【导读】　《大卫·科波菲尔》是英国小说家查尔斯·狄更斯创作的长篇小说，被称为他"心中最宠爱的孩子"，于1849至1850年间，分二十个部分逐月发表。全书采用第一人称叙事，融进了作者本人的许多生活经历，反映了狄更斯希望人间充满善良正义的理想。

　　David Copperfieid(excerpt)

　　That was how I was born.My early childhood was extremely happy，as my beautiful mother and kind Peggotty took care of me.But when I was about eight，a shadow passed over my happiness.My mother often went out walking，in her best clothes，with a gentleman called Mr Murdstone.He had black hair，a big black moustache and an unpleasant smile，and seemed to be very fond of my mother.But I knew that Peggotty did not like him.

　　A few months later Peggotty told me that my mother was going to have a short holiday with some friends.Meanwhile Peggotty and I would go to stay with her brother Daniel in Yarmouth，on the east coast，for two weeks.I was very excited when we climbed into the cart，although it was sad saying goodbye to my mother.Mr Murdstone was at her shoulder，waving goodbye，as the driver called to his horse，and we drove out of the village.

　　When we got down from the cart in Yarmouth，after our journey，Peggotty said，"That's the house，Master David."

I looked all round，but could only see an old ship on the sand."Is that-that your brother's house？"I asked in delight.And when we reached it，I saw it had doors and windows and a chimney，just like a real house.I could not imagine a nicer place to live.Everything was clean and tidy，and smelt of fish.Now I was introduced to the Peggotty family.There was Daniel Peggotty，a kind old sailor.Although he was not married，he had adopted two orphans，who lived with him and called him Uncle.Ham Peggotty was a large young man with a gentle smile，and Emily was a beautiful，blue­eyed little girl.They all welcomed Peggotty and me warmly.