外研社选修七Module4阅读材料

Module3

Great Expectations(远大前程)

Philip Pirrip, known as Pip, is an orphan who lives with his sister and her husband. The family is poor and Pip’s sister does not treat him very well. One day the boy helps a starving convict called Abel Magwitch. Magwitch has escaped from prison but is soon caught again and sent to Australia in a prison ship.

Some months later, Pip is invited to visit a lonely but wealthy old lady called Miss Havisham. At her house, Pip meets and becomes very fond of a beautiful girl called Estella, who live there. However, Estella is cold and cruel to him, always telling him that she is “better” than him. She is encouraged in this by Miss Havisham, whose fiancé left her on her wedding day, and who, as a result, hates all men.

Some years later, Pip learns that an unknown person intends to give him money every month. Pip believes that it is Miss Havisham who has done this for him. With this money, he goes to London, becomes educated and is able to live very comfortably.

Magwitch returns to England illegally, having made a lot of money in Australia. He finds Pip and tells him that it is he, Magwitch, who has been giving Pip the money. He has been doing this in order to repay the boy’s kindness. Sadly, Magwitch is caught by the polic e and dies. We learn that Estella is in fact Magwitch’s daughter. She marries Bentley Drummle, a wealthy man who treats her very badly, but dies when he is quite young.

Meanwhile, Pip leaves England and has a successful career. He returns and meets Estella, who has at last learnt the meaning of love. The two marry.

1. 用单词的适当形式或填出适当单词完成句子。

2. 分析句子1.2 (句型及特殊用法等)

1. He finds Pip and tells him that it is he, Magwitch, _________ has been giving Pip the money.

_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. She marries Bentley Drummle, a wealthy man ________treats her very badly, but _________(die) when he is quite young.

_________________________________________________________________________________ 3.Pip learns that an unknown person intends to give him money every month.________ this money, he goes to London and becomes _________(educate).

_________________________

Dickens’ cast of characters lived in London, the largest and richest city in the world. But its wealth was distributed unfairly among the population. Every chapter of his novels describes the sights, sounds, and smells of the city, and provides a social commentary of London life.

In the middle of the 19th century, London was a filthy city for rich and poor people alike. Although on clear days, the air was filled with sparrows and seagulls flying high above, more often the smoking chimney pipes created smog which was so strong that it choked the inhabitants. The River Thames was polluted, causing disease and death everywhere, and if you fell in, it was dangerous to swallow the water.

The East End was London’s poorest district, where children wore rags for clothes and the women searched in dustbins for food. Few people could ever hope to attain an acceptable standard of living. Many people suffered from the effects of poor nutrition and even starvation because of a lack of food, yet their welfare was of no concern to the taxpayers of London. Ships from all points of the compass would drop anchor here at the main port of London. South of the river lies Southwark, another poor district. The George Inn was a busy coaching stop with food and accommodation for travelers leaving London, and for carriers taking goods into the city.

But some Londoners had accumulated enormous wealth through trade. In the old City of London are housed the many banks and corporations which Dickens mentions. Further west and opposite Southwark stands Somerset House, where Dickens’ father worked for the navy. Close by are the law courts, where lawyers and their clerks, carrying piles of paperwork, would hurry to the trials. There were many squares and gardens with water pumps and fountains, as well as smart restaurants and pubs.

Servants would buy fruit and vegetables at Covent Garden market for their rich families, and maids would buy bunches of flowers to decorate their mistresses’ rooms.

The West End is the theatre district where Dickens felt at home because, surprisingly ,he thought he would accomplish more with his drama than with his novels. It is also the London of government, where politicians, ministers, ambassadors as well as more humble pedestrians walked home at night through streets lit with gas lanterns.

London is very different today, and few people mourn the passing of the old city. But you can still see many of the sights which Dickens saw and wrote about in his novels.

1. Choose the best title for the passage.

A. Previous London

B. The description of London

C. The past and present London

D.Dickens’ London

2. Read the underlined part, try to figure out their meanings and remember them.