Even people who don"t understand English can enjoy Chaplin"s films because they are mostly silent. It
isn"t what he says that makes us laugh. It depends upon actions which mean the same thing to people all
over the world. He is master of the art - a kind of world language.
     As a young man, he and his brother traveled to America in a small company of actors. Chaplin was
then invited to join a new company that was making film comedies. Very soon he had made dozens of
short films for this company. And it was in his second film that he wore the clothes which made his
reputation - black hat, tight coat, baggy trousers, huge shoes, moustache and walking stick. He intended
 simply to make people laugh. But the odd make-up made him look both comic and sad.
     By the time he was thirty, Chaplin was the greatest, best known and best loved comedian in the world. He received thousands of dollars for each film he made. He had formed his own manner of acting. He was welcomed by excited crowds wherever he went. But he worked very hard and had few close friends.
Perhaps that is why the sad side of the little tramp began to show more clearly in the films he made. The
little man began to want more than food and a roof over his head. He began to want love.
     In one of his most famous films "The Gold Rush" a girl plays tricks on the little man. Then she begins
to feel sorry for him and treats him kindly. He mistakes her pity for love. The girl in "City Lights" is blind. She thinks he is the most wonderful man she has ever met. But then she recovers her sight and sees what
a foolish figure he is. This sadness gives Chaplin"s films a depth of human experience which few comedians can equal.
     After living in America for forty years he moved to Switzerland. There he died on Christmas Day
1977. He once described himself as a citizen of famous pictures that were made during the 1920s and
1930s, the time of the silent films. But, to many people all over the world Chaplin will always be the king
of comedy.

A. was famous
B. didn"t want to have friends
C. was not good at making friends
D. spent most of his time in working and had no time to make friends

     Norah had a cottage on a cliff (悬崖) above a big bay. In winter it could be very unpleasant because
of strong winds and sea waves. In fact, when a gale was blowing, Norah and her husband got used to
sleeping in a small room downstairs, because their bedroom upstairs, which faced the gales, had a very
big window, and they were afraid that an extra violent wind might break it and blow pieces of broken
glass over them.
     Also, the salt wave from the sea put an end to many of the colorful plants Norah planted in her garden. She tried putting up a fence to protect them, but the wind just hit it, went up over the top and then down
the other side, so in the end she filled the garden with trees and bushes that liked salt.
But most of the summer Norah enjoyed her cottage and garden very much. At weekends she could sit
out-of-doors in the sun, looking at the beautiful view, with interesting ships and boats passing by, and she
could very easily cycle down to the sea for a swim.
     Now, Norah and her husband had plenty of friends and relations. In the summer lots of them used to
come to enjoy the beautiful place, and in the end it really became quite annoying for the couple. When
they were at home, they found friends and relations arriving, expecting to be given unlimited drinks and
meals, and to sit in the sun for hours, talking as if Norah and her husband had nothing else to do but
entertain and listen to them.
     This went on for several years. Norah didn"t wish to appear rude by refusing to let her friends and
relations in, but on the other hand, she was getting tired every summer.
Then one day Norah was complaining about this to her hairdresser while she was doing her hair. "You"re
disturbed by too many uninvited guests, are you?" said the hairdresser. "Why don"t you try my way of
escaping?"
     "What"s that?" asked Norah.
     "Well," the hairdresser answered, "when the bell rings, I put on my coat and take my shopping bag. If
it"s someone I don"t want to see, I say innocently, "I"m sorry, but I"ve got to go out." But…