Bloque A - Text 2 · Inglés PAU Andalucía Ordinaria Titular (Acceso) 2024

TEXT 2: CHARLES DICKENS

1 Charles Dickens is one of the greatest writers in English literature. His stories such as Great Expectations and Oliver Twist

2 continue to shape the way in which we understand nineteenth-century England.

3 Forget the idea that Dickens was always a rich, benevolent gentleman. His family moved around a lot in Dickens’s youth, from

4 Portsmouth to Kent, and from there to London. Dickens’s father was getting deeper and deeper into debt, and the family were

5 literally running away from their creditors. When he was 12, Dickens was sent to live with a family friend and to work at Warren’s

6 shoe polish factory. In his youth, Dickens thought of becoming an actor. However, he fell in love with a woman whose parents were

7 middle-class and disapproved of her association with an aspiring actor —actors being seen as of a low social status at the time.

8 Once he was a famous writer, Dickens became a well-known philanthropist who committed himself to many charities,

9 particularly focusing on issues of child poverty and education. On the same altruistic note, Dickens was also the editor of magazines

10 that, at popular prices, brought literature to everybody. They featured stories by different writers, established novelists, including

11 himself, and also women, like the first salaried female journalist, Eliza Lynn Linton.

12 Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol rapidly, taking just six weeks from beginning to end. He was forced to pay half the publication

13 costs himself as his publishers failed to see the value of a Christmas story. Ironically, it’s never been out of print since its publication

14 in 1843 and it’s been considered one of Dickens’s finest literary achievements, as well as an inspiration for numerous films.

CHOOSE AND WRITE THE CORRECT OPTION (A, B, C or D). (0.5 points each)

9.

As an editor, Charles Dickens...

10.

According to the text, A Christmas Carol...

ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH THE PRECISE WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT, OR USE YOUR OWN WORDS. (0.5 points each)

11.

The Dickenses had a hard time due to the father’s spending habits.

TRUE

FALSE

12.

Dickens did not have experience as a manual worker.

TRUE

FALSE

13.

Actors were well regarded in Dickens’s times.

TRUE

FALSE

14.

Dickens supported numerous good causes.

TRUE

FALSE

15. FIND IN THE TEXT: (0.5 points)

15.1.

15.2.

16. FIND IN THE TEXT: (0.5 points)

16.1.

16.2.