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Meet Amazing Americans 作家藝術家 馬克吐溫 (Mark Twain)  
 
Bird's-eye view of St. Louis with riverboat traffic, 1859
馬克吐溫身處的那個年代,內河船隻是普遍的交通工具

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薩繆爾克萊門斯,別名馬克吐溫

1863年,時年27歲的克萊門斯寫了一篇幽默的旅行故事並決定署名「馬克吐溫」。這個名字來自於船上的船員的喊叫。為了測試水深,船員會大叫「馬克吐溫!」,這代表了勉強達到出航深度的水深深度:兩噚或12英尺。「吐溫」是「2」的舊式說法,而一噚等於六英尺。馬克吐溫是筆名,就像是娛樂界的人所使用的「藝名」;您認識任何不使用真名的知名人士嗎?


In 1863, when Clemens was 27, he wrote a humorous travel story and decided to sign his name "Mark Twain." This name comes from something shouted by crewmen on a boat. To test the depth of the water, a crewman shouts "mark twain!" The crewman is calling for two fathoms, or a depth of 12 feet, which is barely enough for a boat to navigate safely. "Twain" is an old-fashioned way of saying "two" and a fathom is six feet. "Mark Twain" is a "pen name" in the same way that many people in show business use a "stage name." Do you know any famous people who don't use their real name?

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