02 高一 National Tom Sawyer Days

National Tom Sawyer Days Every July, visitors from across the world flock to Hannibal, Missouri, for a special annual event — National Tom Sawyer Days. Since 1956, the event has celebrated the great writer Mark Twain and his creation, the little naughty boy, Tom Sawyer. When Mark Twain was four, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, lying on the west bank of the Mississippi. Mark Twain grew up there and was attracted greatly by life along the river — the steamboats, the big wooden boats, and the people who worked on them. National Tom Sawyer Days are great fun. Among the many interesting activities, the most famous one is the National Fence Painting Contest. Aunt Polly punished Tom to paint the fence, but little Tom asked some friends to help him. By the end of the day, the fence had three coats of paint! Many states in the US hold local fence painting competitions throughout the year and send their winners to Hannibal for the National Fence Painting Contest. Ten to thirteen-year-old “Tom Sawyers” are judged on three aspects: first, the costumes they wear; second, how fast they paint the fence; third, how well they paint. The winning “Tom Sawyer” will get a cash prize and a trophy. Besides the fence painting contest, there is another interesting and competitive event — the Tom and Becky Contest, which is also based on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It is open only to Hannibal middle school students. The competitors must pass two exams — one on Mark Twain and one on Hannibal — and get through a 15-minute interview. You see, being a Tom or a Becky is not easy. And still another inspirational activity “Frog long jump” is from the novel The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, which is Mark Twain’s first famous book. It is also celebrated by events held during National Tom Sawyer Days. Although the story of Tom Sawyer is fiction, it brings a lot of fun to people in real life.