1）美国著名作家，写了许多著名的小说；

2）1835年出生于佛罗里达的乡村，4岁时全家搬到城里，12岁时父亲去世；

3）从童年开始工作，做过不同的工作，他最著名的小说之一是《汤姆·索亚历险记》

4）他写作的才能并非从小就有，而是来自于他个人的经历。

参考词汇： 小说novel  童年childhood   个人personal  佛罗里达Florida

汤姆·索亚历险记 The Adventure of Tom Sawyer

Mark Twain

    Once, old lion loved a girl, so he went to the girl's parents with many (present) and asked them to marry (嫁）her to him.

    The parents didn't like the idea of (give) their daughter to the lion but they didn't want (make) the lion angry.

    Finally, the father said, "We are glad to marry daughter to you, but can you promise (move) away your claws (爪子) and teeth? "The lion loved the girl very much, he moved away his claws and teeth.

    On the (two) day, when he came to the parents, they just laughed at him and drove him away.

    The lion was angry, but he didn't have claws and teeth. He (realize) that he shouldn't believe (相信）them (easy) and give up his claws and teeth.

    Why do plants grow in some places but not in others? Why does some land have so many plants growing on it, while other land has almost no plants growing on it at all?

    To grow, plants need several things. One is warmth. In very cold places almost nothing grows. Plants also need water. In very dry parts of the Earth only a few unusual plants can grow. That's why there are almost no trees or grass in dry deserts.

    Plants must also have a place to put down their roots and grow. They find it difficult to grow on hard land. The town is built(被建立) on hard land. The plants there have only the soil between the cracks of the stones to grow in.

    Another thing plants must have before they can grow is food. What will happen if we try to make things grow on the sandy beach? A few plants, such as grass, will grow in sand, but most plants won't. Even if the weather is warm enough and we water the plants each day, many of them will die because the sand on this beach has almost no food for plants.

    Most of the flowers in nature are red, orange and yellow. If we have seen a black flower, it's chance in a million.

    People have made a survey to colors of more than four thousand kinds of flowers and discovered that only eight of them are black.

    As we know, sunlight is formed by seven colored lights. The wavelength of each light is also different, so the quantity(量) of heat in each light is also different. Flowers, especially their petals(花瓣), are easy to be harmed by high temperature.

    Black flowers can take in the light of all the wavelengths that make them dry up because of high temperature, so black flowers can hardly resist(抵抗) sunlight. But red, orange and yellow flowers can protect themselves from sunlight by reflecting(反射) the red light, orange light and yellow light, each of which has a large quantity of heat.

    Americans with small families own a car. If both parents are working, they usually have two cars. When the family is larger, they will sell one of the cars and buy a van(住房汽车).

    A small car can hold four persons and a large car can hold six persons but it is very crowded. A van can hold seven persons easily, so a family with three children can ask their grandparents to go on a holiday travel. They can all travel together.

    Mr. Hagen and his wife had a third child last year. So they sold their second car and bought a van. They thought it would be more convenient for them to go out together.

    Americans call vans motor homes. They always use them for holidays. When a family is traveling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks. All the members of a big family can enjoy a happier life when they are traveling together. That is why motor homes have become very popular.