四中外语大学-异域风采.doc

Walt Disney 　　The name Walt Disney brings to mind favorite cartoon characters, movies, and songs. Who was the man behind the name? And who was the kid inside the man who helped create happiness for so many people? 　　CHICAGO, ILLINOES, was already a big city when Walt Elias Disney was born there on December 5, 1901. The city was too big and bustling, in fact, to suit Walts parents. They decided to move Walt, his sister, and three brothers to a farm near the small town of Marceline, Missouri. 　　Walt was just 4 years old at the time of the move, but he left a real strong mark on the farm. The family had no money for pencils and paper. Walt wanted to draw, so he found some tar-a dark, sticky substance often used to patch roofs. Then he picked up a stick, dipped it in the tar, and drew a house...on the side of his own house! This drawing (maybe Walts first) lasted a long time. 　　It was hard to make a living on the farm so the family moved again, this time to Kansas City, Missouri. There 8-year-old Walt tried to make some money to help this struggling family. For six years he got up at 3:30 each morning to deliver newspapers. 　　Walt wanted to draw cartoons like those he saw in the newspapers, but he had little free time. He also received very little encouragement. His father thought drawing was a waste of time. And his fourthgrade teacher did not like it when Walt put faces and arms on the flowers he drew in a picture at school. 　　Walking home from school, Walt used to pass Fairmont Park, an amusement center. He never went inside because he didnt have the money to pay for admission. Instead, he stood outside, listening to the music and watching other people have fun. He had no way of knowing that, 45 years later, he would be famous as a wealthy and creative genius, or that he would open Disneyland in California, an amusement park bigger and better than any other at the time. Walt died in 1966, five years before the opening of a second amusement center -- Walt D