Mark Twain was a great American writer. He was also a ________ speaker(演说家). Many people liked to listen to ________ talk because he liked to tell some interesting stories to make people laugh all the time.

One day Mark Twain ________ to a small town because of his writing. Before he left, one of his ________ said to him that there were always a lot of mosquitoes(蚊子) in the town. Mark Twain said, “It doesn’t matter. I don’t think the mosquitoes will come ________ me.”

After he got to the town, Mark Twain stayed in a small hotel near the station. He went into his room, ________ when he was just about to have a rest, quite a few mosquitoes flew about him. The waiter felt very sorry ________ that. “I’m very sorry, Mr Mark Twain. There are too many mosquitoes in our town,” he said.

Mark Twain, however, played a joke and said to ________ waiter, “The mosquitoes are very ________. They know my room number. They don’t ________ into the wrong room.”

Walt Disney, the great film-maker, was born in Chicago in 1901. His greatest wish was to be a famous artist. When he was young, he went to a newspaper ________ in a city named Kansas. He had some ________ who worked in the office there. He ________ some pictures with himself and wanted to get a job there. But he had no luck. They ________ the pictures and said, “Sorry, young man, we don’t think there is anything interesting in your pictures.” But he didn’t lose ________. He went on to draw pictures. His family was ________. One day a mouse came into his room and played on the floor. He stopped ________ and watched it. The mouse came to him and sat on his desk, so he gave the mouse a piece of bread. Then the mouse came ________ and wanted more bread. In this way the mouse became his good friend after some days.

Disney went to the west of the US after a few years. He tried to get work as an artist, but he was still ________. One day he remembered the cute mouse. He ________ his pencil and began to draw. He drew some different pictures of the mouse. He called it Mickey Mouse. Now most people know and love him all over the world.

Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He was in school for only three months, but he asked a lot of questions. He liked to know how things worked. At the age of ten, he built a small chemistry lab (化学实验室) . He planted vegetables in his garden and sold them to buy chemicals.

One day, his mother was ill. The doctor said she needed an operation. But it was night and the oil lamp (油灯) in the room gave poor light. Edison thought hard and had an idea. He put all the oil lamps in his home on a long table. Then he put a big mirror (镜子) behind them. The room became quite bright, so the doctor could operate.

At the age of twelve, Edison began selling candy, sandwiches and newspapers on a train. When he was free, he printed(打印) newspapers on the train and sold them to the railway workers.

One day in August, 1862, Edison saw a boy playing on the tracks at a station. A train was coming near quickly, and the boy was too frightened (害怕的) to move. Edison took the boy to a safe place quickly. The boy’s father was the station master. He was so thankful that he taught Edison railway telegraphy (电报学). Edison soon became very good at it and later he left home to work in different cities. This gave him a new start in his life. He was then just a boy of sixteen.