This year the US will honour(纪念) one of the country's most famous writers—Mark Twain (1835-1910). Most readers know that his real name was Samuel Longhome Clemens, but how many know where the pen name “Mark Twain” came from?

    The answer shows Clemens' colorful early life before he became a writer. “Mark Twain” was the cry shouted on a ship when the ship entered a part of a river that was two fathoms (6 feet) deep. “Twain” is an old-fashioned way of saying “two”. Twain trained as a ship pilot on the Mississippi river for two years, a time that he wrote about in the humourousLife on the Mississippi (1883).

    The famous river would become an important theme in many of his works—who could forget the journey of the Huck and Jim along it in his most famous book. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)?

    With little education, he had to teach himself how to write stories. Whenever possible, he would go to public libraries. There he spent much time reading and thinking, which greatly helped him with his writing.

    On the other hand, his life experiences gave him wonderful material to write about and attract readers. Twain wrote in a style that has been called “local colour” because it shows great knowledge of local people and their customs.

    A man came out of the airport. A lot of taxis were there. He asked the name of every taxi-driver. Then he took the 3rd one. It cost 5 dollars from the airport to the hotel. "How much does it cost for the whole day?" the man asked. "One hundred dollars," said the taxi-driver. This was very expensive, but the man said it was OK.

    The driver took the man everywhere. He showed him all the parks and museums in the city. In the evening, they went back to the hotel. The man gave the driver 100 dollars and said, "What about tomorrow?" The taxi-driver looked at the man and said, "Tomorrow? It's another 100 dollars." But the man said, "That's OK! See you tomorrow." The driver was very pleased.

    The next day the driver took the man everywhere again. They visited all the parks and museums again. And in the evening they went back to the hotel. The man gave the driver 100 dollars again and was going home tomorrow. The driver was unhappy because he liked the man and above all, 100 dollars a day was a lot of money.  "So you're going home. Where do you come from?" he asked. "I come from New York." "New York!" said the driver. "I have a sister in New York. Her name is Lucy. Do you know her?" "Of course I know her. She gave me 200 dollars for you!"

    A young man was traveling down a country road, going a bit too fast in his new car. There were many kids playing between the cars parked on the side of the street.

    As his car passed, one child suddenly appeared and threw a brick at the car. The man stopped the car and jumped out. He caught the kid and shouted at him, “What are you doing?” He continued shouting, “That's a new car. It will be expensive to fix the damage you did with that brick. Why did you do it?” “I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do. It's my brother,” he said, “He rolled（滚落）off the side of the road and fell out of his wheelchair. I can't lift him up. He is hurt and he is too heavy for me.”

    The young man felt shameful and said nothing. He lifted the kid's brother back into the wheelchair.

    “Thank you, sir.” the child said. The man then watched the little boy push his brother toward their home.

    The young man did not repair the dent（凹槽）in his car. He can hear the boy's hopeless voice whenever he saw it.

    Sometimes, when you don't make the time to listen, life throws a brick at your head.

    On Monday, I stopped my car in front of my daughter Juliet's middle school. She jumped in the front seat, feeling down. She asked me to help her study for her science test.

    "Dad I need to memorize a unit about the Reproductive Cycle of Plants. And I can hardly make it."

    "You know memorizing seems like the best way to study, but in fact you can do better in tests if you work on trying to understand the material."

    Juliet was open to my advice. It was Monday afternoon and we had two nights to study before the test on Wednesday. I suggested a plan. "Tomorrow night, you are going to teach the material to me. Tonight, read the unit. Prepare to teach."

    Asking her to teach me was an unusual idea but I was determined to do it. Studies show teaching somebody else is a very useful way to lean, Even if you don't do the teaching, the act of preparing to teach leads to more learning than just trying your best to memorize the material.

    On Tuesday afternoon, Juliet sat down with her Science book facing me said, "Okay Dad, let's study." I wanted her to teach me. But false starts happened. I couldn't be too hard on her. So instead we starred with me asking her some simple questions. She knew some but not other. When she didn't know the answers. I encouraged her to check the book.

    She started checking things that didn't make sense. And she was actively seeking to test her understanding. I was happy to see it. She wasn't memorizing, she was trying to make sense of things, which was exactly what I had hoped she would do.

    Driving a car at high speed along a highway seems to be fun. You need only to follow the bright traffic signs beside the highways and it will take you to where you wish.

    But to a London taxi driver, driving is not an easy job. A taxi driver has to have not only good driving skills but also a good knowledge of the city of a London, from the smallest lane(小巷) to the most popular bar around. He has to be at the service of all kinds of passengers at all times.

    A certain London taxi driver told of his job as follows.

During the night it is quite usual for him to stop two or three times for some refreshments (点心). He said. "I never drink when I'm working —- I would lose my licence"

    He normally goes home between 2 and 3 O'clock in the night. There are times he has to stay longer and try to make more runs. He said, "That's the worst thing about working for yourself. If you don't make the money, no one is going to give it to you."

London taxi drivers not only 'take' but also 'give'. Every summer hundreds of children from London will go for a day at the sea— by taxi! Their rides are paid by the taxi drivers, and these fares(车费) all go to the 'London Taxi Fund for Underprivileged Children. At the sea, they are met by the mayor, and a lunch party is also held in honour of the taxi drivers and the children. After a happy day running around the sea beaches and visiting the market, the children go home again-- by taxi, and free of charge, of course!