39. Charlie Chaplin

On a damp, chilly London night, five-year-old Charlie Chaplin clasped his mother’s hand tightly. He quickly propelled himself along, 1) keeping up with her nervous pace. Charlie Chaplin’s mother was a singer. Onstage, she was known as Lily Harley. Audiences loved her dainty appearance and her sweet, 2) delicate voice. Thisnight, however, Hannah’s throat felt dry and scratchy. The damp weather had irritated her vocal chords, and she worried that she might sing badly. With both Charlie and his nine-year-old brother, Sydney, to care for, she had better be able to sing-or there would be no supper for any of them.

Charlie spent so much time listening to his mother sing he had 3) memorized her entire repertoire(全部节目).He also learned other performers’ songs, not just because it seemed to make his time backstage move faster, but also because he enjoyed the words and the music. Lily Harley started to sing. As she 4) reached for the high notes of a beautiful ballad, her voice suddenly 5) cracked. A rude customer began to whistle.Lily tried again, 6) only to fail once more. She broke down in tears and looked to the music hall owner for help, but he 7) ignored her and dartered backstage. To Lily’s surprise, he then 8) dragged out her son, who had been watching unhappily in the wings. No one knew what to expect from such a young performer.

Charlie took advantage of the brief lull and began singing a popular melody called “Jack Jones”. The way he moved his shoulders and strutted around like someone much older delighted the crowd. They broke into a 9) roar of appreciation, applauding the bold little performer.

Hannah Chaplin never appeared on stage again. Her music hall 10) career was over, but that night a new performer was born. At age five, Charlie Chaplin had made his debut.