Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth. His parents were John and Elizabeth Dickens. Charles was the second of their eight children. Money was a constant concern for his family. The expenses of having a large family were too much for his father's salary. In fact, when Charles was just four months old, the family moved to a smaller house to cut expenses.

　　From a very young age Charles dreamed of becoming a gentleman. He wanted education. However, when he was 12, it seemed his dreams would never come true. His parents did have some limited funds put aside to send one of their children to university. It was as if they were placing all their bets on one child. But Charles was not that child. Charles' education was unplanned, but he supplemented(补充) it with constant reading, particularly of the eighteenth century novels in his father's small library.

　　Later, Charles was removed from school and sent to work in a factory to help support the family. He was poorly clothed, ill­fed and forced to live in the cheapest place. Charles was deeply influenced by these experiences. His childhood's poverty, although unknown to his readers until after his death, had a heavy influence on Dickens' later views on social reform and the world he created through his fiction. He knew those kinds of feelings. He was lost at that time when he worked hopelessly in the factory. That period was so bitter to the sensitive(敏感的) boy. When he was a successful, happy man, he could not look back upon it without tears in his eyes.

　　Luckily the situation improved within a year. Charles was released from his duties at the factory.

　　1．As a boy, Charles Dickens' desire was ________.

　　A. to be a writer

　　B. to be a gentleman

　　C. to work in a factory

　　D. to support his family

答案与解析：B　细节理解题。根据文章第二段第一句话From a very young