Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education. In spite of this, he became the most famous writer of his time. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain, his penname.

    Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not expected to live through the first winter. But with his mother's care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all his friends and neighbors. He didn't like to go to school, and he often ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi. He was nearly drowned nine times.

    After his father's death, Mark Twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a full time writer.

    In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him great fortune.

    Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments(投资) and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died, and then three of his children passed away.

    At the age of 70, his hair was completely white. He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.

B

    I have a twin brother, Bob. He is taller than me. His hair is shorter than mine. Many people think we must have many things in common. But in fact this is not true. Bob is more outgoing than me. When my parents' friends come to our house, Bob often sits there and talks to them. But I often sit there and say nothing. Bob likes reading, cooking and drawing. I just like swimming and playing basketball. He has more hobbies than me, but he is not as athletic(擅长运动的) as me. Because Bob does better than me at school, my mom often says to me, “Bob is younger than you, but he can get better grades, you should learn from him.” We both like eating fast food and listening to music.

    Mickey is a cheerful boy. No one can make him angry. And he never says anything bad about others. Even his teachers think he is so special.

    One afternoon, Mickey invited his favourite teacher, Mr Anthony, to have a cup of tea at home. On his bedroom door, the teacher was surprised to see hundreds of small colour cards.

    "Some friends at school think I never think badly of anyone," Mickey smiled, "but that's not true at all. In fact, I was easier to get angry than all the other kids years ago. Then my parents helped me start a card collection. With each little card I put on the door, I can easily forget the bad thing." It was true. On these cards, Mr Anthony could read "fool", "pain", "anger" and some other bad things. That day they talked about many other things, but Mr Anthony never forgot the small colour cards on the door.

    From then on, Mr Anthony began his own card collection. He also encouraged his other students to do so.

    I made a pledge(发誓) to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.

    The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting (引用) a Biblical(圣经的) passage about husbands being thoughtful(体贴的) of their wives. Then he went on to say. "Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love. "To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change

    And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, "That new yellow sweater looks great on you."

    "Oh, Tom, you noticed," she said, surprised and pleased, maybe a little puzzled.

    After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, "Evelyn's been alone here with the kids all the week and now she wants to stay with me." We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.

    So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that's how the whole vacation passed. I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love. There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. Last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.

    "What's the matter?" I asked her.

    "Tom," she said in a voice filled with distress, "do you know something I don't?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Well…that checkup(体检)I had several weeks ago… our doctor…did he tell you something about me? Tom, you've been so good to me…am I dying?"

    It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.

   "No, honey, "I said, wrapping her in my arms." You're not dying; I'm just starting to live."

    Jack is 10 years old, and I am his pencil. I'm Jack's helper(助手).

    Jack's pencil box is my home. I have some friends here. They are seven crayons, a ruler, a pencil sharpener and an eraser. Because Jack loves me, I'm the king(国王)in the pencil box. My friends and I are happy every day.

    Today, I am not happy because a pen comes in. It's new and beau­tiful. It's a music pen. It can not only(不仅) write but also(而且) sing. But I'm old and I can only help Jack to write. Jack likes it so much! The new pen is his helper now. It's the new king. What can I do now? Shall I go to a new home?