现代大学英语精读1第二版第九课背景介绍.pptVIP

Lesson 14 - After Twenty Years ;Lesson 14 - After Twenty Years ; O. Henry (1862—1910) was the pen name of William Sydney Porter, an American short story writer. His short, simple stories are noted for their careful plotting, ironic coincidences, and surprise endings.; O. Henry was born William Sydney Porter in Greensboro, North Carolina. He went to Texas in 1882 and worked at various jobs—as teller in an Austin bank (1891—1894) and as a newspaperman for the Houston Post. ; In 1898 an unexplained shortage in the Austin bank was charged to him. Although many people believed him innocent, he fled to the Honduras but returned to be with his wife, who was fatally ill. He eventually served three years in prison, where he first started writing short stories.; Upon his release he settled in New York. Although his stories have been criticized as shallow and contrived, O. Henry did catch the color and movement of the city and evidenced a genuine sympathy for ordinary people.; His approximately 300 stories are collected in Cabbages and Kings (1904), The Four Million (1906), The Voice of the City (1908), Options (1909), and others.; The American West is generally considered to include the eight Rocky Mountain states and the three Pacific Coast states. Historically, the West has been mainly a sociopolitical or even mythological concept rather than a specific geographical area.; The Rocky Mountain states: This region consists of eight states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. ;Arizona;Lesson 14 - After Twenty Years ;Utah ; The Pacific Coast states: This division includes Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington — and, as its name suggests, they all have coastlines on the Pacific Ocean (and are the only states that border that ocean) according to the United States Census Bureaus definition of West Region.;Lesson 14 - After Twenty Years ;Lesson 14 - After Twenty Years ;Frontier Spirit and Expansion towards the West;Lesson 14 -