Lewis Carroll: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Adapted audiobook in English. Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Alice's Adventures in Wonderland English title

CHAPTER I

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `and what is the use of a book," thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?"

So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.

There was nothing so VERY remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so VERY much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to himself, `Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!" (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually TOOK A WATCH OUT OF ITS WAISTCOAT - POCKET, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.

In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.

The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.

Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything; then she looked at the sides of the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves; here and there she saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. She took down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed; it was labeled `ORANGE MARMALADE", but to her great disappointment it was empty: she did not like to drop the jar for fear of killing somebody, so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as she fell past it.

`Well!" thought Alice to herself, `after such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling down stairs! How brave they"ll all think me at home! Why, I wouldn't say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of the house!" (Which was very likely true.)

Down, down, down. Would the fall NEVER come to an end! ʻI wonder how many miles I "ve fallen by this time?" she said aloud.

`I must be getting somewhere near the center of the earth. Let me see: that would be four thousand miles down, I think--" (for, you see, Alice had learned several things of this sort in her lessons in the schoolroom, and though this was not a VERY good opportunity for showing off her knowledge, as there was no one to listen to her, still it was good practice to say it over) `--yes, that"s about the right distance--but then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I"ve got to ?" (Alice had no idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but thought they were nice grand words to say.)

Presently she began again. `I wonder if I shall fall right THROUGH the earth! How funny it "ll seem to come out among the people that walk with their heads downward! The Antipathies, I think--" (she was rather glad there WAS no one listening, this time, as it didn't sound at all the right word) `--but I shall have to ask them what the name of the country is, you know. Please, Ma"am, is this New Zealand or Australia?" (and she tried to curtsey as she spoke--fancy CURTSEYING as you "re falling through the air! Do you think you could manage it?) `And what an ignorant little girl she"ll think me for asking! No, it"ll never do to ask: perhaps I shall see it written up somewhere."

Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do, so Alice soon began talking again. `Dinah "ll miss me very much to-night, I should think!" (Dinah was the cat.) `I hope they "ll remember her saucer of milk at tea-time. Dinah my dear! I wish you were down here with me! There are no mice in the air, I"m afraid, but you might catch a bat, and that "s very like a mouse, you know. But do cats eat bats, I wonder?" And here Alice began to get rather sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy sort of way, `Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?" and sometimes, `Do bats eat cats?" for, you see, as she couldn't answer either question, it didn't much matter which way she put it. She felt that she was dozing off, and had just begun to dream that she was walking hand in hand with Dinah, and saying to her very earnestly, `Now, Dinah, tell me the truth: did you ever eat a bat?" when suddenly, thump! thump! down she came upon a heap of sticks and dry leaves, and the fall was over.

Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up on to her feet in a moment: she looked up, but it was all dark overhead; before her was another long passage, and the White Rabbit was still in sight, hurrying down it. There was not a moment to be lost: away went Alice like the wind, and was just in time to hear it say, as it turned a corner, `Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it "s getting!" She was close behind it when she turned the corner, but the Rabbit was no longer to be seen: she found herself in a long, low hall, which was lit up by a row of lamps hanging from the roof.

There were doors all round the hall, but they were all locked; and when Alice had been all the way down one side and up the other, trying every door, she walked sadly down the middle, wondering how she was ever to get out again.

Suddenly she came upon a little three-legged table, all made of solid glass; there was nothing on it except a tiny golden key, and Alice"s first thought was that it might belong to one of the doors of the hall; but, alas! either the locks were too large, or the key was too small, but however, on the second time round, she came upon a low curtain she had not noticed before, and behind it was a little door about fifteen inches high: she tried the little golden key in the lock, and to her great delight it fitted!

Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not much larger than a rat-hole: she knelt down and looked along the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw. how she longed to get out of that dark hall, and wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but she could not even get her head though the doorway; `and even if my head would go through," thought poor Alice, `it would be of very little use without my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I could shut up like a telescope! I think I could, if I only know how to begin." For, you see, so many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.

There seemed to be no use in waiting by the little door, so she went back to the table, half hoping she might find another key on it, or at any rate a book of rules for shutting people up like telescopes: this time she found a little bottle on it, (`which certainly was not here before," said Alice,) and round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words `DRINK ME" beautifully printed on it in large letters.

It was all very well to say `Drink me," but the wise little Alice was not going to do THAT in a hurry. `No, I"ll look first," she said, `and see whether it"s marked "poison "or not"; for she had read several nice little histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all because they WOULD not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if you hold it too long; and that if you cut your finger VERY deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked `poison, "it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.

However, this bottle was NOT marked `poison," so Alice ventured to taste it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavor of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast,) she very soon finished it off.

`What a curious feeling!" said Alice; `I must be shutting up like a telescope."

And so it was indeed: she was now only ten inches high, and her face brightened up at the thought that she was now the right size for going through the little door into that lovely garden. First, however, she waited for a few minutes to if she was going to shrink see any further: she felt a little nervous about this; `for it might end, you know," said Alice to herself, `in my going out altogether, like a candle. I wonder what I should be like then?" And she tried to fancy what the flame of a candle is like after the candle is blown out, for she could not remember ever having seen such a thing.

After a while, finding that nothing more happened, she decided on going into the garden at once; but, alas for poor Alice! when she got to the door, she found she had forgotten the little golden key, and when she went back to the table for it, she found she could not possibly reach it: she could see it quite plainly through the glass, and she tried her best to climb up one of the legs of the table, but it was too slippery; and when she had tired herself out with trying, the poor little thing sat down and cried.

`Come, there"s no use in crying like that!" said Alice to herself, rather sharply; `I advise you to leave off this minute!" She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it), and sometimes she scolded herself so severely as to bring tears into her eyes; and once she remembered trying to box her own ears for having cheated herself in a game of croquet she was playing against herself, for this curious child was very fond of pretending to be two people. `But it "s no use now," thought poor Alice, `to pretend to be two people! Why, there "s hardly enough of me left to make ONE respectable person!"

Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table: she opened it, and found in it a very small cake, on which the words `EAT ME" were beautifully marked in currants.

`Well, I"ll eat it," said Alice, `and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door; so either way I "ll get into the garden, and I don"t care which happens!"

She ate a little bit, and said anxiously to herself, `Which way? Which way?", holding her hand on the top of her head to feel which way it was growing, and she was quite surprised to find that she remained the same size: to be sure, this generally happens when one eats cake, but Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go on in the common way.

So she set to work, and very soon finished off the cake.

We have several blogs on our site. In one of them, we print, living in London and leading from there an almost direct report on the customs of the British, the history of Great Britain and the peculiarities of English culture. But for some reason, few people visit this blog. We are very sorry, because it seems to us that it is impossible to separate the language from the country. And it just so happens that sometimes our notes, which will be useful for English learners, get into the posts from the London investor. So today, posting another post, we got carried away and wrote almost another note about Alice in Wonderland. And we felt sorry that few of our readers will read it. That is why we publish it here.

So, on July 4, 2012, Oxford celebrated 150th anniversary of the famous walk which entered the history of world literature. It was on this day that Professor Samuel Dodgson, teacher of mathematics from Christ Church College, along with his friend the Reverend Robinson Duckworth sailed in a boat on the Thames, taking with him the three daughters of the rector of the college Henry George Liddell: 13-year-old Lorina, 8-year-old Edita and 10-year-old Alice, who, apparently being a stubborn girl, begged the stuttering professor to entertain them with some interesting story.

The inexperienced reader, as a child usually is, is, of course, unaware that " Alice in Wonderland"is a kind of cabal, a book composed by one's own for one's own, that it is full of friendly cartoons, winks and banter, and it is very difficult to decipher them to a person remote in time and space, even an adult.
Alice prototype, real Alice Liddell, finished the author of the plot to the point that he wrote down his story on paper, and two years later gave her the manuscript "Alice's Adventures Underground", decorated with his own drawings.
This manuscript in electronic form is now available to anyone interested.
The story, written for its own, after the first edition in 1865 already under the title "Alice in Wonderland" began to gain popularity, and already 14 years after the first publication was published in Russia.

What did he actually write? Carroll- this is probably the biggest mystery that remains unsolved to this day. And much of what was funny to the participants and the writer of this story will never make a wide range of readers, even English ones, smile. Well, what is left of the book in Russian - you yourself understand. Therefore, we suggest trying to listen to an abbreviated version of Alice in Wonderland along with the service BBC - learning English and maybe you will discover a different meaning of the lines familiar from childhood.

Chapter 1 – Down the Rabbit Hole: Alice is feeling bored and drowsy while sitting on the riverbank with her older sister, who is reading a book with no pictures or conversations. She then notices a talking, clothed White Rabbit with a pocket watch run past. She follows it down a rabbit hole, but suddenly falls a long way to a curious hall with many locked doors of all sizes. She finds a small key to a door too small for her to fit through, but through it she sees an attractive garden. She then discovers a bottle on a table labeled "DRINK ME", the contents of which cause her to shrink too small to reach the key, which she has left on the table. She eats a cake with "EAT ME" written on it in currants as the chapter closes.

Chapter 2 – The Pool of Tears: Chapter Two opens with Alice growing to such a tremendous size that her head hits the ceiling. Alice is unhappy and, as she cries, her tears flood the hallway. After shrinking down again due to a fan she had picked up, Alice swims through her own tears and meets a Mouse, who is swimming as well. She tries to make small talk with him in elementary French (thinking he may be a French mouse) but her opening gambit " Où est ma chatte?"("Where is my cat?") offends the mouse and he tries to escape her.

Chapter 3 – The Caucus Race and a Long Tale: The sea of ​​tears becomes crowded with other animals and birds that have been swept away by the rising waters. Alice and the other animals convene on the bank and the question among them is how to get dry again. The Mouse gives them a very dry lecture on William the Conqueror. A Dodo decides that the best thing to dry them off would be a Caucus-Race, which consists of everyone running in a circle with no clear winner. Alice eventually frightens all the animals away, unwittingly, by talking about her (moderately ferocious) cat.

Chapter 4 – The Rabbit Sends a Little Bill: The White Rabbit appears again in search of the Duchess's gloves and fan. Mistaking her for his maidservant, Mary Ann, he orders Alice to go into the house and retrieve them, but once she gets inside she starts growing. The horrified Rabbit orders his gardener, Bill the Lizard, to climb on the roof and go down the chimney. Outside, Alice hears the voices of animals that have gathered to gawk at her giant arm. The crowd of hurls pebbles at her, which turn into little cakes. Alice eats them, and make her smaller again.

Chapter 5 – Advice from a Caterpillar: Alice comes upon a mushroom; sitting on it is a blue Caterpillar smoking a hookah. The Caterpillar questions Alice and she admits to her current identity crisis, compounded by her inability to remember a poem. Before crawling away, the caterpillar tells Alice that one side of the mushroom will make her taller and the other side will make her shorter. She breaks off two pieces from the mushroom. One side makes her shrink smaller than ever, while another causes her neck to grow high into the trees, where a pigeon mistakes her for a serpent. With some effort, Alice brings herself back to her normal height. She stumbles upon a small estate and uses the mushroom to reach a more appropriate height.

Chapter 6 - Pig and Pepper: A Fish-Footman has an invitation for the Duchess of the house, which he delivers to a Frog-Footman. Alice observes this transaction and, after a perplexing conversation with the frog, lets herself into the house. The Duchess's Cook is throwing dishes and making a soup that has too much pepper, which causes Alice, the Duchess, and her baby (but not the cook or grinning Cheshire Cat) to sneeze violently. Alice is given the baby by the Duchess and to her surprise, the baby turns into a pig. The Cheshire Cat appears in a tree, directing her to the March Hare's house. He disappears, but his grin remains behind to float on its own in the air, prompting Alice to remark that she has often seen a cat without a grin but never a grin without a cat.

Chapter 7 – A Mad Tea-Party: Alice becomes a guest at a "mad" tea party along with the March Hare, the Hatter, and a very tired Dormouse who falls asleep frequently, only to be violently woken up moments later by the March Hare and the Hatter. The characters give Alice many riddles and stories, including the famous "Why is a raven like a writing desk?". The Hatter reveals that they have tea all day because Time has punished him by eternally standing still at 6 pm (tea time). Alice becomes insulted and tired of being bombarded with riddles and she leaves, claiming that it was the stupidest tea party that she had ever been to.

Chapter 8 – The Queen's Croquet Ground: Alice leaves the tea party and enters the garden, where she comes upon three living playing cards painting the white roses on a rose tree red because The Queen of Hearts hates white roses. A procession of more cards, kings and queens and even the White Rabbit enters the garden. Alice then meets the King and Queen. The Queen, a figure difficult to please, introduces her trademark phrase "Off with his head!", which she utters at the slightest dissatisfaction with a subject. Alice is invited (or some might say ordered) to play a game of croquet with the Queen and the rest of her subjects, but the game quickly descends into chaos. Live flamingos are used as mallets and hedgehogs as balls, and Alice once again meets the Cheshire Cat. The Queen of Hearts then orders the Cat to be beheaded, only to have her executioner complain that this is impossible since the head is all that can be seen of him. Because the cat belongs to the Duchess, the Queen is prompted to release the Duchess from prison to resolve the matter.

Chapter 9 - The Mock Turtle's Story: The Duchess is brought to the croquet ground at Alice's request. She ruminates on finding morals in everything around her. The Queen of Hearts dismisses her with the threat of execution and she introduces Alice to the Gryphon, who takes her to the Mock Turtle. The Mock Turtle is very sad, even though he has no sorrow. He tries to tell his story about how he used to be a real turtle in school, which the Gryphon interrupts so that they can play a game.

Chapter 10 - Lobster Quadrille: The Mock Turtle and the Gryphon dance to the Lobster Quadrille, while Alice recites (rather incorrectly) "'Tis the Voice of the Lobster". The Mock Turtle sings them "Beautiful Soup" during which the Gryphon drags Alice away for an impending trial.

Chapter 11 - Who Stole the Tarts?: Alice attends a trial in which the Knave of Hearts is accused of stealing the Queen's tarts. The jury is composed of various animals, including Bill the Lizard; the White Rabbit is the court's trumpeter; and the judge is the King of Hearts. During the proceedings, Alice finds that she is steadily growing larger. The dormouse scolds Alice and tells her she has no right to grow at such a rapid pace and take up all the air. Alice scoffs and calls the dormouse's accusation ridiculous because everyone grows and she cannot help it. Meanwhile, witnesses at the trial include the Hatter, who displeases and frustrates the King through his indirect answers to the questioning, and the Duchess’s cook.

Chapter 12 - Alice's Evidence: Alice is then called up as a witness. She accidentally knocks over the jury box with the animals inside, and the King orders the animals to be placed back into their seats before the trial continues. The King and Queen order Alice to be gone, citing Rule 42 ("All persons more than a mile high to leave the court"), but Alice disputes their judgment and refuses to leave. She argues with the King and Queen of Hearts over the ridiculous proceedings, eventually refusing to hold her tongue. The Queen shouts her familiar "Off with her head!" but Alice is unafraid, calling them out as just a pack of cards, just as they start to swarm over her. Alice's sister wakes her up from a dream, brushing what turns out to be some leaves, and not a shower of playing cards, from Alice's face. Alice leaves her sister on the bank to imagine all the curious happenings for herself.

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There was nothing so very remarkable in that
There was nothing so not very remarkable that, and do not think

nor did Alice think it so very much out of the way
what is Alice so much of the way

to hear the Rabbit say to himself
hear the rabbit mutter to himself

Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late
Oh my god oh I'll be too late

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when she thought it over afterwards it occurred to her
When she thought about it later it occurred to her

that she ought to have wondered at this
that she should be surprised

but at the time it all seemed quite natural
but at the time it all seemed quite natural

but, when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of his waistcoat-pocket
but, when Rabbit actually took the watch out of his vest pocket

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and looked at it, and then hurried on
and looked at him and then hurried on

Alice started to her feet
Alice started her legs

for it flashed across her mind that she had never seen before
for him flashed her mind that she had never seen before

a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket
a rabbit from which there would be a vest pocket

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or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity
or watch take from it, and burning with curiosity

she ran across the field after it
she ran across the field after him

and was just in time to see it pop down
and it was just in time to see him dive

a large rabbit-hole under the hedge
down the big rabbit hole under the hedge

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In another moment down went Alice after it
Another moment Alice went down after him

never once considering how in the world she was to get out again
never once considering how in the world she had to get out of it

The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way
Rabbit hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way

and then suddenly down
and then plunge suddenly down

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so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself
so unexpected that Alice didn't have a minute to think about stopping herself

before she found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well
before she found herself falling into what seemed to be a very deep well

Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly
Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly

for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her
because she took a lot of time as she went downstairs to look about her

and to wonder what was going to happen next
and wonder what happens next

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First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to
First, she tried to look down and figure out what she was coming up to.

but it was too dark to see anything
but it was too dark to see anything

then she looked at the sides of the well
then she looked around the well and

and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves
and noticed they were filled with cupboards and bookshelves

here and there she saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs
here and there she saw maps and photographs hung on pegs

She took down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed
She took a jug from one of the shelves, she passed

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it was labeled ORANGE MARMALADE
it will be called orange marmalade

but to her great disappointment it was empty
but to her great disappointment it was empty

she did not like to drop the jar
she doesn't like to drop cans

for fear of killing somebody underneath
for fear of killing someone downstairs

so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as she fell past it
so managed to put it in one of the cabinets as she fell past

Alice in Wonderland in English

The most famous fairy tale in the world! True, its text is somewhat complicated, but having overcome the ornateness and length of its sentences, you will be so advanced in improving your listening comprehension of English and in improving its pronunciation that you will simply be amazed when you look around. And this is no longer English for beginners!

This audio story about Alice in Wonderland in English, as you already understood, is much more difficult to listen to, but also much more interesting for those who already really hooked to learn English! After all, the main thing is that it doesn’t matter what pronunciation the announcer has! You must learn to hear English at different speeds, in different pronunciations and dialects, in different voices, it doesn’t matter - male, female, childish, senile or slurred-chewing American! It's their own language! 🙂 If one day this becomes easy for you, then this is just - aerobatics!

The fairy tale, known in Russia as "Alice in Wonderland", the author began writing on July 4, 1862. And three years later, the tale was first published. The full title of the tale, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, is a literary adaptation of a handwritten book with the working title Alice's Adventures Underground. The fairy tale was written by the English mathematician, poet and writer Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, known to the general public under his assumed name Lewis Carroll.

The fairy tale tells about a seven-year-old girl Alice, who finds herself in a fictional world - Wonderland, inhabited by mysterious strange creatures. In the fairy tale, the girl is represented as an inquisitive child with a bizarre logical mindset. There are more than 11 poems in the tale, which are parodies of the moralizing poems and songs popular at that time and are hardly familiar to the modern reader. Lewis Carroll also used numerous allusions, linguistic, philosophical and mathematical jokes in the narrative. Many scenes of the fairy tale different time subjected to a comprehensive analysis by specialists from various branches of knowledge. It was this work, its structure and the course of the narrative that left a serious imprint on the further development of the fantasy genre in literature.

In 1867, the book was published in the USA, and in 1889 a new version of the work was created - "Alice for Children" (eng. The Nursery "Alice"), which was a greatly reduced version of the fairy tale adapted for the smallest readers.

Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is recognized as one of the best literary works in the absurd genre and has enjoyed steady popularity with children and adults around the world for almost two centuries.

Today there are countless different translations of the fairy tale about Alice into many languages ​​of the world, including Russian. The translators and literary critics themselves have repeatedly noted that Carroll's work, built on numerous English jokes and witticisms, puns, and linguistic subtleties, is very difficult to translate. Everyone knows how specific English humor is and its meaning is sometimes difficult to convey when translating jokes into another language. In a literal translation, it is difficult to maintain humor and lightness, but with an associative adapted one, the result is not at all the same fairy tale, and to this day, experts cannot come to a common opinion on how to translate "Alice".

In the meantime, they are arguing, read the fairy tale in the original, because this is the only way to fully understand the author's idea. And so that you do not drown in the philosophical and literary subtleties of the work, we also publish for you a translation that is closest in meaning to the original.

Enjoy reading!