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词汇提示

1.clerk 文书

2.workhouse 济贫院

3.court 法院

4.parliament 议会

5.carol 颂歌

6.stingy 吝啬的

7.donate 捐献

8.tale 历险记

9.upheaval 剧变

10.sacrifice 牺牲

11.assembled 集合

原文

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens is considered one of the greatest writer in the history of English literature.

Dickens wrote his many novels during the nineteenth century，but those novels remain popular even today.

Literary experts admire his genius at describing lives and personalities of the many characters in his books.

Charles Dickens was born in England in 1812.

His father was a clerk who worked for the Navy.

Unfortunately，his father was not good at managing money，and the family soon went deeply into debt.

In those days ，people who owed money were sent to prison，and his families were sent to places called“workhouses”.

When Charles's father was unable to pay the debts，Charles was sent to a workhouse，where he had to work for long hours，and Charles's father was sent to prison.

After a few years，the families regained its freedom，but the experience had a lasting effect upon Charles.

As a young man，Charles Dickens worked as a journalist in the law courts and in Parliament.

But he soon began writing stories for newspapers.

These stories were very popular with the readers.

Soon，Dickens began writing entire novels for the newspapers.

Each month，newspaper would publish another chapter of Dickens's latest novel

One of Dickens's most famous early novels is called Oliver Twist.

This is the story of a young man who is poor and alone in the city of London，and becomes involved in criminal activities to support himself.

The characters in this novel have a very wide range of personalities，but seem very real to the reader.

This book exposed the conditions that faced the poor people of London，and helped to encourage reforms aimed at improving those conditions.

Perhaps Dickens's most popular novel is A Christmas Carol.

In this story，a rich but stingy old man，Ebenezer Scrooge，refuses to give his employee a day off work at Christmas，and refuses to donate his money to help the poor.

But，while sleeping，Scrooge is visiting by ghosts from his past，present and future

These ghosts show Scrooge how badly he has behaved.

When Scrooge wakes up，he becomes a kind and generous man who fully appreciates the spirit of the Christmas holiday.

Another famous novel of Dickens's is A Tale of Two Cities.

This is a story of the violence and upheaval during the French Revolution.

The story is famous for the heroic act of sacrifice that is made by one character for the benefit of the others.

Dickens was famous as a public speaker，and large crows assembled to hear his performances.

When he died in 1870，he was a very famous man.

The novels of Charles Dickens allow readers to experience the life of nineteenth century London，showing the poverty and injustice that were so common.

The characters of these novels show the range of human behavior，from cruelty and selfishness to kindness and love.

It is no surprise that Dickens is viewed as one of the great figures of English literature.