Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great nineteenth century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father ran heavily into debt and when he was twelve, he had to go and work in a factory for making boot polish. The only formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach himself all he knew. He worked for a time as junior clerk in a lawyer's office. After that, he worked as a reporter in the law courts, and later in parliament, for London newspapers. His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals, and in 1837 his comic novel The Pickwick Papers made him the most popular author at his time in England.
　　He was a great observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in mid-nineteenth century London. He wrote 19 novels all his life and in many of them, Dickens gave a realistic picture of all classes of England society, showing deep sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, exposing the injustice and inhumanity（不人道） of the bourgeoisie（布尔乔亚阶级）.
　　Many of his novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and so on drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over a hundred years ago.
　　Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeois humanism. He wished to see improvement in the living conditions of the poor, but failed to find any effective means to achieve that end.
【小题1】Dickens only received a little formal education because______.

A．he wanted to teach himself

B．he wanted to work and made a lot of money

C．he was too poor to afford any more formal education

D．he wanted some working experiences to be a novelist

【小题2】According to Dickens, the society at his time in England was________.

A．just

B．poor

C．comfortable

D．unsatisfying

【小题3】Which of the following novel made Dickens the most popular writer at his time in England?

A．Oliver Twist	B．The Pickwick Papers
C．A Tale of Two Cities	D．Great Expectations

【小题4】According to the passage, which of the following about Dickens is true?

A．He didn't go to school at all.

B．He only wrote about poor people and showed deep sympathy for them.

C．He began to write fictions when he was 21 years old.

D．He found some effective ways to improve the living conditions of the poor.

【小题5】It can be inferred from the passage that________.

A．Dickens had a miserable childhood

B．Dickens tried many different jobs before he became a professional writer

C．Dickens wrote many novels but only some of them are popular

D．Dickens criticized capitalist society and helped to improve the living conditions of the poor

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great nineteenth century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father ran heavily into debt and when he was twelve, he had to go and work in a factory for making boot polish. The only formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach himself all he knew. He worked for a time as junior clerk in a lawyer's office. After that, he worked as a reporter in the law courts, and later in parliament, for London newspapers. His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals, and in 1837 his comic novel The Pickwick Papers made him the most popular author at his time in England.

　　He was a great observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in mid-nineteenth century London. He wrote 19 novels all his life and in many of them, Dickens gave a realistic picture of all classes of England society, showing deep sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, exposing the injustice and inhumanity（不人道） of the bourgeoisie（布尔乔亚阶级）.

　　Many of his novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and so on drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over a hundred years ago.

　　Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeois humanism. He wished to see improvement in the living conditions of the poor, but failed to find any effective means to achieve that end.

1.Dickens only received a little formal education because______.

A．he wanted to teach himself

B．he wanted to work and made a lot of money

C．he was too poor to afford any more formal education

D．he wanted some working experiences to be a novelist

2.According to Dickens, the society at his time in England was________.

A．just

B．poor

C．comfortable

D．unsatisfying

3.Which of the following novel made Dickens the most popular writer at his time in England?

A．Oliver Twist	B．The Pickwick Papers
C．A Tale of Two Cities	D．Great Expectations

4.According to the passage, which of the following about Dickens is true?

A．He didn't go to school at all.

B．He only wrote about poor people and showed deep sympathy for them.

C．He began to write fictions when he was 21 years old.

D．He found some effective ways to improve the living conditions of the poor.

5.It can be inferred from the passage that________.

A．Dickens had a miserable childhood

B．Dickens tried many different jobs before he became a professional writer

C．Dickens wrote many novels but only some of them are popular

D．Dickens criticized capitalist society and helped to improve the living conditions of the poor

 

Win a week in England!

You still don’t know what to do this summer? Well, here’s your chance to win a one-week language course in Kent, England! Free4Fun and ETC （English Travel Connections） are giving  away two trips to Rochester. This historic city is less than an hour’s drive from London and close to the sea resort of Herne Bay. It is also the home of one of England’s most famous writers, Charles Dickens. The town of Rochester is in Southeast England. Charles Dickens often wrote about it in his books. His home, Gad’s Hill, is there, too. A popular attraction is Rochester Castle, a large Norman fortress（堡垒）. It was built in the 11th century and rebuilt during the 14th century. Other attractions are Rochester Cathedral, which was built during the 13th century, and Dickens Centre. It has got its name in honour of Dickens himself.

The trip to England includes:

* travel by train （via the Eurotunnel） to and from any railway station in Germany

* room and full board with a guest family for one week

* language course in small groups

* two trips to London

* large choice of sports and entertainment

* German-speaking advisors available 24 hours a day

Interested? All you have to do is to answer the following question:

When was Charles Dickens born?

So, take the chance and send your answer by 1 May to:

Free4Fun "Rochester"

Free4Fun, 24 Elphinstone Road, Hastings, 2FQ6VJ

fax: 089 / 85 763-103

e-mail: free4fun@netlight.com

The two winners will be contacted directly before 5 May. They will also be announced in the 　　June issue of Free4Fun. Good luck!

For further information contact:

phone: （03212） 144 43

fax: （03212） 144 42

    e-mail: info@etc. com

1．Rochester Cathedral was built in the          .

       A．1100s                  B．1200s                  C．1300s                 D．1400s

2．What activities can you participate in during the trip?

       A．Working as a language advisor.

       B．Learning the German language.

       C．Traveling by train with a guest family.

       D．Enjoying sports and entertainment.

3．If you want to win a prize you have to send your answer to          .

       A．the June issue of Free4fun                    B．free4fun@netlight. com

       C．info@etc. com                                    D．ETC

4．The persons         are likely to win the free trip.

       A．who know the birth date of Charles Dickens

       B．who are attracted by Rochester Castle

       C．who are contacted and announced by Free4Fun and ETC

       D．who know more about Charles Dickens’ works

5．This ad was designed to target            .

       A．Italians                B．Europeans           C．Germans             D．Americans

Do you suppose Darwin, one of the greatest scientists of all time, really did fools experiments? Or did he do experiments that were so simple and basic that other people just thought they were foolish?

　　Sometimes, people think they already know the answer to a question or the solution (解决办法) to a problem. Sometimes, they really do know an answer or a solution, but without thinking they are important.

　　Charles Darwin didn’t settle for (满足于) just thinking he knew something. And, he believed all things could be important however simple they seemed to be.

　　Suppose you drop sheets of paper that are of exactly the same size and shape. If you drop them at the same time in the same place, they will fall in the same way. Now make one of the sheets of paper into a tight (紧的) little ball and let it drop along with the other sheets. What happens? You have done an experiment that is so simple that you might think it couldn’t be worth anything.

　　But this simple experiment is important. It explains part of our present-day understandings of physics, ideas that were worked out long ago by Galileo and Newton. And these understandings set aside some of ancient Greek physics.

Scientist sometimes stops to look at very simple things and to think very hard about them. Even the simplest idea, which we might think is foolish, can shake the foundations of science.

1. The passage tells us that Charles Darwin ____.

　　A. was a great English scientist

　　B. always liked doing the experiments that others thought difficult

　　C. thought even the simplest thing was important

　　D. didn’t get well with others

2. The phrase “set aside” most probably means____ .

　　A. throw away      B. store up

　　C. put to use        D. realize

3. The author of the passage tries to ________.

　　A. convince us that Charles Darwin, Galileo and Newton are the greatest scientists in the world

　　B. draw the conclusion that basic sciences are simple things

　　C. prove that two sheets of paper, with the same size and shape, will fall at the same speed

　　D. draw our attention to everyday happenings around us

4Which of the following is TRUE?

　　A. Darwin really did fools experiments.

　　B. According to some people Darwin did foolish experiments.

　　C. It is believed by all the people that things could be important though they seemed to be simple.

　　D. Galileo and Newton worked out ancient Greek physics.