阅读理解

    On April 2, 1805, Hans Christian Andersen was born in a one-bedroom house in Odense, Denmark. His father was a shoemaker and his mother was a laundrywoman (洗衣女工). When he was 11, his father died. He had to leave school and began to work in a factory. When he was 17, he met a director. With the director's help, Andersen went back to school. He studied with children who were six years younger than him. He began writing at that time.

    Andersen's first book of fairy tales came out in 1835. The Princess on the Pea and The Tinderbox were included in it. His first book was a big success. From then on, he wrote almost a book every year. In his lifetime, he wrote about 168 fairy tales and his stories have been translated into about 150 languages. No matter how old we are, we are probably familiar with The Emperor's New Clothes, The little Match Girl and many other fairy tales of Andersen.

    Andersen always wanted to tell people not to judge (判断) people by their appearances. In 77ie Ugly Duckling, the character everyone makes fun of has inner (内在的) beauty.

    Andersen was also agiftedartist. He made thousands of paper cuttings of swans (天鹅), clowns and angels. These can be seen in the book TheAmazing Paper Cuttings of Hans Christian Andersen.

    Because of his wonderful fairy tales, Andersen became known as the greatest writer in Denmark and one of the most beloved children's writers in the world. On April 2, people celebrate International Children's Book Day. That's because April 2 was Andersen's birthday.