A taste of English humour(Period 1 Reading)
as early as his second film,chaplin had developed his own manner of acting,the one that was to become world-famous.he wore a small black hat,very wide trousers,a moustache and carried a stick that he swung in the air as he walked.even his way of walking down the street and turning a corner could be recognized as his own.in less than three months chaplin acted in 11 films.in a short while he started directing films himself.during his first year,chaplin acted in 35 films,many of which he wrote and directed himself.
chaplin’s earliest films were silent films,because the equipment for adding sound to films had not yet been developed.the development of films with sound became a problem for chaplin,as he was uncertain about making films with dialogue.instead,he continued to make films without dialogue,but he added music,which he wrote himself.two of his greatest films,“city lights” and “modern times” were of this kind.
chaplin’s later films,however,were not well received.he made only six films between 1940 and 1966 and only the first of these is still popular today.chaplin lived the last years of his life in switzerland,where he was buried in 1977.before he died,he was honoured in a number of ways for his contributions to the film industry.
one of charlie chaplin’s most famous films was “the gold rush”,which was made in 1925.the film was set in california in the middle of the nineteenth century.at that time,gold was discovered in california and thousands of people rushed there to look for gold,so it became known as “the gold rush”.people said gold could easily be picked up by washing sand from the river in a pan of water.this was known as “panning for gold”.
in the film,chaplin and his friend are in california.so far,they have been unlucky in their search for gold and have no money at all.chaplin and his friend are caught on the edge of a mountain in a snow storm in a small wooden house.they have nothing to eat.they are so hungry that they cook a pair of shoes,by boiling them,in a pan of water.chaplin sits down at the table and eats the shoe with a knife and fork,enjoying every mouthful.he makes it seem as if this is one of the most delicious meals that he has ever enjoyed.
language points:
1.a taste of english humour
1)taste n.味道;鑒賞力;愛好,嗜好
e.g.the food has an attractive taste.
she shows good taste in water-colours.
pop music is liked by many people,but it not to everyone’s taste.
2)taste vt.&vi.品嘗;link-v.吃（嘗）起來……
e.g.i have never tasted snake.