新世纪地地研究生公共英语教材阅读A unit 1.pptVIP

Unit One A Young Boy’s Ambition Mark Twain I. Warm-up Discuss your greatest ambition in groups and then select one student to present it. II. Background Information Mark Twain-Samuel Langhorne Clemens Personal data Pseudonym (s): Mark Twain Born: November 30, 1835 Florida, Missouri Died: April 21, 1910 Redding, Connecticut Occupation(s): American humorist, novelist, writer, and lecturer Nationality: American Genre(s): Historical fiction, non-fiction, satire Quotations by Mark Twain A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain. By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another mans I mean. Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. Do something every day that you dont want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain. Dont go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. Mark Twain House, 351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, Hartford County, CT - Interior, first floor, library, east wall with fireplace and mantle, without scale. Background Information Life on the Mississippi a memoir by Mark Twain detailing his days as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before and after the American Civil War. Mississippi River Map Steamboat Steamboat A Young Boy’s Ambition When I was a boy, there was but one permanent ambition … 1. Please describe the streets of the village before the steamboat arrived. Dead empty II. Text learning 2. What changes took place in the village when the steamboat arrived? The dead town is alive and moving. II. Text learning 3. Why did Mark Twain want to be a cabin-boy, and later, a deck-hand? He wanted to be more conspicuous. II. Text learning 4. What things did the boy do that made the others “wish he were dead”? His showy behaviors irritated other boys. II. Text