漫游狄更斯故乡.docVIP

漫游狄更斯故乡 　　When I woke up, I hit my head on the underside of a 1)thatch roof. It was June, and I was in a little Hampshire cottage, having come to England for the first time to visit family. The mornings were bright, damp, and smelled of warm toast and 2)clematis 3)vines. 　　After a breakfast of Twinings注1 tea, strawberries and 4)scones, I 5)embarked on an afternoon of exploring the countryside. The mission was simple. As an American writer, I was raised on a healthy diet of British literature, and this was my opportunity to find the England that I had known for years in Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, and most importantly, the novels of Charles Dickens. 　　Reading Dickens developed my earliest ideas of English life as a high school student in Texas. In my imagination, England was a tiny country of 6)misty 7)marshes and scary storms that terrify the poor people sitting close to their fires and eating whatever simple food they could find. 　　I was expecting to see the 8)bleak 9)moors that appear in Dickens’ novels. What I discovered was farther from my 10)assumptions. Rather than the sickening pollution of Dickens’ factories, I found southern England fresh, 11)dewy and green. Everything is 12)picturesque, from the fragrant woodlands down to the white china teacups. 　　Charles Dickens was born on February 7th, 1812, to Elizabeth and John Dickens, a couple fond of parties and dancing. Little Charles’ first few years were spent in Portsmouth, Hampshire. He was born at 393 Old Commercial Road, where the Dickens Birthplace Museum 13)resides today. The house is beautiful and historical, fully restored to the era of the Napoleonic Wars注2. It is easy to imagine the 14)lighthearted parties of John and Elizabeth, and the sweet 15)nursery of their children. 　　To visit the Dickens birthplace is to fall into a time of pleasures and happiness. As one can imagine, little Charles was actually so good at 16)nursery rhymes that when he was a mere baby boy, John would take him down to the