查尔斯·狄更斯(Charles Dickens)
The town was glad with morning light; places that had shown ugly and distrustful all night long, now wore a smile; and sparkling sunbeams dancing on chamber windows, and twinkling through blind and curtain before sleepers' eyes, shed light even into dreams, and chased away the shadows of the night. Birds in hot rooms, covered up close and dark, felt it was morning, and chafed and grew restless in their little cells; bright-eyed mice crept back to their tiny homes and nestled timidly together; the sleek house-cat, forgetful of her prey, sat winking at the rays of sun starting through keyhole and cranny in the door, and longed for her stealthy run and warm sleek bask outside. The nobler beasts confined in dens stood motionless behind their bars, and gazed on fluttering boughs and sunshine peeping through some little window, with eyes in which old forests gleamed — then trod impatiently the track their prisoned feet had worn — and stopped and gazed again.Men in their dungeons stretched their cramp cold limbs and cursed the stone that no bright sky could warm. The flowers that sleep by night, opened their gentle eyes and turned them to the day. The light, creation's mind, was everywhere, and all things owned its power.
- distrustful [dɪsˈtrʌstfl] a. 不信任的
- keyhole [ˈkiːhəʊl] n. 锁眼
- dungeon [ˈdʌndʒən] n. 地牢
- cramp [kræmp] n. 痉挛，抽筋
晨光初照，小镇一派欢乐祥和；长夜中丑陋、戒备森严的地方此刻绽开了笑颜；闪烁的阳光在卧室窗前起舞，透过百叶窗和窗帘照在睡眠者的眼睛上，甚至把阳光透进人的梦乡，把黑夜的阴影一扫光。鸟儿在温暖、密致、黑暗的巢中，感觉到了早晨的来临，在小巢穴里挪动着，活跃起来；小眼睛亮晶晶的老鼠，爬回自己的小家园，胆怯地依偎在一起；毛皮油光光的家猫，忘记了自己的猎物，蹲伏着对着钥匙孔里和门缝里透出的阳光眨起眼睛，盼着偷偷溜出去，在温暖的阳光下把毛发梳亮。关在兽穴中喂养的更高等的野兽，一动不动地站在栅栏后面，盯着摇曳的树枝和从小窗户进来的阳光，眼睛里闪烁着古老森林的影子——接着，烦躁地踱着它们被囚禁的足踩出的小道——然后停了下来，又盯着看。关在地牢里的男人们伸伸他们被冻得痉挛的四肢，诅咒着石头，说什么晴天的阳光也晒不热它。睡了一整夜的花，睁开了她们柔情的眼睛，向着白天张望。阳光，造物主的头脑思想，你无处不在，万物汲取你的力量！
查尔斯·狄更斯（Charles Dickens）是英国著名的作家，生于1812年，逝世于1870年。他是维多利亚时代最重要的小说家之一，以其深刻的社会洞察力和生动的人物描写而著称。狄更斯的许多作品成为经典，包括《雾都孤儿》（Oliver Twist）、《双城记》（A Tale of Two Cities）、《大卫·科波菲尔》（David Copperfield）、《圣诞颂歌》（A Christmas Carol）等。他的作品深刻地反映了19世纪英国社会的种种问题和不公正现象，对当时的社会改革产生了深远的影响。