【导读】 《远大前程》又译《孤星血泪》，是英国作家查尔斯·狄更斯晚年写成的长篇小说。故事背景为1812年圣诞节前夕至1840年冬天，主角孤儿皮普(Pip)以自传式手法，叙述从7岁开始的三个人生阶段。此小说贯彻了狄更斯文以载道的风格，透过剧中孤儿的跌宕起落，表达他对生命和人性的看法。
Great Expectations(excerpt)
My first name was Philip，but when I was a small child I could only manage to say Pip.
So Pip was what everybody called me.
I lived in a small village in Essex with my sister，who was over twenty years older than me，and married to Joe Gargery，the village blacksmith.
My parents had died when I was a baby，so I could not remember them at all，but quite often I used to visit the churchyard，about a mile from the village，to look at their names on their gravestones.
My first memory is of sitting on a gravestone in that churchyard one cold，grey，December afternoon，looking out at the dark，flat，wild marshes divided by the black line of the River Thames，and listening to the rushing sound of the sea in the distance.
Don't say a word！Cried a terrible voice，as a man jumped up from among the graves and caught hold of me.
If you shout I'll cut your throat!
He was a big man，dressed all in grey，with an iron chain on his leg.His clothes were wet and torn.He looked exhausted，and hungry，and very fierce.
I had never been so frightened in my whole life.
Oh！Don't cut my throat，sir！I begged in terror.
Tell me your name，boy！Quick！He said，still holding me.And show me where you live!
My name's Pip，sir.And I live in the village over there.
He picked me up and turned me upside down.
Nothing fell out of my pocket except a piece of old bread.He ate it in two bites，like a dog，and put me back on the gravestone.
So where are your father and mother？He asked.
There，sir，I answered，pointing to their graves.
What！He cried，and was about to run，when he saw where I was pointing.Oh！He said.
I see.They're dead.Well，who do you live with，if I let you live，which I haven't decided yet?
With my sister，sir，wife of Joe Gargery，the blacksmith.
Blacksmith，you say？And he looked down at his leg.
Then he held me by both arms and stared fiercely down into my eyes.
Now look here.You bring me a file.
