Английский язык. Часть I. Коныгина Г.И - 14 стр.

audiences' (13) ___ ADMIRE and love. Meanwhile the readings exhausted his
energies. Dickens was ill and full of desperate fatigue. He was playing a very
(14) ___ DANGER game for a man approaching sixty. Nevertheless, he did not
(15) ___ RELAXATION his laborious habits. Altogether, he performed about
471 times.

Read the following questions (1-5) and choose the correct answer (a, b or c).

1.What was Dickens chiefly preoccupied with in his later years?
a) he published newspaper articles
b) he delivered university lectures
c) he was engaged in public readings

2.What kind of extracts did he mainly choose to perform in public?
a) pieces of prose criticizing the injustices of the modern society
b) excerpts from numerous Christmas stories
c) fragments of historical fiction

3.Why was the public so enthusiastic about Dickens’s readings?
a) because he demonstrated his great artistic talent
b) because they were eager to get acquainted with his new works
c) because the readings were free of charge

4.Where did Dickens conduct his paid public readings?
a) in both Britain and the USA
b) in many locations throughout Britain
c) exclusively in London

5.What was the impact of public readings on Dickens’s health?
a) he regained his health
b) he ruined his mental health
c) he undermined his health


Orally summarize the information about Dickens’s public readings.
Read the following text. Some of the lines are correct and some have an ex-
tra word. Indicate the number of the line and the extra word. There is an
example at the beginning.

line 2 – yet, line 4 – even, etc.

1. Charles Dickens, ranking as one of the most popular writers in the history of
2. world literature, is especially yet renowned for his delineation of literary
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