1. Unit 6 Mark Twain –Mirror of America
Noel Grove
(para.1-7)

2. Paragraph 1
What does this part introduce?

3. Part 1 (Para. 1) introduction
A genera description of Mark Twain
A brief comment on :
his works (sentence 1)
his life (sentence 2-3)

4. Part 1 (Para. 1) the father of… (metaphor) “father”
the author or the man who created these two unforgettable characters.
The father of …and …(parallelism)

5. peaceful and beautiful(country) cruise:
idyllic:
peaceful and beautiful(country)
cruise:
a journey by ocean, visiting different places, (vacation)
Eternal?

6. Sonnet 18 William Shakespeare
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? ……
But thy eternal summer shall not fade, ……
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

7. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Tom Sawyer, a mischievous redheaded orphan taken in by his Aunt, goes through a series of adventures involving his friends, including Huckleberry Finn. He escapes punishment many times by his tricks. Though often foolish and unpredictable, he also is somewhat smart and humorous. He mainly impressed girls with fights and stunts in the schoolyard, got lost in a cave, and played pirates on the Mississippi River.

8. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Huck is kidnapped by his drunken father for his $6000. Huck was awarded $6000 from the treasure he and Tom Sawyer found in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Huck finally escapes from the deserted house and finds a canoe to shove off down the river. Instead of going back to the widow’s house, he decides to run away. He is sick of all of the confinement and civilization that the widow enforces upon him. He comes across Jim, Miss Watson’s slave, and together, they spend nights and days journeying down the river, both in search of freedom.

9. Paragraph 1
Huck Finn’s idyllic cruise through eternal boyhood:
Huck Finn’s simple and pleasant journey through his boyhood which seems eternal.
eternal
(hyperbole) : Huck Finn is the “eternal boy” immortalized.

10. Paragraph 1 Tom Sawyer’s endless summer of freedom and adventure :
(hyperbole)
endless----eternal.
summer:
all the adventures of Tom Sawyer described in the book are supposed to have taken place in one particular summer.

11. Paragraph 1 every bit as…as:
（informal） just as good, bad, etc.; equally good, bad, etc.
every bit:
altogether, entirely
He’s every bit as smart as she is.
汤姆很聪明，丝毫不亚于班上第一名的学生
Tom was every bit as bright as the top student in his class.

12. Paragraph 1
as adventurous, patriotic, romantic, and humorous as anyone has ever imagined :
① adventurous:
willing to take risks and try new ideas
He was always trying new things, and always going to new places. Even in his literary career, he was never satisfied with what he had achieved.

13. Paragraph 1 ② patriotic:
Mark Twain’s profound love for his country with its robust people and beautiful scenery and its lofty ideals
③ romantic: ---sentimental?
(in art, literature and music ) marked by feeling rather than by intellect; preferring passion, informal beauty, to order and proportion
④ humorous:---witty?
His works are so full of humor that he is considered America’s greatest humorist.

14. Paragraph 1
I found another Twain as well:
I found another aspect of Twain
cynical:
not believing that something good will happen or that something is important
e.g. She’s cynical about recovering her lost watch.
Life dealt him：
deal sb. a blow （a setback）
deal sb. hard blows

15. Paragraph 1
obsess:
to completely fill your mind so that you cannot think of anything else
preoccupy with … on one’s mind
be obsessed with:
be haunted by

16. e.g The hostages（人质） were obsessed with/by the fear of death.
The need to produce the most exciting newspaper story obsesses most journalists.
对贫困的担心使他忧虑重重
He was obsessed with fear of poverty.

17. Paragraph 1 frailties of the human race:
moral weaknesses of human race
Pride; Gluttony; Greed; Sloth; Lust; Envy; Wrath
a black wall of night:
(metaphor), meaning hopelessness and despair

18. Part 2 (Para. 2-7) before his writing career
Setting, background
Para.4-5:
cub pilot on a steamboat
Para.6:
confederate guerrilla
Para.7:
prospector

19. Para. 2-3: Setting, background
Tramp printer:
a printer who has no home or permanent job and very little money
pilot :
a steersman , a person licensed to direct or steer ships into or out of a harbor or through difficult waters

20. Para. 2-3: Setting, background
Confederate guerrilla:
a member of the irregular group who is in Confederacy
prospector :
one who explores and searches for valuable ores such as gold , silver , oil, etc .

21. Para. 2-3: Setting, background
starry-eyed:
unrealistically or naively optimistic
acid-tongued :
sharp , sarcastic in speech
cynic:
a person who believes that people only do things to help themselves, rather than for good or sincere reasons(one who is cynical)----critic

22. range:
wandered or traveled across the nation
digesting the new American experience:
(metaphor) think about it, understand it, and remember it.
Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.
Bacon

23. Para. 2-3: Setting, background
the new American experience:
the American-Mexican War;
the Civil War;
the Gold Rush;
the westward expansion…

24. His pseudonym
a bit of the lingo, relating to the periodic measurement of the distance between the bottom of the steamboat and the riverbed. When the leadsman detected a depth of only twelve feet (two fathoms), he would sound the alert: ‘By the maaa-ark, twain!’, which means the requirement for navigation.

25. Para. 2-3: Setting, background
attested:
to give proof of
e.g. attest the truth of somebody’s words
in print:
being published

26. Para. 2-3: Setting, background
geographic core:
the center of America
artery:
blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body
vein:
any of the tubes carrying blood from all parts of the body to the heart

27. Para. 2-3: Setting, background
artery---heart:
(metaphor) main channel ---center

28. Para. 2-3: Setting, background
molasses:
a thick dark to light brown syrup that is separated from raw sugar

29. Para. 2-3: Setting, background
drained three-quarters of the settled United States:
drain:
receive the waters of this area and carry them to the ocean.
Ditches were dug to drain water from the swamp.
Here: cover; occupy; take up

30. Para. 2-3: Setting, background
settled:
populated, inhabited
辽阔的流域占当时美国已有人定居领土的四分之三

31. Part 2 (Para. 4-5 pilot life)
cub :
the young of certain animals
the cast of characters:
the set of actors in a play or movie. It means people of all sorts.
e.g. The cast of the play was very strong.

32. Part 2 (Para. 4-5 pilot life)
rich and varied
形形色色
cosmos：
universe, meaning a place where one can find all types of characters.
cast; characters; cosmos :
Figure of speech
alliteration

33. Part 2 (Para. 4-5 pilot life)
participated abundantly in this life:
He had all kinds of experience.
① pilothouse :
an enclosed place on the upper deck of a river boat in which the helmsman(舵手) or pilot stands while steering

34. Part 2 (Para. 4-5 pilot life)
② feud :
bitter quarrel between persons, families or countries over a long period of time
③ piracy :
robbery of ships on the high seas (or on inland waterways )
④ lynching :
the murder of an accused person without trial , carried out by a mob（乌合之众）

35. Part 2 (Para. 4-5 pilot life)
⑤ medicine show :
show given by entertainers who travel from town to town, accompanied by quacks, selling cure-alls , snake-bite medicine, etc .
⑥ savage slums :
slums that are crude, or are violently lawless

36. Part 2 (Para. 4-5 pilot life)
resurface:
reappear after a period of hiding
All would reappear in his books.

37. Part 2 (Para. 4-5 pilot life)
the colorful language that he soaked up with a memory that seemed phonographic :
soak up:
take in, absorb
e.g. Soak the spilt tea up with a cloth.
the colorful language that he took in mentally with a good memory that seemed to be able to record things like a phonograph.
所有这一切，连同他那像留声机般准确可靠的记忆所吸收的丰富多彩的语言，后来都有机会在他的作品中得以再现。

38. Part 2 (Para. 4-5 pilot life)
teem with:
be filled with
e.g. The article teems with spelling mistakes.
洞庭湖盛产鱼虾
Dongting Lake teems with fish and shrimps.
current :
 the fact of particular ideas, opinions or feelings being present in a group of people

39. pioneering humanity:
people with pioneering spirit who forms the majority; the main part of them were people with devotion/dedication to open up new areas and prepare ways for others
富有开拓精神的人们

40. flotsam:
the wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on the sea
hustlers :
streetwalker, prostitute, whore
thug :
violent criminal , murderous ruffian

41. keen perception :
intense insight, or knowledge gained by observing

42. the difference between what people claim to be and what they really are:
the difference between words and deeds, between what they preach and what they practice. People often claim to be kind, generous, honest, etc., whereas in reality, they are seldom what they say they are.

43. lasting:
existing for a long time
acknowledge:
agree to the truth.

44. acquaint:
cause to know personally, make… familiar with,
be acquainted with
e.g. I acquainted him with the facts of the case. Philip became acquainted with Kathy.
历史课课使我对古代文明有所了解。
The history course has acquainted me with ancient civilization.