The Life of Mark Twain
Often the lives of writers resemble① the lives of the characters they② create③. Mark Twain, who wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer④， was no exception⑤. To start with⑥， the author's name, Mark Twain, is itself an invention, or “pen name”. Twain's real name was Samuel Clemens. “Mark Twain”， which means “watermark two”⑦， was a call used by sailors on the Mississippi to warn shipmates that they were coming into shallow⑧ water.
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①resemble/rI'zembl/vt.与……相似
②定语从句they create修饰characters。
③create/kri'eIt/vt.塑造；创作
④who wrote ...and ...为非限制性定语从句，修饰Mark Twain。
⑤exception/Ik'sep?n/n.例外
⑥to start with首先，起初。用作插入语。
⑦which means “watermark two”为非限制性定语从句，修饰“Mark Twain”。
⑧shallow/'?æl??/adj.浅的
马克·吐温的一生
[第1段译文]
作家们的人生经历往往和他们创造的人物很相似。写了《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》和《汤姆·索亚历险记》的马克·吐温也不例外。首先，作者的名字——马克·吐温，本身就是创造的，或者说是“笔名”。吐温的真名是塞缪尔·克莱门斯。“马克·吐温”意思是“水深二英尺”，这是密西西比河上的水手们用来警告正在进入浅水区(安全通行)的同船水手们的口号。
Like Huck, Mark Twain led an adventurous life⑨. He left school early, and as an adolescent⑩， determined? to make his fortune? in South America, set off? from his home in Hannibal, Missouri, for New Orleans. He wanted to take a boat to
the Amazon, where he thought he could get rich quickly?. He arrived in New Orleans without a penny? in his pocket? only to find? that there were no boats for South America. Forced? to change his plans, he worked for several years as a pilot on a steamboat, taking passengers up and down? the Mississippi?， the great river which flows from the north of the US near the Canadian border， down to the Gulf of Mexico.
Later he became a journalist and began writing stories about life on the river. Twain's vivid and often amusing descriptions of life on the river quickly became popular, and established the reputation he still enjoys today as one of America's greatest writers.
⑨lead (＝live) a/an ...life过着一种……的生活
⑩adolescent/?æd?'lesnt/n.青少年
?determined/dI't??mInd/adj.坚决的
be determined to do sth.决心做某事
?make one's fortune发财
?set off出发；启程
?where ...为非限制性定语从句，修饰the Amazon。
?penny/'peni/n.(硬币)便士；(美)分(pl.pennies/pence)
?without a penny in his pocket是“without＋宾语＋宾语补足语”结构。
?only to find“不料/结果发现”，指意想不到的结果。
?force/f??s/vt.强迫；迫使
be forced to do sth.被迫做某事
?up and down来来往往
?现在分词短语taking ...作伴随状语。
which ...为定语从句，修饰the great river。
vivid/'vIvId/adj.(描述)生动的；逼真的
description n．描述
establish/I'stæblI?/vt.确立；确定；建立
reputation/?repj?'teI?n/n.名誉；名望；声望
he still enjoys today为定语从句，修饰reputation。
[第2～3段译文]
像哈克一样，马克·吐温也曾有过冒险的生涯。他很早就辍学了，当时还是一名青少年，就决心到南美洲去发财，他从家乡密苏里州的汉尼拔动身去了新奥尔良。他想乘船去亚马逊，他认为在那里他很快就会富起来。他身无分文地来到新奥尔良时，却发现那里没有开往南美洲的船了。迫不得已他只好改变了计划，在一艘汽船上当了好几年领航员，带着乘客往返于密西西比河，这条大河从加拿大边境附近的美国北部流向墨西哥湾。,后来他成了一名记者并开始写有关河上生活的故事。吐温对河上生活形象而又时常逗人发笑的描述很快就受到了欢迎，这确立了今天他仍然享有的美国最伟大的作家之一的名誉。
