2016年6月大学英语六级考试阅读模拟题及答案15

　　Better Known As Mark Twain

　　The remarkable man went to a log-cabin schooluntil he was twelve years old. That was the end ofhis formal education. In spite of this, he became themost famous literary figure of his generation .

　　Mark Twain was born in a small Missouri village nearthe Mississippi River2 in 1835. At that time, AndrewJackson3 was the president of the country. AbrahamLincoln was still a young farm laborer in Illinois. The first railroad had been built seven yearsbefore. The Industrial Revolution was at hand. 4 The economic collapse of Americanprosperity, called the Panic of 1837, still lay ahead. This was also the literary period later calledthe“New England Renaissance ”

　　Mark Twain was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not expected to live through the firstwinter. But with his mother’s tender care , he managed to survive. He had been born in a tinytwo-room cabin. Eight people lived together there . He had four brothers and sisters. A slavegirl lived with them too.

　　As a boy, Mark Twain caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play practical jokes on allof his friends and neighbors. The nature of his jokes often led to violence . He hated to go toschool, and he constantly ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearbyMississippi. He was fascinated by that mighty river. He liked to sit on the bank of the river forhours at a time and just gaze at the mysterious islands and the passing boats and rafts. Hewas nearly drowned nine different times. He learned many things about the river during thosedays. He learned all about its history and the unusual people who rode up and down5 it. Henever forgot those scenes and those people. He later made them part of the history of Americain his books Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn6.

　　阅读自测

　　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 healthybaby, 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 livewith them too. When he was a boy, he used to play __________jokes on his friends andneighbors. He hated to go to school but was __________ by the mighty river. He learned allabout 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?

　　参考答案

　　Ⅰ. Mississippi / through / tender / cabin / Eight /four / slave / practical / fascinated up / down /Huckleberry Finn

　　Ⅱ. 1. Mississippi.

　　2. Because on each side of theriver, there is one bank.

　　参考译文

　　密西西比河上的舵手

　　这位声名显赫的人物12岁前在一所由原木搭建的小木屋学校上学，他的正规教育仅此而已。尽管如此，他仍成为他那一代最著名的文学家。

　　马克· 吐温，1835 年出生于密苏里州的一个小村庄，靠近密西西比河。那时，安德 鲁· 杰克逊是这个国家的总统。亚伯拉罕· 林肯仍是伊利诺斯州的一位年轻的农场工人。第一条铁路七年前就已建成。第一次工业革命迫在眉睫。美国繁荣经济的崩溃， 即“1837 年大恐慌”，也即将发生。这也是后来在文学史上被称为“新英格兰文艺复兴”的时期。

　　马克· 吐温从小体弱多病。事实上，谁也没料到他能活过第一个冬天。然而，在母亲的悉心照料下，他还是活了下来。马克· 吐温出生在一幢仅两室的狭小木屋里。那屋里挤了八口人，他有四个兄弟姐妹，还有一个女奴和他们一起住。

　　马克· 吐温小时候给父母惹了很多麻烦。他老是对他所有的朋友和邻居制造恶作剧。他的恶作剧常常招来一顿暴打。他讨厌上学，还不断地从家里跑出来，总是朝着附近的密西西比河方向走去。马克· 吐温被那条浩瀚壮观的河流迷住了：他喜欢在岸边一坐几个小时，目不转睛地盯着一个个神秘的岛屿和过往的船只与竹筏。有九次他都差点溺水而亡。在那些日子里，马克· 吐温学了很多有关这条河的知识，了解了它的历史和河上来来往往 不同寻常的人。他永远都忘不了那些景色和那些人。后来，马克· 吐温把那一切作为美国历史的一部分写进了他的著作《汤姆· 索耶历险记》和《哈克贝里· 费恩历险记》。