Question

Reading
Mark Twain
Mark Twain`s real name was Samuel Clemens. He was born in 1835 in Florida, Missouri, USA. He was the sixth of seven children born to John Clemens, a lawyer, and his wife Jane, although three of Samuel’s siblings died in childhood. When Samuel was four, the family moved to Hannibal, a town on the Mississippi River. Samuel loved to watch the riverboats and dreamed of being a riverboat pilot. Many of his stories were inspired by his adventures in Hannibal.
When Samuel was 11, his father died. To support his family, Samuel became a printer’s apprentice at the Missouri Courier. He learnt a lot about writing and used public libraries in the evenings to educate himself. Later, Samuel worked as a typesetter for the Western Union, his brother Orion’s newspaper. Samuel created articles and sketches for the paper, and became known for his humour.
At 17, Samuel left Hannibal and found print work in St Louis, New York. Then in 1857, he returned to study to become a riverboat pilot.
In 1861, the Civil War started and Samuel Clemens moved to the west to join the Confederate Army. Later he became a reporter for the Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City, Nevada, and began writing short stories under the name Mark Twain. These funny tales were full of adventures.
Mark’s first popular story – ‘The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County’ –was published in 1865. It became very popular and soon Mark was one of the most famous American celebrities of his day. He was asked to write his first (and best-selling) book ‘The Innocents Abroad’ (1869) about his travels, and other works followed including ‘Roughing It’ (1872), ‘The Prince and the Pauper’ (1882), and ‘Life on the Mississippi’ (1883).
In 1870, Mark married 24-year-old Olivia Langdon, the daughter of a rich man. They settled in Buffalo, New York, and had three daughters and a son.
Parenthood led to Mark’s famous ‘river novels’ for children. He read each chapter to his family before publishing it. ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ (1876) and its sequel ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ (1884) tell the adventures of two boys on the Mississippi River. Huckleberry Finn, in particular, has been called ‘The Great American Novel’ – a tale of a white boy helping a black man to escape slavery in the southern US. It was also one of the first novels to feature the colloquial (everyday) language of its characters.
Mark Twain earned a lot of money, but he lost most of it by investing in risky ventures. In 1895, he began a world tour giving lectures to pay off his debts, which he did in 1898.When his wife died in 1904, Mark returned to New York, and later moved to Redding, Connecticut. It was here that he died of a heart attack in 1910, aged 74.

I. For statements (1-6) write T if the statement is true according to the text, F if it is false
1. Mark Twain is a pen name of Samuel Clemens.
2. Samuel was a teenager when his family moved to Hannibal, a town on the Mississippi River.
3. Samuel began to work after his father`s death.
4. Mark Twain became very famous when his story ‘The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County’ was published in 1865.
5. ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ was one of the first novels to feature the everyday language of its characters.
6. Mark Twain earned a lot of money and invested it successfully.

II. Choose the correct answer
1. How many children did the writer`s parents have?
a) Three
b) Four
c) Six
d) Seven
2. Why did Samuel become a printer’s apprentice at the Missouri Courier?
a) Because he dreamed of having this job.
b) Because he wanted to help his family.
c) Because he could earn a lot of money doing this job.
d) Because this job was very interesting for him.
3. While creating articles and sketches for the newspaper Samuel became known
a) for his humour
b) for using public libraries for educating himself
c) thanks for his brother Orion’s newspaper
d) for using everyday language
4. What led Mark Twain to writing ‘river novels’ for children?
a) Becoming a father
b) Childhood memories
c) Love for children
d) Love to the river
5. Which book was published after ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’
a) ‘The Innocents Abroad’
b) ‘The Prince and the Pauper’
c) ‘Life on the Mississippi’
d) ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’
6. Why did Mark Twain begin a world tour in 1895?
a) Because he liked travelling.
b) Because he needed money.
c) Because he wanted to get new impressions.
d) Because he wanted to meet different people.

Answer 1

I: 1. T, 2. F, 3. T, 4. T, 5. T, 6. F.

II: 1. D) 2. B) 3. A) 4. A) 5. D) 6. B)