雙面狄更斯 This famous author saw both hard times and good times. by Chelsea Ewald
For English author Charles Dickens (1812-1870), life included the best of times and the worst of times. Although he became successful as an adult, his childhood was full of hardship.
Dickens's difficulties began when he was a young boy. Even though his father had a steady job, he didn't handle money well. When Dickens was just 12, his father was put in prison for debt. This experience deeply affected the young Dickens.
While his mother and seven siblings lived with his father in prison, Dickens was forced to work instead of attending school. He put labels on black shoe polish bottles in a factory for three months. Conditions in the factory were harsh, and Dickens found himself feeling lonely and hopeless. Later that year. Dickens' father was released from prison, and young Dickens returned to school. His days spent slaving away in the factory, however, haunted him for life. They also influenced his writing.
By 1832, 20-year-old Dickens was employed as a newspaper reporter. As his writing skills developed, he began composing stories of his own. He even adopted a pseudonym and started writing under the name Boz. After he had some success with his early writing, Dickens pursued a career as a novelist. Around the same time, he also married Catherine Hogarth, his editor's daughter.
Many of Dickens' most well-known novels first appeared as monthly installments in magazines. Oliver Twist was one such story, running form 1837 to 1839. As many of Dickens' writings did. Oliver Twist exposed the evils of society. Years later, David Copperfield (1849-1850) and Great Expectations (1860-1861) also ran as magazine series. Both of these famous works are said to be largely autobiographical. Dickens' bad childhood memories of working in a factory come to life in these stories. Dickens' life had its share of difficult times. But in the end, those experiences brought him great success as an author.
More Information:
A Christmas Carol is one of Dickens' most loved works. It tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, who hates Christmas. however after meeting three Christmas spirits, he learns an important lesson. Scrooge becomes a caring and generous man.
The story has been made into several movie versions over the years. The latest version was released in 2009 and starred Jim Carrey.
Grammar on the go:
Dickens' life had its share of difficult times.
"to have it share of" ="to have a large amount" - a person have more experience than others.
"to have one's share of"
Justin has had his share of good luck this month.
Ellen has had her share of headaches recently.
Vocabulary Tips:
polish (n)-擦亮劑，polish (v) 擦
shoe polish-
furniture polish-家具用的擦亮劑
silver polish-
*Tim polishes his shoes every morning before going to work.
slave away- 像奴隸般努力的辛苦工作 slave-奴隸
*Rita has been slaving away all day at her proposal and hasn't even had time to eat.
*Mom slaved away in the kitchen all afternoon to prepare for tonight's big feast.
haunt-縈繞在心理，纏繞不去的，久久揮之不去。something stay with you , not going away.
*Even though years have passed, the terrible accident scene still haunts the driver.
*Irene was haunted by the harsh words of her best friend.
tale-story
hardship-very difficult time.
steady-stable.
installment-分期或連載的部分。也指“分期付款”
*I can't wait to read the next installment of the author's sci-fi novel series. 下一次連載部分
in installments-用“分期付款”的方式付款用“in”
*Eric bought his stereo system in installments.
expose-曝露，揭發 ex-有“向外”之意。
*The newspaper exposed the widespread exploitation of sweatshops. 曝露血汗工廠的剝削。
*The bribery scandal surrounding the police officer was exposed by a reporter. 賄賂醜聞
autobiographical-自傳式的 auto -refers "self"自己指, bio - refers "living live" 指“生活”
autobiography-自己寫自己的一生。written by that person about himself.
biography-為別人寫傳記，寫別人的一生。written for someone that not ourselves, is something about that person's.
*The autobiographical movie based on the pop star's life was last summers' biggest blockbuster.
*Linda is writing an autobiographical novel about her childhood.
compose-to put things together.
pseudonym- the name is not real name, fake name. pseudo- fake, not real "nym" refer to name.
T.V company airs the T.V program, the newspaper runs the novel installments.
Chat Room:
included the best of times and the worst of times.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." is "paradox"
paradox-一种相互矛盾的說法。彼此互相矛盾。同時存在二個相對的情形。
For example: "Nobody goes to that restaurant, it's too crowded".
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bad childhood memories.
hood-時期，階段，狀態，
childhood- 童年時代
adulthood-成人階段
fatherhood- 父親的身份
motherhood-母親的身份
sisterhood- 姐妹關係，也指“婦女團體”或“姐妹淘”
brotherhood-兄弟関係，也指“志同道合者”
the old saying "girlhood" and "boyhood", now replaced by "childhood" or "sisterhood", "brotherhood".
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