雾都孤儿第一章的开场句是：

"On a date long forgotten, in a poor town in England, a boy was born in a workhouse."

（译文：在久被遗忘的某一天，在英格兰的一个贫民窟，一个男孩在一所济贫院出生。）

其他相关短语

"He had been born, but not yet lived"

奥利弗出生后未得到应有的关爱，暗示其命运的悲剧性开端。

"The workhouse was a cold, damp, and dirty place"

描写济贫院恶劣的环境，为后续情节埋下伏笔。

"The kind old man took him in"

介绍奥利弗被慈善老人收养的转折点。

这些短语共同构建了小说开篇的基调，展现了奥利弗在贫困与冷漠社会中的孤独与坚韧。