阅读理解

　　THE names of William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Jane Austen are probably not new to you．They are stars of the literary landscape and their works add to the charm of their British homeland．This week, we take you to the places where these literary masters grew up, lived or got their inspiration from．

　　Stratford-upon-Avon

　　Located on the banks of the river Avon in the north of England, Stratford-upon-Avon provides a beautiful glimpse into Britain’s rural life．Every year, thousands of tourists flock to the town to see the land that produced Britain’s greatest playwright．They visit the house where Shakespeare lived and go to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre to enjoy his plays．

　　William Shakespeare(1564-1616)

　　Stratford-upon-Avon would be on an ordinary small city in Britain if it was not the birthplace of William Shakespeare．Shakespeare left the town when he was 18, but even at the height of his career in London, Shakespeare returned here regularly to visit his family．Shakespeare thought of it as his real home, even though London brought him fame．

　　Bath

　　UNESCO World Heritage city．Bath has the country’s only natural hot springs．The city is named after its most popular sight：the Roman Baths, which were built by the Romans in the first century as a public bath house．For centuries, people went there to bathe in the natural mineral water．

　　Jane Austen(1775-1817)

　　Bath was one of Austen’s favorite places．It appears in her novels ?Persuasion and Northanger Abbey． In the latter she wrote：“I do like it very much．If I could have papa and mamma, and the rest of them here, I suppose I should be too happy!”

　　London

　　LONDON is the cultural centre of Britain．Its historical attractions draw numerous visitors．Treasures such as Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace are among the world’s top tourist attractions．Museums like the British Museum and the National Gallery, all free, make London a favorite for art lovers．

　　Charles Dickens(1812-1870)?

　　Dickens spent most of his life in London and wrote extensively about this city．Born in Hampshire, south of London, Dickens moved to London when he was two years old．He depicted London as foggy, dirty, with villains everywhere, as shown in his works Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, Bleak House and A Tale of Two Cities．

阅读理解

　　Yorkshire, England was the setting for two great novels of the 19th century．These were Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights．The youngest sister, Anne, was also a gifted novelist, and her books have the same extraordinary, quality as her sisters'．

　　Their father was Patrick Bronte born in Ireland．He moved with his wife, Maria Bronte, and their six small children to Haworth in Yorkshire in 1820．Soon after, Mrs．Bronte and the two eldest children died, leaving the father to care for the remaining three girls and a boy．

　　Charlotte was born in 1816．Emily was born in 1818 and Anne in 1820．Their brother Branwell was born in 1817．Left to themselves, the children wrote and told stories and walked over the hills．They grew up largely self-educated．Branwell showed a great interest in drawing．The girls were determined to earn money for his art education．They took positions as teachers or taught children in their homes．

　　As children they had all written many stories．Charlotte, as a young girl, alone wrote 22 books, each with 60 to 100 pages of small handwriting．Therefore, they turned to writing for income．By 1847, Charlotte had written The Professor; Emily, Wuthering Heights; and Anne, Agnes Grey．After much difficulty Anne and Emily found a publisher, but there was no interest shown in Charlotte's book．(It was not published until 1869．)However, one publisher expressed an interest in seeing more of her work．Jane Eyre was already started, and she hurriedly finished it．

　　It was accepted at once；Thus each of the sisters had a book published in 1847．

　　Jane Eyre was immediately successful；The other two, however, did not do so well．People did not like Wuthering Heights．They said it was too wild, too animal-like．But gradually it came to be considered one of the finest novels in the English language．Emily lived only a short while after the publication of her book, and Anne died in 1847．

　　Charlotte published Shirley in 1849 and Villette in 1853．In 1854 she married Arthur Bell Nicholls．But only a year later, she died of tuberculosis(肺结核)as her sisters had．