英语词汇文章10~13

William Shakespeare

william sharespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor. He was born on 26 April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. His father was a successful local businessman and his mother was the daughter of a landowner. Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet and nicknamed the Bard of Avon. He wrote about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems and a few other verses, of which the authorship of some is uncertain. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

writer - author

drama 歌剧

landowner 地主

sonnets 十四行诗

pre-eminent - outstanding - remarkable - splendid - fabulous - terrific

verse 诗句

playwright 剧作家

Marriage and career

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18. She was eight years older than him. They had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. After his marriage information about his life became very rare. But he is thought to have spent most of his time in London writing and performing in his plays. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later known as the King’s Men.

Retirement and death

Around 1613, at the age of 49, he retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare’s private life survive. He died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52. He died within a month of signing his will, a document which he begins by describing himself as being in “perfect health”. In his will, Shakespeare left the bulk of his large estate to his elder daughter Susanna.

estate = real estate = property

His work

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early play were mainly comedies and histories and these works remain regarded as some of the best work produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, considerd some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragiccomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights.

comedy 喜剧

genre 流派

tragedy - trageic - miserable

context = background

Shakespeare’s plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed and reinterupted in diverse curtural and political contexts throughout the world.

Diverse 多样的
Document 文件
Pre-eminent 卓越的
Sign 标志
Uncertain 不确定的
Will 意志
Perform 执行
Career 职业生涯
Cultural 文化的
Tragedy 悲剧
Consider 考虑
Constantly 不断地
Collaborate 合作
Political 政治的
Poet 诗人
Bulk 大量
Tragic 悲剧的
Comedy 喜剧
Survive 生存
Verse 诗句
Estate 财产
Comedy 喜剧
Phase 阶段

Shakespeare’s parents were poor. false

His wife was 18 when they got married. true

Shakespeare died on Stratford. false

In the last years of his life, he wrote mainly tragicomedies. false

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was an English writer and social critic. During his lifetime, his works enjoyed unprecedented popularity. He is now considered a literary genius because he created some of the world’s best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of he Victorian era. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.

critic 批评者 - critical 批判的，关键的
enjoy popularity 享受欢迎度
unprecedented 前所未有，空前的
work 作品
genius 天才
be regarded as = is considered 被视为
novel 小说，新颖的
lasting 持续的

Dickens was born on February 7,1812 in Portsmouth, on the southern coast of England. His father, John Dickens was a naval clerk who dreamed of becoming rich and his mother, Elizabeth Barrow, aspired to be a teacher and school director. But the family’s financial situation had grown worse because John Dickens used to spend money dangerously beyond the family’s means. Consequently, John was sent to prison for debt in 1824, when Charles was just 12 years old.

coast - coastal city - coastal line
by the seaside 在海边
naval clerk 海上职员
naval = marine - submarine
clerk = employee = staff
aspire to do 想要做…
financial - economic - finance
used to 过去常常做…
means = fortune = wealth
prison - jail - imprison - cell

After his father’s imprisonment, Charles Dickens left school to work in a factory. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children’s rights, education, and other social reforms.

factory - plant (植物，工厂，发电厂)
despite - while - although - even though - though - in spite of 加逗号; 尽管…但是… 表示让步
novellas 中等小说
non-fiction 非小说
fatigue = tiredness = wearysome - indefatigable 不知疲倦的，不屈不挠
campaign 运动（偏时政）
vigor - vigorously - vigorous = energetic

His literary success

Dicken’s literary success begin with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers Within a few years he had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humor, satire, and keen observation of character and society. His novels, most published in monthly or weekly installments, pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication.

celebrity 名人
satire - irony 讥讽
keen observation 敏锐的观察
observe 评论 - observation
installment 出版

Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in even artistic genre Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction.

colossus = giant
genre 风格，流派

His Death

Charles Dickens dies on June 9, 1870 of a stroke. He was buried in Poet’s Corner at Westminster Abbey. Thousands of mourners came to pay their respects at the grave and throw in flowers.

genre aspire unprecedented factory genius naval campaign era prison vigorously celebrity coast indefatigable publication critic clerk imprisonment stroke literary lasting means financial director edit extensive

1. Dicken’s family was rich. false
2. he left school at an early age. false
3. novels were characterized by realism. true
4. He died due to a stroke. true

The Democratic Party

There have usually only been two main political parties in the US. Since the 1860s, two main parties have been the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. It should be noted though that there are other minor parties such as the Libertarian Party. the Green Party, and Constitution Party.

The Democratic Party

The Democratic Party started in 1828 as a pro-slavery party with its Andrew Jackson as the first President in 1829. However, through the economic resurgence after the Great Depression in 1930 and 1940s, as well as the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, the Democratic party became an advocate of racial equality. The party’s philosophy of modern liberalism adopts social and economic equality principles. It aims at setting government intervention and regulation in the economy such as the introduction of social programs, support for labor unions, affordable college tuitions, universal health care, equal opportunity, consumer protection, and environmental protection.

resurgence 死灰复燃

pro-slavery 支持奴隶制

great depression 大萧条

race - racial equality

philosophy 理念

principle 准则

introduce 引进

The Republican party

The Republican party, however, started as an anti-slavery party in 1854. Its first President was Abraham Linclon in 1861. In the Nixon years, there was a shift to appeal to the implicit racial biases of white voters that did not like the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The philosophy of the party focuses on social and economic independence, and a capitalist economic system. It is also known or its anti-abortion efforts, anti-regulatory policy, and reduction of government intervention in the economy as well as being in support privatized health care.

implicit 隐性的

capital - capitalist - capitalism

social - socialist - socialism - communism

individual - individualism

collective - collectivism

anti-abortion 堕胎

Capitalist 资本主义的
Advocate 提倡
Abortion 堕胎
Tuition 学费
Republic 共和国
Minor 少数
Equality 平等
Slavery 奴隶制
Democratic 民主的
Resurgence 复兴
Liberalism 自由主义
Universal 普遍的
Liberty 自由
Independence 独立
Party 政党
Constitution 宪法
Noted 著名的
Depression 抑郁
Civil 公民的
Philosophy 哲学
Privatize 私有化
Intervention 干预
Bias 偏见