EM 4 - 2018 (ESPAÑOL - digitalizado)

People and Lifestyle
A Christmas Carol is a 2009 American 3D
computer animated motion-capture dark fantasy
film written, co-produced, and directed by Robert
Zemeckis. It is an adaptation of Charles Dickens’s
1843 story of the same name and stars Jim Carrey
in a multitude of roles, includ-ing Ebenezer
Scrooge as a young, middle-aged, and old man,
and the three ghosts who haunt Scrooge.
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The actual text of several
books by Dickens is remarkably
approachable and not too
challenging to read. He wrote
many of his tomes as weekly
periodicals, one chapter at
a time. Read a few chapters
here and there, treating each
of them as an individual short
story. That way, a book numbering
a few hundred pages
will be much easier to digest.
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Dickens was known to
wander the streets of London
and build his stories using
the sights and sounds around
him. That’s why many of
his characters and much of
the dialogue come across as
authentic. The novel David
Copperfield is popularly suspected
to be a veiled autobiography
of the author.
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The works of Charles
Dickens are frequently quite
funny. The jokes, however,
are often subtle or
hidden. Meticulous readers
are often rewarded if they
can spot the amusing
details going on in the
background of a variety
of scenes. It definitely takes
a keen eye, though.
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There’s a world of film
adaptations open to you if
you’re familiar with Dickens’
works. Over 70 films and
television series have retold
Dickens’ most familiar tales
over the years, and Hollywood
shows no signs of slowing
down. A Christmas Carol
from 2009 grossed 325 mln
dollars worldwide.
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A few creative geniuses
have gone one step further
and developed entirely new
ideas based on the books of
Charles Dickens. The BBC’s
Dickensian TV drama threw
characters from all sorts
of Dickens novels together
into one storyline revolving
around a detective investigating
a murder in a Victorian
London neighbourhood.
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Many books by Dickens
are marked by a high degree
of sentimentality and
optimism. Protagonists are
idealised to the point of
always doing the right thing
and facing positive outcomes.
Some have called Dickens’
works maudlin, but the
cheerfulness expressed by
several characters is one
reason that they have become
fan favourites.
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Dickens has been praised
for making his stories so universal.
Despite their specific
settings, books by Dickens
continue to be well-received
by audiences today all across
the world. Anyone can pick
up one of his books and
relate to the human stories it
tells. The struggles, emotions,
dreams, and habits of
Dickens’ characters are shared
by most people today.
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Books by Dickens are
classics, plain and simple.
Exploring the pages of one of
Dickens’ works lets you enter
a dialogue that’s been going
on for over a century now.
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You’ll impress people by
mentioning that you’ve read
Dickens. You’ll be seen as
well-read, and you’ll be able
to have conversations with
a host of enlightened people.
You shouldn’t read Dickens
just to astound others, but it
certainly is a nice perk.
Dickens’ reputation alone
should be motivation enough
to crack open one of his
books. While they may be
old and lengthy, the works
of Charles Dickens are a true
pleasure to read. If you’re
still undecided about which
book to read next, have a go
at any of the marvels penned
by Dickens.
approachable | accesible,
abordable
chapter | capítulo
to digest /ˈdaɪdʒɛst/ | asimilar,
digerir
to wander | deambular, pasear
veiled | encubierto
subtle /ˈsʌtl/ | sutil, imperceptible
meticulous | minucioso, detallista
to spot sth | detectar, localizar
amusing | gracioso
background | contexto, trasfondo
keen eye | buen ojo
to revolve around sth | tratar
sobre, girar en torno a
neighbourhood | barrio
outcome | resultado
maudlin | sentimental, sensiblero
cheerfulness | entusiasmo, alegría
to praise | elogiar, alabar
despite /dɪˈspaɪt/ | pese a
a host of sth | un montón
enlightened /ɪnˈlaɪtənd/ | cultivado,
preparado
to astound sb | sorprender,
asombrar
perk | beneficio, gratificación
to crack open | abrir
to have a go at | probar, hacer un
intento
penned | escrito a mano
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