阅读理解。
Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great 19th century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father
ran heavily into debt and when he was 12, he had to go to 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 a 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 observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in the 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 of the bourgeoisie (资本主义).
Many of his novels like Olive Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of
Two Cities drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over 100 years ago.
Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeoisie 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 novels made Dickens the most popular writer at his time in England? [ ]
A. Olive 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 painful childhood
B. Dickens did the same job 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
