阅读理解
Dr
Seuss was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904. By the middle 1950s, he
had become one of the best-loved and most successful children's book writers in
the world. His books are very popular with young readers. They combine(结合) funny words, pictures, and social opinion. Children enjoy the
invented words and the pictures of unusual funny animals and plants.
Dr Seuss wrote his first book for children in
1937. It is called And to Think That I
Saw It on Mulberry Street. A number of publishers refused to publish(刊登) it. They said it was too different. A friend finally published it.
Soon other successful books followed. Over the years, he wrote more than forty
children's books. They were fun to read. Yet his books sometimes dealt with
serious subjects.
In
1954, life magazine published a report about school children who could not
read. The report said many children's books were not interesting. Doctor Seuss
strongly hoped to help children and decided to write books that were
interesting and easy to read. He used words with the same ending sound, like
fish and wish. He did not receive training in art. Yet, he drew the pictures
for most of his books.
In
1957, Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat.
He used less than 230 words to write the book and even a six-year-old should be
able to read it. The story is about a cat who tries to entertain(娱乐) two children on a rainy day while their mother is away from home.
The cat is not like normal cats. It talks. The book was an immediate success.
It was a fun story and easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it,
too. Today it is still one of the stories they like best. The success of The Cat in the Hat made him want to
write more books for children. In 1960, he wrote a book using less than fifty
words, which is called Green Eggs and Ham.
In 1984, Doctor Seuss won a Pulitzer Prize (普利策奖). He was honored for the education and enjoyment his books provided
American children and their parents.
He died at the age of 87, but his influence
remains. Millions of his books have been sold worldwide. People say his books
helped change the way American children learned to read. Yet, his books are
loved by people of all ages. Doctor Seuss once said, "I do not write for
children. I write for people.
