In the nineteenth century....

In 1837 Queen Victoria came to the throne, aged 18. By the time of her death in 1901 London was a very different city. It had grown enormously due to industrial progress, population growth and the network of railways which had brought many parts of England within easy reach of the capital. In the Victorian era London was the centre of world trade and a powerful British empire. Better street lighting, sanitation, roads and transport gradually developed.

Docks and steamer

In the nineteenth century ships delivered goods to London from all over the Empire. Large docks were built to provide a safe place for them to anchor.

Shipbuilding was changed completely by the invention of the steam engine and iron ships. By 1860 London had the largest number of shipyards in the world.

Grand railway stations, such as Paddington, Euston and Cannon Street, were built at the centre of a network of railway lines going to different parts of Britain. They looked impressive to encourage people to travel by train.

Transport and building

Open trucks pulled by a steam engine

The coming of the railways changed London for ever. It meant that people could now commute to work from elsewhere. The first London underground railway is shown above. It opened in 1863 between Paddington and the City.

Much of present day London was built in Victorian times. Some buildings were very grand, such as the Houses of Parliament, rebuilt after a fire in 1834. Others were built for workers, in terraced rows.


Victorian slums
In Victorian London the poor were crowded into rotting houses, where they often starved or died of disease. Some of the worst-off were poor children. They were sent out from the age of four or five to make a few pennies by doing things like begging, pickpocketing and chimney sweeping.

Campaigners, such as the author Charles Dickens, shocked the public by writing about these things, and in 1870 a new law was passed which meant that ali children between the ages of 5 and 12 had to go to school.



in    Butterfield, Moira ,The Usborne Book of London

"A Christmas Carol" - Activities (2nd chapter)

1. What’s the right name?

Scrooge          Mr. Fezziwig         The First Ghost
a) ….. spent Christmas without any friends.
b) ….. ‘s party made everybody very happy.
c) ….. wanted to help Scooge.
d) ….. was more interested in money than in other people.
e) ….. took Scrooge to his past Christmas.
f) ….. was the man Scrooge had worked for.


2. Choose the correct answers:

• In the story, Christmas time means:

a) working hard
b) being with your family
c) writing
d) eating and drinking
e) dancing
f) sleeping a lot
g) playing music

"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens (chapter two)

The First Ghost

The first ghost appeared at one o'clock in the morning, and opened the curtains round Scrooge's bed. The ghost was an old man with long, white hair. He wore a short, brilliant white dress with a bright belt and (a strange thing at Christmas!) summer flowers along the bottom. His arms and legs were bare, and in his hand he held a bunch of green holly.
‘I’m The Ghost of Christmas Past,' he said.
'Whose past?' asked Scrooge.
'Your past,' answered the ghost.
'What do you want?' asked Scrooge.
'To help you,' answered the ghost. 'Come'.
Scrooge got up from his bed. Together they flew through the wall and London disappeared. Scrooge saw they were looking at the place in the country where he had lived as a boy.
They saw many boys going home across the fields, happily shouting 'Merry Christmas' to each other. Then they saw Scrooge as a boy, reading on his own in an empty classroom.
Seeing himself as he had once been, Scrooge sat down at a desk and started to cry.
'l wish l'd given some money to that poor boy who sang Christmas songs to me yesterday,' said Scrooge.
The ghost smiled. 'Let's see another Christmas,' he said.
This time Scrooge saw the office where he had first worked. He saw Mr Fezziwig, the man he had worked for, and his wife. Young Scrooge was helping them prepare the office for a Christmas party. Soon there were many young people there. They were enjoying the dancing, the music and the food. Even he, Scrooge, was dancing and enjoying himself!
At the end of the party, Mr and Mrs Fezziwig said 'Merry Christmas' to everybody.
'l wish l'd said something to Bob Cratchit yesterday said Scrooge.
The ghost smiled again. 'Another Christmas,' he said.
Scrooge saw a beautiful woman smiling with her children in a warm home.
The door opened and the father came in, his arms full of Christmas presents. Scrooge looked at the woman; she had been his girlfriend when he was a young man! She had left him because he had been more interested in money than in her. Looking at the happy family, Scrooge understood what he had lost.
'No more!' shouted Scrooge sadly. 'Leave me, ghost!'
The first ghost disappeared, leaving Scrooge back in bed where he slept deeply.

Descobre o poema

Tenta descobrir o poema "escondido" desta quinzena.

Descobre o poema - Solução

O poema escondido era a primeira quadra de um poema de Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen:

                      Porque

Porque os outros se mascaram mas tu não

Porque os outros usam a virtude

Para comprar o que não tem perdão

Porque os outros têm medo mas tu não

Porque os outros são os túmulos caiados

Onde germina calada a podridão.

Porque os outros se calam mas tu não.

Porque os outros se compram e se vendem

E os seus gestos dão sempre dividendo.

Porque os outros são hábeis mas tu não.

Porque os outros vão à sombra dos abrigos

E tu vais de mãos dadas com os perigos.

Porque os outros calculam mas tu não.

O vencedor da última edição é…
                  ·  Francisco Rafael Batista Gouveia (12.ºA) 

"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens - Activities (chapter one)

Encontrarás na tua Biblioteca um impresso onde deverás registar as respostas destas actividades. Entrega o impresso, devidamente preenchido, na Biblioteca ou à tua professora de Inglês.

Chapter 1
1. What happened first? Put these sentences in the right order. Number them 1–10.

a) Scrooge hears the noise of a chain down below.
b) Bob Cratchit goes home.
c) Scrooge gives them nothing.
d) After Fred leaves, two men come into Scrooge's office.
e) Fred comes to visit him.
f) Scrooge doesn't give anything to the boy either.
g) The two men leave the room.
h) They ask him money for the poor.
i) He invites Scrooge to dinner.
j) Scrooge is in his office.

2. Who says what? Match the sentences with the characters.

Characters:Scrooge
Fred
The two men
Marley
Bob Cratchit

Sentences:a) "You don't mean it."
b) "Why are you merry?"
c) "They always need a little more."
d) "Christmas is only one day a year."
e) "I'm unhappy".

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens, the most popular writer of the Victorian age, was born near Portsmouth, England, in 1812 and died in Kent in 1870.

When his father was thrown into debtors’ prison, young Charles was taken out of school and forced to work in a shoe-polish factory, which may help explain the presence of so many abandoned and victimized children in his novels.

As a young man he worked as a reporter before starting his career as a fiction writer in 1833. In his novels, short stories and essays, Dickens combined hilarious comedy with a scathing criticism of the inhuman features of Victorian industrial society.

He is buried in Poet`s Corner in Westminster Abbey.


To know more about Charles Dickens:  http://clubeingles.wordpress.com/2010/11/18/1873/