Dictation 2: Charles Dickens – Answers

Charles Dickens was a Victorian-era novelist. He is renowned for timeless classics like “Oliver Twist” and “A Tale of Two Cities,” and his books vividly portray social issues like poverty and injustice. His father’s imprisonment deeply influenced him and helped shape his empathy for the marginalised. Dickens’ compelling storytelling and memorable characters still captivate readers today, offering important insights into human nature and the challenges of 19th-century England.

A quirky anecdote about Dickens involves his pet raven. The bird, called Grip, is said to have inspired Edgar Allan Poe’s haunting poem “The Raven.”

Here’s the clip again:

Vocabulary

the Victorian era (in the text it is hyphenated because the two words are used as an adjective)	the period of Queen Victoria’s reign (1837-1901) in Britain
renowned	admired and famous
empathy	understanding and having strong compassion for someone’s feelings
compelling	if a story is compelling it is so interesting that you can’t stop reading or listening
the marginalised	people who are ignored or treated as unimportant, who aren’t given the same opportunities as others
insights	a deep look into something complex or unknown

This is a very good introduction to the life of Charles Dickens:

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Dictation 1: The Shark Café