2 Chapter 1 In with the Comet

Chapter 1 In with the Comet "There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for treasure." —Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens, the man who became famous as Mark Twain, was born in a two-room house in Florida, Missouri. The date was November 30, 1835.

“在每个发育正常的男孩的一生中，总有那么一段时间，他会强烈地渴望去某个地方挖掘宝藏。” ——马克·吐温塞缪尔·朗霍恩·克莱门斯，就是后来著名的马克·吐温，出生在密苏里州佛罗里达州的一所两居室的房子里。 日期是1835年11月30日。

HALLEY'S COMET A COMET IS A BALL OF DUST, GASES, SNOW, AND ICE THAT TRAVELS AROUND THE SOLAR SYSTEM. WE CAN SEE COMETS EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, WHEN THEY TRAVEL CLOSE TO THE SUN. THE SUN'S HEAT GIVES THE COMET A TAIL OF GAS AND DUST, FORMING A BRIGHT STREAK IN THE SKY. HALLEY'S COMET IS THE MOST FAMOUS OF THESE "COSMIC SNOWBALLS." IT WAS NAMED FOR THE BRITISH ASTRONOMER EDMOND HALLEY IN 1758. HALLEY REALIZED THAT COMET SIGHTINGS IN 1531, 1607, AND 1682 WERE ACTUALLY ALL SIGHTINGS OF THE SAME COMET. HALLEY'S COMET RETURNS ABOUT EVERY SEVENTY-SIX YEARS. IT WILL BE BACK IN 2061.

哈雷彗星是一颗彗星，由尘埃、气体、雪和冰组成，绕太阳系运行。 我们每隔一段时间就能看到彗星，当它们靠近太阳的时候。 太阳的热量给彗星留下了一条由气体和尘埃组成的尾巴，在天空中形成了一条明亮的条纹。 哈雷彗星是这些“宇宙雪球”中最著名的。 它于1758年以英国天文学家埃德蒙·哈雷的名字命名。 哈雷意识到，在1531年、1607年和1682年看到的彗星实际上都是同一颗彗星。 哈雷彗星大约每76年返回一次。 它将在2061年回归。

Halley's comet, which appears only once every 76 years, streaked across the sky that night. Was the brilliant light a sign? Sam's mother, Jane, hoped so. Her "Little Sammy" had arrived two months early. He was so small and frail that she feared he wouldn't live. In those days, many children—including three of Sam's six brothers and sisters—did not live past childhood. But Sam Clemens survived, and he gave his mother a good deal of trouble in the process.

哈雷彗星，每76年才出现一次，在那天晚上划过天空。 那耀眼的光芒是个预兆吗? 山姆的母亲简希望如此。 她的“小萨米”早到了两个月。 他又小又弱，她担心他活不下去了。 在那些日子里，许多孩子——包括山姆六个兄弟姐妹中的三个——都没有活过童年。 但是萨姆·克莱门斯活了下来，在这个过程中他给他母亲添了不少麻烦。

In 1839, Sam's family moved to the larger town of Hannibal, Missouri. Sam's father, John Clemens, was a lawyer and shopkeeper. John hoped to leave hard times behind.

1839年，山姆一家搬到了密苏里州的汉尼拔镇。 山姆的父亲约翰·克莱门斯是一名律师兼店主。 约翰希望把艰苦的岁月抛诸脑后。

While John struggled to support the family in Hannibal, Sam struggled to pay attention in school. He attended Mrs. Horr's log schoolhouse on Main Street. Sam was a terrific speller and loved to read, but he was restless and excitable. He often broke the rules or played hooky. Hannibal was a river town between two bluffs that overlooked the mighty Mississippi River. Sam called it a "boy's paradise." He and his friends would sneak away to an island in the river to fish, swim, and smoke corncob pipes. Other days, they played in the woods. They pretended to be pirates, Indians, and Robin Hood and his Merry Men.

当约翰在汉尼拔挣扎着养家糊口时，山姆在学校里努力集中注意力。 他在主街霍尔太太的木屋校舍上学。 萨姆拼写得很好，也喜欢读书，但他总是坐立不安，容易激动。 他经常违反规定或逃学。 汉尼拔是一座位于两座悬崖之间的河畔小镇，俯瞰着浩瀚的密西西比河。 萨姆称它为“男孩的天堂”。 他和他的朋友们会偷偷溜到河中的一个小岛上钓鱼、游泳、抽玉米棒烟斗。 其他的日子，他们在树林里玩耍。 他们假装是海盗、印第安人和罗宾汉和他的快乐的人。

There were also caves downriver where the boys went looking for treasure. It was exciting and scary to explore dark, underground passages. Sam once got lost in the caves, and he almost drowned in the river nine times! "You gave me more uneasiness than any child I had," his mother told him. (Sam later said he thought she enjoyed it.) The Mississippi River brought the world to Sam Clemens's doorstep. In the days before cars or

下游也有洞穴，男孩们去那里寻找宝藏。 探索黑暗的地下通道既刺激又可怕。 山姆有一次在山洞里迷了路，九次差点淹死在河里!“你比我的任何一个孩子都让我感到不安，”他的母亲告诉他。 (山姆后来说他觉得她很享受。)密西西比河把世界带到了山姆·克莱门斯的家门口。 在没有汽车的日子里