earned from $150 to $250 a month.
4. Roughing it describes Twain's journey out West with his brother Orion.

Grammar on the go:
.....in 1865 he found success with his short story....
"to found success with.."= to become successful in...
" to find success with something "-
After trying numerous different diets to lose weight, Katherine finally found success with her current exercise program.
Although Joseph didn't do well in his studies, he did find success with the school's drama club.

Vocabulary Tips:
literature-複數名詞“文學”
*The professor specializes in modern English literature.專精於。現代英國文學。
*In this author's latest work of literature, you can find a shift from pessimism to optimism. 從。。由悲觀轉變成樂觀。
fertile ground for something-某件事的沃土，意即“培養某件事的最環境. fertile-肥沃，
*Touring with his mother's band offered fertile ground for the talented little boy.
submit-呈交，繳交，提交 submitted/submitting。
*The proposal will be submitted next week.
eluded-1. 閃避，逃避，躲避. 2. 想不起來，難倒某個對象，（看不懂，找不到答案，搞不清楚）escaped, avoid, confused.
*The deer successfully eluded the tiger and ran into the forest. 閃躲掉。
*the details of our contract eluded me. 難倒了我，弄不清楚。
*A cure for this disease still eludes scientists.找不到答案
prominence-有聲望，有名聲的。聲望，名聲。fame, well known, noticeable and important.
*A researcher of prominence will visit our lab today.
*The actor gained prominence when he was nominated for an Oscar. 提名
predicted-預報，預測，預言。pre-在。。之先。
*The hurricane was predicted to influence the entire coastal area of Florida.
*Many professional analysts predicted that another financial crisis would happen this year.

Chat Room
humor -幽默，可笑，滑稽。
a sense of humor-幽默感
see its humor-看到它的幽默。
humor=mood- 心情，情緒，興致。
In a good humor,-有個好心情，好興致。
In a bad humor-有個坏心情， 心情不好。
I'm in no humor to do something. 我沒心情去做某事。
Humor is "noun" can not be a "adjective", humor's adjective is "humorous"
humorous (adj)-很 幽默的。
humorous pieces-很幽默的文章，作品
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His experiences left a lasting impression on him
impression-印象
lasting impression-深刻的印象。
first impression-初次的印象，第一印象。
get the wrong impression-得到錯誤的印象，誤解，誤會。