[原文呈现]

　　Appreciating literature

　　What is classic literature? Classics are the antiques① of the literary② world. They are novels, plays and poems that were written a long time ago③ and were so well written that people still read them nowadays. They are examples of great writing and wisdom, and even those written centuries ago④ can still be found in bookshops and libraries today.

　　Because a lot of classics⑤ were written so long ago, their language characteristics⑥ are quite different from those of modern works. This makes them difficult for some people to read, so they are often left to gather dust on shelves. Many people do not read them, because they think classics are old and boring and have nothing to do with⑦ life today.

　　However, if this is true, why do we still find these classics in bookshops and libraries? They have not disappeared and still have a place in⑧ the world. Why else would many films adapted from them⑨ be successful? In 1995, an award­winning⑩ film based on Jane Austen's novel Emma⑪ came out⑫. Three years later, in 1998, a modern adaptation⑬ of Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations appeared in cinemas. Nobody would bother to⑭ make these classic novels into films if they had nothing to do with contemporary⑮ life.

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　　①antique/æn'tiːk/n.古董，文物

　　②literary adj.文学的

　　literature n．文学，文学作品

　　③that were written a long time ago是that引导的定语从句，修饰先行词novels, plays and poems。

　　④written centuries ago是过去分词短语作定语，修饰those。

　　⑤classic n．[C]名著，经典作品

　　还可用作形容词，意为"典型的，经典的"。

　　⑥characteristic/ˌkærəktə'rIstIk/n.特征，特点adj.典型的，独特的，特有的

　　⑦have nothing to do with ...与......没有关系

⑧have a place in在......占有一席之地