Thousands of people came to the theatres and concert halls to hear him.Performances were sold out in Britain and America.People fainted （暈倒）at his shows.Who do you think he was？Well，he wasn't a pop star.He was in fact a writer，and he didn't live in this century.He lived nearly two hundred years ago.His name was Charles Dickens.
   In the 19th Century，Charles Dickens went on long tours in Britain and America.At each performance he read and acted out passages from his novels.
   Why did he go on tour with his books？His first tour was for charity - he wasn't paid for it.The first performance was of A Christmas Carol for 2，000 poor people in Birmingham.Many people in the audience couldn't read and so storytelling was very important to them.After this first performance，he was offered money to perform his readings at other places.At first he refused，but later he agreed to do more shows.He loved performing，and as a young man，he had wanted to be an actor His tour of America from December 1867 to April 1868 earned him over ￡19，000，which was a huge amount of money at the time.It was a lot more than he earned from selling his books.
   Charles Dickens' tours were very hard work as he travelled long distances by train，and trains were very slow in those days.His family and friends became worried about his health.They wanted him to stop touring.
In 1865，there was a terrible train crash at Staplehurst in Kent.All the carriages except one fell down a slope （山坡）.What happened to Charles Dickens？He was in the one carriage that didn't fall down.After the accident，Charles Dickens was frightened of travelling by train，but he still continued his tours.His readings continued to be successful.
   However，his friends and families were right to be worried about his health.Five years later，until 1870，Charles Dickens died of a stroke （中風(fēng)）.
（1）What was the profession of the storyteller in the text？

D

D

A．A pop star.
B．A traveler.
C．An actor.
D．An author.
（2）Why did Charles Dickens start his first reading tour？

A

A

A．To support charity.
B．To make a fortune.
C．To be a popular performer.
D．To sell novels.
（3）Why did Charles Dickens' family want to stop his reading tour？

A

A

A．They were concerned about his health.
B．People usually fainted at his shows.
C．He was afraid of travelling by train.
D．He had a narrow escape from a train accident.
（4）What can be inferred from the text？

C

C

A．The prices of the books at that time were very high.
B．Trains were people's main means of transportation.
C．Charles Dickens reading tours were very popular.
D．Most people in the audience had read his novels.