Huck Finn
by Mark Twain
Huckleberry
Finn was famous in the village of St Petersburg, although he was only 14 years
old. There were two reasons for this. First, he was the only boy
with no home at all. His father was a tramp and he travelled from town to town
begging for his food. Huck almost never saw him, but he managed to take care of
himself. When he was hungry, he hunted and fished. He slept in empty boats or
caves, under trees, anywhere there was shelter. The people of St Petersburg
sometimes helped him too, because he was all alone.
For most of
his life Huck was poor, and his clothes were rags. But all the other boys
wanted to be like him. He didn't have to be home by a certain time; he didn't
have to stay clean; and best of all, he never went to school. Every boy wanted
to be his friend, but his best friend was Tom Sawyer. Tom was an orphan. He
lived with his Aunt Polly and his half-brother Sid. When he had nothing to do,
he found Huck and they had a lot of fun together. One of their adventures was
the second reason Huck was famous.
What happened was this: Tom got lost in a huge
cave near St Petersburg. In the cave there was treasure. Huck found Tom and got him out of the cave. The boys also
found the treasure. The money made them
very rich! Of course, they didn't spend it all
at once. Judge Thatcher took Huck's money and kept it in a bank for him
until he was older. That was fine with Huck. He didn't need money;
he was happy already.
Then the widow
Douglas adopted Huck because she felt sorry for him and she wanted to help him.
She lived by herself in a big house, with her black slave, Jim. She wanted to
give Huck a real home and she sent him to school, too. Huck knew she was a kind
person, but he felt more comfortable with Jim.
The
widow has so many rules," Huck told Jim one evening. “For her there's only
one right way to do everything. 'Don’t eat with your fingers' she says. But
eating with a knife and fork is nothing but trouble. I'd just like to catch a
fish and eat it how I like. “
Jim took Huck's hand and looked at it. "Let me tell you about your future," he said.
"You will have a lot of
trouble in your life," said Jim. "But you will also have a lot of
joy. Sometimes you'll get sick, or hurt, but you will get better again. But you
should stay away from water, because that's bad luck."
Huck went up to his room, thinking about that.
But when he got there, he had a surprise.
Activity Section
CHAPTER 1
Comprehension
1) Choose
a, b or c to answer the following questions.
1.
Why did all the boys want to be like
Huckleberry Finn ?
a. Because he
was an orphan
b. Because he
was very rich
c. Because he
never went to school
2. What did
Judge Thatcher do with Huck's money?
a. He put it in
a bank
b. He hid it in
a cave
c. He spent it
3. Who made
lots of rules?
a. Aunt Polly
b. Widow
Douglas
c.
Jim
4. Who had a
surprise when he went into his bedroom?
a.
Tom
b.
Huck
c.
Sid
2) Read the
sentences. Write T for True or F for False.
1. The people
of St Petersburg never helped Huckleberry Finn.
2. Huck was
lucky and became rich.
3. Widow
Douglas liked to eat with her fingers.
4. Huck told
Tom about his future.
5. Huck
should stay away from water.
3)
Match the words 1-5 with their meanings a-e.
1. tramp
a. old and usually dirty clothes
2. rags
b. a person with the same mother or father
3. cave
c. a large hole in the side of a
hill or
under
the ground
4. half-brother
d. protection from rain or danger
5. shelter
e. a person without a home or a
job,
travelling
from one place to another
4) Complete
the following sentences using the prepositions in the box.
with for about
from of
1. ‘Stay
away ___________ me. I’m sick !’
2. ‘Did Martin
tell you ___________ our adventure in the snow?’
3. ‘What is
the reason ___________ the mess in the
kitchen?’
4. ‘How long
has Sue lived ___________ her sister in
Cambridge?’
5. 'It's OK,
you don't need to help me. I can take care ___________ myself.'
Follow-up
activities
5)
Discuss
1. Huck sometimes goes fishing when he is
hungry. Would you enjoy going fishing in a river? Why? / Why not?
2. Huck
didn't have a home for a long time. How do you think that made him feel?
3. The widow
Douglas has too many rules. Do you find it easy or difficult to follow rules?
Which rules do you find most difficult to follow?
4. What do you think is the surprise in Huck's
bedroom?
6) Imagine that you are Tom Sawyer.
Your teacher has asked you to write a description of your best friend. Write a
description of Huck Finn. (60-80 words)
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