Walter Scott was born on August 15, 1771 in Edinburgh, Scotland. At the age of two, Scott suffered from polio (小儿麻痹症) which left him with a limp (跛行). He was sent to live with relatives to try and find a cure. In 1783 he attended the University of Edinburgh. He had to leave for a year because of health problems. In 1786, Scott worked in his father's law firm. He returned to the university in 1789 to study law, graduating in 1792. The same year he became a lawyer and was accepted into the Faculty of Advocates (苏格兰律师公会).
Scott did some translation work from 1796－1798. In 1799, Scott became sheriffdeputy of Selkirkshire，a post which he held until he died. In 1800, Scott rewrote a ballad (民歌) collection called Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. In 1805, he became part owner of The Ballantyne Press which had published his The Eve of St. John in 1799. His poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel was published that same year and became very popular. He was a cofounder of the Quarterly Review, a literary (文学的) journal. Scott continued to write poems and ballads, each one becoming more popular than the last. In 1810, The Lady of the Lake was published and sold 25,000 copies in less than 9 months.
Scott moved his family to Abbotsford in 1812. In 1813, The Ballantyne Press collapsed, which caused Scott to have serious financial problems. In 1814, he wrote a novel called Waverley to earn money and it became the most successful English novel of the time. He went on to write 26 novels in the series.
In 1826, Scott faced financial ruin again when his publisher failed, which caused him to work even harder. In 1830, he began suffering from diseases and he died at home on September 21, 1832.
a. He became a worker in his father's law firm.
b. He was sent to live with others to try to cure his polio.
c. He received a wholelife post.
d. He became part owner of The Ballantyne Press.
e. He went back to the university to continue his law study.
