英语名著导读

Unit 2 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer选读

作品导读

《汤姆·索亚历险记》是美国著名小说家马克·吐温的代表

作，发表于1876年。小说主人公汤姆·索亚天真活泼，富于幻

想和冒险，不堪忍受束缚个性，枯燥乏味的生活，幻想干一番

英雄事业。小说通过主人公的冒险经历，对美国虚伪庸俗的社

会习俗、伪善的宗教仪式和刻板陈腐的学校教育进行了讽刺和

批判，以欢快的笔调描写了少年儿童自由活泼的心灵。《汤

姆·索亚历险记》以其浓厚的深具地方特色的幽默和对人物敏

锐观察，一跃成为最伟大的儿童文学作品，也是一首美国“黄

金时代”的田园牧歌。《汤姆·索亚历险记》的姐妹篇是《哈克

贝利·费恩历险记》。《汤姆·索亚历险记》是美国十九世纪文

学大师马克·吐温的代表作，是世界文学宝库的一部杰出经典

名著。《汤姆·索亚历险记》描写了十九世纪密西西河畔一个小镇人民的生活，可以说是当时美国社会生活的一个缩影。从小说中我们可以了解到穷人和富人，教堂和学校，宗教与犯罪等当时美国生活的各个方面。作者马克·吐温以满腔热情和真挚的爱为读者塑造了小主人公汤姆·索亚和他的一群小伙伴。汤姆·索亚是个成长中的孩子，他调皮，喜欢恶作剧，却又善良可爱乐于助人。他讨厌教堂里老师干巴巴的说教，他不喜欢整天在学校里干燥无味的生活，他向往成为绿林好汉，他希望加入海盗，过新鲜刺激的生活。他总在危险时刻，挺身而出，做出那些懦弱的“好孩子”，体面的“优秀生”无法做出的正义行为，展示出自己的魅力。

名著节选

Tom Sawyer tried to cut the cupboard with the knife. Then, it was the time for him to dress up.First, he must wash his faces and hands in a tin basin of water. But Tom Sawyer didn’t want to take the trouble to1 wash them. So he just poured out2 the water onto the ground. Then, Mary uncovered his secret3 and he had to use soap to wash his faces again. This time, his faces were not completely cleaned yet. The clean part was just like a mask4 on his face. Mary brushed his hair neatly and Tom Sawyer put on unhappily the suit of his clothes. With the efforts of his own cousin Mary, Tom had become a different person. Finally, he got into his shoes.

Then, they went to the Sunday school. Tom Sawyer hated the school very much. The school hours were from nine to half past ten and then church service. When the children came to the

gate of the school, Tom Sawyer walked slower and asked another boy, “Bill, have you got a yellow ticket?” After they bargained5 for a while, they reached a deal6. Tom gave him a fishing hook and he got the yellow ticket from Bill. In the same way, he exchanged for some red tickets and some blue tickets.

In this school, the teacher had set a rule7 to encourage the children to recite the Bible: if he

could recite two verses8, the teacher would give him one blue ticket;

ten blue tickets were equal to one red ticket; ten red tickets could be

exchanged for a yellow ticket; if anybody could get ten yellow tickets,

the teacher would give him or her a new Bible. Getting the thick book

was the greatest honor for the children. So many children were busy

reciting every day. They just wanted to get a Bible. In Tom Sawyer’s memory, it was impossible to get a Bible. So he thought of an easy way. He exchanged his small things for cards in other children’s hands. In this way, he got many cards.

At the beginning of the class, the thirty-five-year-old teacher made a habitual9 speech. Tom Sawyer was playing with the boys around him. He pulled a boy’s hair and pinned another, but when they turned around, Tom just read the book carefully, but the children began to talk noisily in the latter one third of the talk. Some children even began to fight.

Suddenly, the room turned silent because some visitors came into the room. Three adults and one young girl entered. To Tom Sawyer’s surprise, the little girl

was just the “angle”. Tom Sawyer thought of his meeting with the

girl and the adventure in her garden. Among the visitors, the old

man was somebody and all the teachers, men and women, made up

to him in many different ways.

Then it was the time to give prize to those children who had

got ten yellow tickets. The room was quiet. Nobody had enough tickets. When hope was dead, Tom Sawyer stood up with nine yellow tickets, nine red ones and ten blue ones. Tom Sawyer stood in the front of the room, and all the children looked at him with eagerness. Then, the children all of a sudden realized that they were cheated by Tom Sawyer. The teacher didn’t believe Tom Sawyer could get so many tickets, but the number of tickets was exact. The prize was given to Tom Sawyer and he was introduced to the old man.

作者简介

马克·吐温（Mark Twain l835～1910）美国作家。本名塞谬尔·朗赫恩·克莱门斯。马克·吐温是其笔名。出生于密西西比河畔小城汉尼拔的一个乡村贫穷律师家庭，从小出外拜师学徒。当过排字工人，密西西比河水手、南军士兵，还经营过木材业、矿业和出版业，但有效的工作是当记者和写作幽默文学。