英美文学选读考题精编.doc

串讲（1）I. Multiple Choice: (40 points, 1 point for each)
e.g. Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies are the following works except ____.
A. Hamlet B. King Lear C. Romeo and Juliet D. Othello Ans: C. (P33)
II. Reading Comprehension (16 points, 4 points for each)
e.g. “Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere;/Destroy and Preserver’ hear, O hear!”
Que: A. Identify the poem and the poet. B. What is the "Wild Spirit"? C. What does the "Wild Spirit" destroy and preserve?
Ans: A: Shelly’s "Ode to the West wind" 雪莱的《西风颂》 B. The West wind: "breath of Autumn’s being”.
C. It destroys things /thoughts / idea that are dead, it preserves new life. (or seeds that represent new life or new birth.) (P211)
III. Questions and Answers (24 points in all, 6 points for each)
e.g. "My boy!" said the old gentleman, learning over the desk. Oliver started at the sound. He might be excused for doing so, for the words were
kindly said, and strange sounds frighten one. He trembled violently, and burst into tears." (Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist)
Que: Explain why the boy (Oliver Twist) started first, then trembled violently and burst into tears when the words were “kindly” said.
Ans: The boy started at the words because kind words were not expected; it was the first time in all his life that the boy (Oliver Twist) had been “kindly” greeted; strange sounds may predict another suffering/misfortune/torture…) (At least one example from the text..)
IV. Topic discussion (20 points in all, 10 points for each)
Write no less than 150 words on each of the following topics in English in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.
e.g. Mark Twin presented the 19th century American in his own unique way. Que: Discuss Twain’s art of fiction: the setting, the language,
and the characters, etc., based on his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Ans: A. Mark Twain uses the Mississippi alley as his fictional kingdom, writing about the landscape and people, the customs and the dialects of one particular region, and therefore known as a local colorist. B. He creates life-like characters, especially the unconventional Huckleberry Finn, who runs away from civilization and stands opposite to conventional village morality. C. He uses a simple, direct vernacular language, totally different from any precious literary language. It is the kind of colloquial language belonging to the lower class, the living local American English. D. He has created a special humor to satirize social injustice and the decayed convention.
串讲（2）Part One: English Literature Chapter I An Introduction to Old and Medieval English Literature & The Renaissance Period
I. Choose: 1. Dr. Faustus is a play based on the _____legend of a magician aspiring for ____ and finally meeting his tragic end as a result
of selling his soul to the Devil. A. British/ immorality B. French/money C. German/knowledge D. American/political power Ans: C (P21)
2. _____, is a typical example of Old English poetry, is regarded today as the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons.
A. Wife’s Complaint B. Beowulf C. The Dream of the Rood D. The Seafarer Ans: B (P1)
3.It’s Chaucer alone who, for the first time in English literature, presented to us a comprehensive realistic picture of the English Society in his
masterpiece____. A. The Canterbury Tales B. The Legend of Good Women C. Troilus and Criseyde D. The Romaunt of the Rose. Ans: A (P4)
4. The Essence of Renaissance, the most significant intellectual movement, was_____.
A. Geographical exploration B. Religious reformation C. Publishing and translation D. Humanism. Ans: D (P8)
5. “Prince Arthur’s greatest mission is his search for Gloriana, with whom he has fallen in love through a love vision.” The two figures come from_____. A. Paradise Lost B. Dr. Faustus C. The Faerie Queene D. Hamlet Ans: C (P13)
6. In “Sonnet 18”, Shakespeare______. A. Meditate on the destructive power of time and eternal beauty by poetry.
B. Satirize human’s vanity. C. Predict the eternity of love. D. Eulogize the power of the beauty. Ans: A (P37)
7. ____ gave new vigor to the blank verse with his “mighty lines” and make ‘blank verse’ the principle vehicle of expression in drama.
A. Surrey B. Wyatt C. Marlowe D. Sidney Ans: C (P21)
8. Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies are the following works except___. A. Hamlet B. King Lear C. Romeo and Juliet D. Othello Ans: C (P33)
9. The Renaissance refers to between 14th----mid-17th century, which was under the reign of Queen___ and absolute monarchy in England reached its summit, and in which the ‘real mainstream (真正的文学主流)’ was ____.
A. Victoria/poetry B. Elizabeth/ drama C. Mary/ novel D. James/ drama Ans: B (P11)
10. In The Legend of Good Women, Chaucer used for the first time in English the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter, which is to be called
later____. A. The Spenserian stanza B. The heroic couplet C. The blank verse D. The free verse Ans: B (P5)
11. The Redcrosse Knight in “The Faerie Queene” stands for_____, and Una stands for_____.
A. bravery/ chastity B. holiness/ truth C. error/ delivery D. true gentleman/ lady. Ans: B (P16)
12. Which of the following is NOT regarded as one of the characteristics of Renaissance?
A. Rediscovery of ancient Roman and Greek culture. B. Attempt to remove the old feudalist ideas in Medieval Europe.
C. Exaltation of man’s pursuit of happiness in his life, and tolerance of man’s foibles.
D. Praise of man’s efforts in soul delivery and personal salvation. Ans: D (P7)
13. “The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” is an example of ___. A. Metaphor B. Simile C. Irony D. Personification Ans: A (P55)
14. _____ introduced the Petrarchan sonnet into England.
A. Anglos/ Saxons B. Normans/ Anglo-Saxons C. Greeks/ Romans D. Romans/ Normans Ans: B (P11)
15. It is ___ alone who, for the first time in English literature presented to us a comprehensive realistic picture of the English society of his
time and created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life.
A. Edmund Spenser B. Geoffrey Chaucer C. William Shakespeare D. John Donne Ans: B (P4)
16. The following belong to the characteristics of ‘metaphysical poetry’ represented by ‘John Donne’ except___.
A. Conceits B. Actual imagery and simple diction C. Argumentative form D. Elegant style Ans D (P63)
17. Paradise Lost is actually a story taken from____.
A. Greek Mythology B. Roman legend C. The Old Testament D. The New Testament Ans: C (P73)
18. In “Paradise Lost”, Satan says “We may with more successful hope resolve/ To wage by force or guile eternal war, / Irreconcilable to our
grand Foe” What does the “Eternal war” mean? A. To remove God from his throne B. To burn the Heaven Down
C. To corrupt God’s creation of man and woman---Adam and Eve D. To beguile into a snake to threaten man’s life Ans: C (P71, P75)
19. _____, the first of the great tragedies, is generally regarded as Shakespeare’s most popular play on the stage, for it has the qualities of
a “blood-and-thunder” thriller and a ‘philosophical exploration’ of life and death.
A. The Merchant of Venice B. Hamlet C. King Lear D. The Winter’s Tale Ans: B (P33)
20. It was ___and ___ the two conquests that provided the source for the rise and growth of English literature.
A. Anglos/ Saxons B. Normans/ Anglo-Saxons C. Romans/ Normans D. Greeks/ Romans Ans: B (P1)
21. Paradise Lost is ___’s masterpiece, which is an epic in 12 books, written in blank verse, about the heroic revolt of Satan against God’s authority. A. John Donne B. Christopher Marlowe C. John Milton D. Edmund Spenser Ans: C (P71)
22. The following description fit into Milton ‘except’_____.
A. a great revolutionary poet of the 17th century B. an outstanding political pamphleteer
C. a great stylist and master of blank verse D. a kind of elegant and refine style. Ans: D (P70---73)
23. _____is not written by John Milton. A. Samson Agonistes B. Paradise Lost C. Paradise regained D. Tamburlaine Ans: D (P71)
24. Marlow’s greatest achievement is that he perfected the ‘blank verse’, and he is regarded as ‘the pioneer of English drama’, which of the following is not written by him? A. Tamburlaine B. The Jew of Malta C. The Passionate to His Love D. The Sun Rising Ans: D (P20)
25. ____Essays is the first example of that genre in English literature, which has been recognized as an important landmark in the development
of English prose. A. John Milton’s B. Francis Bacon’s C. Montaigne’s D. Thomas Gray’s Ans: B (P58)
26. _____Was known as “the poets’ poet”. A. William Shakespeare B. Edmund Spenser C. John Donne D. John Milton Ans: B (P15)
27. “And we will make thee beds of roses / And a thousand fragrant posies/ A cap of flowers, and a kirtle/ Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle.” The above lines are probably taken from______. A. Spenser’s The Faerie Queene
B. John Donne’s The Sun Rising C. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 D. Marlow’s The Passionate Shepherd to His Love. Ans: D (P28)
28. Which of the following statement best illustrates the theme of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18?
A. The speaker eulogizes the power of Nature. B. The speaker satirizes human vanity.
C. The speaker praises the power of artistic creation. D. The speaker meditates on man’s salvation. Ans: C (P37)
II. Read the quoted part and answer the questions:
1. “For herein Fortune shows herself more kind Than is her custom. It is still her use To let the wretched man outlive his wealth,
To view with hollow eye and wrinkled brow An age of poverty; from which ling’ ring penance Of such misery doth she cut me off”
Que: 1.Identify the title of the works and author. 2.Explain “from which…cut me off”. 3.What happened to him, which caused the words?
Ans: 1)The lines are from “The Merchant of Venice”, William Shakespeare. (P48) 2) This sentence means she, ‘Lady Fortune(命运女神)’, is more kind to him because she is taking away both his wealth and life. 3) The speaker is Antonio, it’s said that his ship have all been lost, and he is penniless, and will have to pay the pound of flesh. (Because Shylock has made a strange bond that requires Antonio to pay him a pound of flesh if he can’t repay him the money that he borrowed for his friend in due time.) (P38)
2. “Read not to contract and confuse, not to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider”
Que: 1)Identify the work and author. 2)What idea does the passage express?
Ans: 1) The sentence comes from “Of Studies” written by ‘Francis Bacon’. (P61) 2) The Sentence talks about the proper way to read: When you read, don’t be puzzled by the content of the book; don’t take it for granted; don’t quote too much from the book; before accepting its idea, you’d better think about its shortcomings and consider it from all sides.
3. “Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st; Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Que: 1) Where does the poem comes from? Who wrote it? 2)What does “eternal lines” mean? 3)Interpret it briefly.
Ans: 1) The poem is “Shall I Compare thee to a Summer’s Day”, by Shakespeare. (P38) 2) Eternal lines means the lines of the poem and other sonnets. (P38) 3) It means: you will not lose your beauty, and death will not threaten you with darkness, either. As long as man can live in the world, they will see your beauty in my lines of my poem, which has given you eternal life. (Or A nice summer’s day is usually transient, but the beauty in poetry can last for ever. (P37)
4. “…All is no lost: the unconquerable will, And study of revenge, immortal hate, And courage never to submit or yield:
And what is else not to be overcome?...... Irreconcilable to our grand Foe”
Que: 1) Please identify the poem and the poet. 2) Interpret “all is not lost”. 3) What does the whole passage mean?
Ans: 1) It is taken from John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”.(P74) 2) “all is not lost” is the word from Satan----Satan and other angels rebel against
God, but they are driven from Heaven into hell. In the fire of the hell, Satan is determined to fight back, just like what he says: not all is lost, the
unconquerable will, the deep hatred, and the courage to fight till death still remain. (P71) 3) This passage shows Satan’s will not to submit (服
从), and the desire to long for freedom; to beg God for mercy and worship his power is more shameful and disgraceful than the downfall.(P71)
5. “If he be not apt to beat over matters, let him study the lawyer’s cases. So every defect of the mind may have a special receipt.”
Que: 1)What does “beat over matters” mean? 2)What does “receipt” refer to? 3)From which essay does the above sentences come, what
is the essay mainly about? Ans: 1)It means: make through examinations of things. (P63) 2) “Receipt” refers to cure, prescription. (P63)
3)The sentences are from “Of Studies” (Francis Bacon). It is the most popular of bacon’s essays. It analyzes what studies chiefly serve for, the different ways adopted by different people to pursue studies, and how studies exert influence over human character. (P60—61)
6. “What, is great Mephistophilis to passionate For being deprived of the joys of heaven? Learn thou of Faustus manly fortitude
And scorn those joys thou never shalt possess. …… Say he will spare him Four and twenty years Letting him live in all voluptuousness
Having thee ever to attend on me… Que: 1)Identify the passage and author; 2) “Say he surrenders up to him his soul”, who will
surrender his soul? What for? 3)Who are thee? What will he do? Ans: 1) The passage comes from “Dr. Faustus” written by
Christopher Marlowe. (P25—26) 2) Dr. Faustus will surrender his soul to devil. Because he was a great scholar who has a strong desire to
‘get knowledge’ in vain, finally he ‘made a bond’ to sell his soul to Devil in return for 24 years of life in which he may get anything he desires.
(P22) 3) The “thee”, refers to “Mephistophilis”, the Devil’s servant. He helped Dr. Faustus to do anything he wants. (P22)
7. “Busy old fool, unruly sun, Why does thou thus, Through windows and through curtains call on us?”
Que: 1)Identify the work and author. 2)What idea does the passage express?
Ans: 1)The passage comes from “The Sun Rising”, written by ‘John Donne’. (P66) 2) The speaker questions the sun’s authority and speaks condescendingly, placing the sun in the status of a subordinate. In the lover’s kingdom, the sun has no right to dictate the time of day or the passing of seasons. His presence in their bedchamber is an intrusion on their privacy.
III. Questions