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Intermediate Reading Exercise

The document discusses Charlie Chaplin's early life, highlighting uncertainties about his birth date and place, as well as his challenging childhood marked by parental separation and instability. It details his early performances in Music Hall and his eventual arrival in the United States, where he was discovered by film producer Mack Sennett. The text also includes true/false questions related to key facts about Chaplin's life.

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60 views3 pages

Intermediate Reading Exercise

The document discusses Charlie Chaplin's early life, highlighting uncertainties about his birth date and place, as well as his challenging childhood marked by parental separation and instability. It details his early performances in Music Hall and his eventual arrival in the United States, where he was discovered by film producer Mack Sennett. The text also includes true/false questions related to key facts about Chaplin's life.

Uploaded by

binhdaumoi0309
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Intermediate Reading Exercise

Charlie Chaplin's Early Life


Read the text about Charlie Chaplin's early life and answer the

true/false questions below.

He was believed to have been born on April 16, 1889. There is some doubt whether

April 16 is actually his birthday, and it is possible he was not born in 1889. There is

also uncertainty about his birthplace: London or Fontainebleau, France. There is no

doubt, however, as to his parentage: he was born to Charles Chaplin, Sr. and Hannah

Harriette Hill (aka Lily Harley on stage), both Music Hall entertainers. His parents

separated soon after his birth, leaving him in the care of his increasingly unstable

mother.

In 1896, Chaplin's mother was unable to find work; Charlie and his older half-brother

Sydney Chaplin had to be left in the workhouse at Lambeth, moving after several

weeks to Hanwell School for Orphans and Destitute Children. His father died an

alcoholic when Charlie was 12, and his mother suffered a mental breakdown, and

was eventually admitted temporarily to the Cane Hill Asylum at Coulsdon (near

Croydon). She died in 1928 in the United States, two years after coming to the States

to live with Chaplin, by then a commercial success.

Charlie first took to the stage when, aged five, he performed in Music Hall in 1894,

standing in for his mother. As a child, he was confined to a bed for weeks due to a

serious illness, and, at night, his mother would sit at the window and act out what

was going on outside. In 1900, aged 11, his brother helped get him the role of a

comic cat in the pantomime Cinderella at the London Hippodrome. In 1903 he


appeared in 'Jim, A Romance of Cockayne', followed by his first regular job, as the

newspaper boy Billy in Sherlock Holmes, a part he played into 1906. This was

followed by Casey's 'Court Circus' variety show, and, the following year, he became a

clown in Fred Karno's 'Fun Factory' slapstick comedy company.

According to immigration records, he arrived in the United States with the Karno

troupe on October 2, 1912. In the Karno Company was Arthur Stanley Jefferson, who

would later become known as Stan Laurel. Chaplin and Laurel shared a room in a

boarding house. Stan Laurel returned to England but Chaplin remained in the United

States. Chaplin's act was seen by film producer Mack Sennett, who hired him for his

studio, the Keystone Film Company.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Original

Wikipedia article.

1. Chaplin might have been born some years earlier than is currently

believed.

True

False

2. Chaplin's mother died before her son was successful.

True

False

3. Chaplin first performed on the stage after he arrived in the United

States.

True

False
4. His first serious job was delivering newspapers.

True

False

5. His first partner on the stage was the actor, Stan Laurel.

True

False

6. He was discovered while working for a British organisation in the

United States.

True

False

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