Section_ⅠWarming Up & Reading - Pre­reading

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　　A MASTER OF NONVERBAL HUMOUR

　　As Victor Hugo once said①，"Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face"， and up to now② nobody has been able to do this better than Charlie Chaplin. He brightened③ the lives of Americans and British through two world wars and the hard years in between④. He made people laugh at a time when they felt depressed⑤， so they could feel more content with⑥ their lives.

　　Not that Charlie's own life was easy! He was born in a poor family in 1889. His parents were both poor music hall performers⑦. You may find it astonishing⑧ that Charlie was taught to sing as soon as he could speak and dance as soon as he could walk. Such training was common in acting families at this time, especially when the family income was often uncertain. Unfortunately⑨ his father died，\s\up1(10(10)leaving the family even worse off⑪， so Charlie spent his childhood looking after his sick mother and his brother. By his teens⑫， Charlie had, through his humour, become one of the most popular child actors in England. He could mime and act the fool doing ordinary⑬ everyday tasks. No one was ever bored⑭ watching him⑮ - his subtle⑯ acting made everything entertaining⑰.

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　　①as引导的非限制性定语从句，译为"正如"。

　　②up to now ＝ until now直到现在(常与现在完成时连用)

　　③brighten/'braItn/vt.使更愉快；使更有希望

　　④in between ＝ in between two world wars，为避免重复，承接上文省略了宾语。in between为双重介词，是介词的一种特殊用法。

　　⑤depressed /dI'prest/adj.忧愁的；沮丧的

　　⑥feel/be content with对......满足

　　content/kən'tent/adj.满足的，满意的 n．满足 vt.使满足

　　⑦performer/pə'fɔːmə/n.表演者；演出者

　　⑧astonishing/ə'stɒnIʃIŋ/adj.令人感到惊讶的

　　astonish/ə'stɒnIʃ/vt.使惊诧

find it astonishing that ...中，it为形式宾语，真正的宾语是that从句，astonishing为find的宾语补足语。