Life on the Mississippi《密西西比河上的生活》读书报告 summary性质的 英文版.docxVIP

Student Number: Class: Name: Instructor: Prof. Wang Assignment: Book ReportDate: 2010-12-19A Book Report on Life on the MississippiThe book Life on the Mississippi is written by Mark Twain, a great American author and humorist. In this book, he describes in detail his days as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before and after the American Civil War. All contents of the book come from his own life experiences, which at the same time makes it convincing and interesting to read. It contains lots of information of American society at that time period and knowledge of navigation. The book is made up of two sections. For the two sections, he mainly has two lines: the change of life of American people before and after the American Civil War and different develop stages of the steamboat enterprise. In the first section, Mark Twain mainly tells readers some information of the river and his early life as a steamboat pilot. He begins the book with a brief history of the Mississippi River and the importance role it plays in American people’s life. He further informs us that the river is different from other rivers and how trades along the river develop with the development of steamboat enterprise. Then he describes his “permanent ambition” [4] of becoming a steamboat man when he was a small boy. In chapter 4, he informs us the significant effect of a steamboat on the life and people of the entire town. “Once a day a cheap, gaudy packet arrived upward from St. Louis, and another downward from Keokuk. Before these events, the day was glorious with expectancy; after them, the day was a dead and empty thing.”[4] He leaves home for the dream and becomes a cub-pilot. The following parts consist of his growing to a qualified steamboat pilot, in which, there are so many exciting anecdotes of people he meets during his time on ship. Of course, on his way of success, he comes across numerous obstacles, which teaches him to be patient and perseverant. He also meets people who hel