Oliver Twist was brought up in the workhouse where only the poor and homeless lived. He was pale, thin and short for his age. The boys ate meals in a large stone hall. They ate a bowl of thin soup three times a day, with half a piece of bread on Sundays. The boys were always hungry and ate everything up. The bowls never needed washing. The boys polished(擦亮) them with their spoons(勺子) until they shone.
The boys got hungrier and hungrier until one day they intended to do something . One boy had to ask for more food that evening. So they decided who would go by drawing lots. Each boy took a piece of paper and anyone who got paper with a mark on it would do that. It turned out that Oliver Twist was that boy.
The evening arrived, the soup was served, and soon the bowls were empty again in a few seconds. The boys were desperate(绝望) with hunger. With fear, Oliver went up to the master who was a fat and healthy man. He held up his bowl and said, "Please, sir,I want some more."
The master turned very pale when he heard Oliver's words. "What?" said the master in a surprising voice.
"Please, sir," repeated Oliver, "Would you please give me more? I want some more." The master hit him with the spoon heavily, then took Oliver's arms and shouted to tell the board (理事会).
"He asked for more?" Mr Limbkins, the fattest board member, asked in horror. "The boy is ungrateful!""That boy will be hanged in the future!" said another board member. Oliver was then locked up in a dark room.
-- - adapted from Oliver Twist
