先讀課文﹕
The Prince and the Pauper 王子與貧兒
by Mark Twain
Chapter I. The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.
In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter
of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of
Canty, who did not want him. On the same day another English child was
born to a rich family of the name of Tudor 多鐸(王朝), who did want him.
All England wanted him too. England had so longed for him, and hoped for
him, and prayed God for him, that, now that he was really come, the people
went nearly mad for
joy. Mere acquaintances hugged and kissed each other and cried. Everybody
took a holiday, and high and low, rich and poor, feasted and danced and
sang, and got very mellow; and they kept this up for days and nights together.
By day, London was a sight to see, with gay banners waving from every
balcony and housetop, and splendid pageants marching along. By night, it
was again a sight to see, with its great bonfires at every corner, and its
troops of revellers making merry around them. There was no talk in all
England but of the new baby, Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales威爾士親王[1],
who lay lapped in silks and satins, unconscious of all this fuss, and not
knowing that great lords and ladies were tending him and watching over him--and
not caring, either. But there was no talk about the other baby, Tom Canty,
lapped in his poor rags, except
among the family of paupers whom he had just come to trouble with his presence.
第一章就是那麼短。總之﹐有興趣閱讀下去的學習者可上網查閱。
1) 生詞自查。
2) 作者介紹﹕見湯幕‧沙亞歷險記。
3) 本書內容簡介﹕The Prince and the Pauper is an English language novel
by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada
before its 1882 publication in the United States. The book represents Twain's
first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547, the novel tells the story
of two young boys who are identical in appearance: Tom Canty, a pauper who
lives with his abusive father in Offal Court off Pudding Lane in London;
and Prince Edward, son of King Henry VIII.
The novel begins with Tom Canty, an impoverished boy living with his abusive
family in London. One day, Tom Canty and Prince Edward, the son of King
Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, meet, and as a jest, switch clothes. While
dressed in the pauper's rags, the Prince leaves the palace to punish the
guard who knocked Tom down. However, the boys look remarkably alike and
because they switch clothes, the palace guards throw the prince out into
the street. The Prince fares poorly in London because he insists on proclaiming
his identity as the true Prince of Wales. Meanwhile despite Tom's repeated
denial of his birthright, the court and the King insist that he is the true
prince gone mad. Edward eventually runs into Tom's family and a gang of
thieves and Twain illustrates England's unfair and barbaric justice system.
After the death of Henry VIII, Edward interrupts Tom's coronation and the
boys explain, switch places, and Edward is crowned King of England.
4) 註解﹕[1] 威爾士親王﹐英倫島上有英國和愛爾蘭共和國。英國又有三個部份組
成﹕英格蘭﹑威爾士﹑北愛爾蘭。在那個時候﹐威爾士要求有自己的統治者。當英
王駕臨威爾士的時候﹐威爾士人提出他們要一個不會講英文的﹐出生在威爾士的人
做他們的王。於是英王就把他自己剛出生的王子抱到陽台上去給大家看﹐說他不會
講英文(嬰兒當然還不會講話了)﹐他出生在威爾士﹐他將是威爾士親王。威爾士人
沒話可說。從那時起﹐英國的王長子就兼任威爾士親王。
5) 王子與貧兒也是本有名的書。被拍成電影。雖然第一章較短﹐要知道故事發展的
讀者﹐可以上網閱讀。等你認真地﹐認真地把這些小說讀了幾百本以後﹐好像讀了
武功秘籍﹐就會功力非凡了。
选择“Disable on www.wenxuecity.com”
选择“don't run on pages on this domain”
