by Julia Koprak
As a young man on stage, few knew that Charlie Chaplin would become one of the most important people in movie history. Born in London in 1889, Charlie was a natural talent since both of his parents had been actors. In fact, his skills as a performer helped him survive the hardships of a very difficult childhood. His father died when Charlie was a child and his mother suffered from a mental illness that left her incapable of caring for her children. After the hospitalization of their mother, Charlie and his brother were forced to fend for themselves. They did so through performing on the stage.
Chaplin's comedic personality took him to America, where he became a great star of the silent screen in 1914. His signature character was the Tramp, a pauper with a little moustache, cane, and bowler hat. He paraded around as a gentleman, landing himself in all kinds of interesting situations. As the character of the Tramp, Chaplin made a stream of successful silent films.
In 1927, talkies, or films with synchronized sound, were introduced. Nevertheless, Chaplin continued to make silent films, and in fact, some of his best. He had an amazing ability to blend humor with a bit of emotion without uttering a single line of dialogue. Moreover, although seemingly simple on the surface, Chaplin's films had strong political undertones. In Modern Times, a movie filmed during the Depression, the Tramp is a factory worker struggling in an industrial society. In The Great Dictator, Chaplin made an even bolder move by taking on the role of a leader similar to Adolf Hitler and speaking on film for the first time.
| 單字小舖 |
1. tramp n. 流浪者
2. champ n. 冠軍
3. hospitalization n. 住院治療
4. signature n.（人或物的）識別標誌
5. pauper n. 乞丐；窮人
6. moustache n. 八字鬚
7. bowler n. 圓頂禮帽（= bowler hat）
8. talkie n. 有聲電影
9. synchronized a. 畫面和聲音同步的
10. utter vt. 發出（聲音）
11. undertone n. 絃外之音，（隱約的）含義
| 精解字詞片語 |
1. fend for... 供養／照料……
例: Can you fend for yourself while I go on vacation for a few weeks?
（我去渡假幾個禮拜的時候，你能照顧自己嗎？）
2. parade vi. 招搖而行 & vt. 炫耀
例: Dan paraded his new girlfriend in front of us as if she were some prize cow.
（阿丹帶著女友大搖大擺從我們面前走過，好像他女友多了不起似的。）
3. land sb in... 使某人陷於……（困境、麻煩等）
例: My younger brother always manages to land himself in some trouble or another.
（我弟弟總是讓自己陷入接連不斷的麻煩中。）
4. a stream of... 一連串的……
例: A stream of angry phone calls came in after the politician made the rude remark.
（那位政客發表了不得體的言論後，一連串的憤怒電話打了進來。）
5. blend A with B 融合 A 與 B
例: Mrs. Yu is trying to blend her Irish traditions with her husband's Chinese heritage.
（余太太試著將自己的愛爾傳統融入她先生的中國傳統中。）
6. on the surface 表面上
例: On the surface, he seems like a normal guy, but once you get to know him, you'll see that he's rather odd.
（表面上，他看似正常，一旦認識他後，你就會發現他是個怪咖。）
7. make a move 採取行動
例: She plans to make a career move in the next two years.
（她計劃在兩年內採取行動，實踐自己的生涯規劃。）
8. take on the role of... 扮演……角色
take on... 承擔……（工作、責任等）
例: I think that you took on far too many courses this semester.
（我覺得你這學期修太多課了。）
當查理．卓別林還是舞台上初試啼聲的小夥子時，很少人知道他會成為電影史上最重要的人物之一。卓別林 1889 年出生於倫敦，由於父母都曾是演員，他天生就有表演天份。事實上，他的表演技巧幫助他撐過艱苦童年的種種困境。查理的父親在他年幼時便過世；而他母親飽受精神疾病的折磨，無法照顧自己的小孩。母親住院後，查理和哥哥被迫自己照料自己。他們便靠登台表演來養活自己。
卓別林的喜劇個性使他得以前往美國發展，並於 1914 年在默劇圈中大放異彩。他的著名角色是一名拿著柺杖、戴著圓頂禮帽、還留著八字鬍的流浪漢。他到處以紳士姿態示人，使自己處於許多有趣的情境中。藉著飾演流浪漢一角，卓別林拍攝了一連串成功的無聲電影。
1927 年，有聲電影（即影音同步的電影）問世。然而，卓別林卻繼續製作無聲電影，而事實上，有些傑作便是這個時期出產的。他有能力不說一句台詞，便能融合幽默與些許情感。而且，即使表面上看似簡單，卓別林的電影都有著強烈的政治意涵。在經濟大蕭條時期所製作的《摩登時代》中，這位流浪漢飾演一名工廠工人，在工業社會中掙扎。而在《大獨裁者》中，卓別林的做法甚至更大膽，飾演一名類似希特勒的領袖，第一次在螢幕上發聲。
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