20101201 Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Lives (1)

This famous author saw both hard times and good times

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' 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.

polish n. 擦亮劑

eg: shoe polish 鞋油

eg: furniture polish 家具用的擦亮劑

eg: silver polish 擦拭銀器的擦亮劑

polish v. 磨亮/擦亮

eg: Tim polishes his shoes every morning before going to work.

=> Tim每天早上上班之前都會把鞋子擦亮

slave n. 奴隸

slave away 像奴隸一樣地辛苦工作/做苦工

eg: Rita has been salving away all day at her proposal and hasn't even had time to eat.

=> Rita已經花了一整天辛苦地準備她的提案，連吃飯的時間也沒有。

eg: Mom slaved away in the kitchen all afternoon to prepare for tonight's big feast.

=> 媽媽整個下午都在廚房為今晚的盛宴辛苦的準備

haunt v. 纏繞/縈繞在心頭

eg: Even though years have passed, the terrible accident scene still haunts the driver.

=> 雖然已經經過多年，車禍可怕的景象仍然讓這位駕駛無法忘懷。

eg: Irene was haunted by the harsh words of her best friend.

=> Irene沒有辦法忘記她最好的朋友曾經對她說過的那些尖銳的話

hardship n. 艱難/困苦

=> difficult time

handle v. 處理

=> manage

steady adj. 穩定的

=> stable

sibling n. 兄弟姊妹

=> brothers or sisters

eg: How many siblings do you have?

=> 你有幾個兄弟姐妹?

harsh adj. 嚴厲的/嚴酷的/惡劣的

=> difficult, bad condition

//== Chat Room ==//

life included the best of times and the worst of times.

=> 這句話取自於狄更斯的小說雙城記

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.

=> 這是最美好的時代，也是最糟糕的時代

=> 這句話為paradox(自相矛盾的話)

paradox 自相矛盾的話

eg: Nobody goes to that restaurant, it’s too crowded.

沒有人去那家餐廳吃飯，因為人太多了。

eg: It was the best of the times. It was the worst of times.

=> 那是最美好的時代，那也是最糟糕的時代。

//== 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.