03年4月英美文学选读试题
分类: 自考英语
PART ONE
Ⅰ。Multiple Choice (40 points in all, 1 for each )
Select from the four choices of each item the one that best answers the question or completes the statement. Write the answers on the answer sheet.
1.“For a week after the commission of the impious and profane offence of asking for more, Oliver remained a close prisoner in the dark and solitary room ……”(Dickens , Oliver Twist ) What did Oliver ask for?
[A]More time to play. More food to eat.
[C]More book to read. [D]More money to spend.
2. Mrs. Warren‘s Profession is one of George Bernard Shaw’s plays. What is Mrs. Warren‘s profession then ?
[A]Real estate. Prostitution.
[C]House-keeping. [D]Farming.
3. Dr. Faustus is a play based on the German legend of a magician aspiring for
and finally meeting his tragic end as a result of selling his soul to the Devil.
[A]immortality political
[C]money [D]knowledge
4. The statement“A demanding mother turns away from her husband and gives all her affection to her sons ” sums up the main plot of D. H. Lawrence′s .
[A]Lady Chatterley‘s Lover Women in love
[C]Sons and Lovers [D]The Plumed Serpent
5.“Come to me-come to me entirely now ,” said he; and added, in his deepest tone, speaking in my ear as his cheek was laid on mine ,“Make my happiness -I will make yours.”
The above passage presents a scene in .
[A]Emily Bronte ‘s Withering Heights
Charlotte Bronte‘s Jane Eyre
[C]John Galsworthy′s The Forsyte Saga
[D]Thomas Hardy ′s Tess of the D ′Urbervilles
6.Which of the following is NOT written by William Butler Yeats ?
[A] “Sailing to Byzantium. ”“The Lake Isle of Innisfree. ”
[C] “Leda and the Swan.” [D]“The Waste Land. ”
7.“Drive my dead thought over the universe
Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth.“
(Percy Bysshe Shelley,“Ode to the West Wind”)
What rhetorical device does the poet use in the quoted lines?
[A]Synecdoche. Metaphor.
[C]Simile. [D]Onomatopoeia.
8.Crusoe is the hero in The life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Grusoe,of York , Mariner(also known as Robinson Crusoe )by .
[A]Jonathan Swift Daniel Defoe
[C]George Eliot [D]D.H.Lawrence
9.“Beauty is truth , truth beauty ” is an epigrammatic line by .
[A]John Keats William Blake
[C]William Wordsworth [D]Percy Bysshe Shelley
10.Christoper Marlow‘s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love ” is a (n ) .
[A]pastoral lyric elegy [C]eulogy [D]epic
11.Which of the following is NOT regarded as one of the characteristics of Renaissance humanism?
[A]Cultivation of the art of this world and this life.
Tolerance of human foibles.
[C]Search for the genuine flavor of ancient culture.
[D]Glorification of religious faith.
12. “In dream vision Arthur witnessed the loveliness of Gloriana , and upon awaking resolves to seek her. ” The two literary figures Arthur and Gloriana are form .
[A]Edmund Spenser ‘s The Faerie Queene
William Shakespeare ‘s Romeo and Juliet
[C]Christopher Marlowe‘s “The Passionate Shepherd to His love ”
[D]John Donne ‘s “A Valediction : Forbidding Mourning”
13.Which of the following best describes the nature of Thomas Hardy ‘s later works?
[A]Sentimentalism. Tragic sense.
[C]Surrealism. [D]Comic sense.
14. “……This grew : I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped altogether……“
(Robert Browning ,“My Last Duchess ”)
The above lines imply that .
[A]the Duchess was killed by her husband
the Duchess stopped smiling at her husband‘s order
[C]the Duchess died of laughing too much
[D]the Duchess did not want to smile as much as her husband requested
15.In which of the following works can you find the proper names“Lilliput,”“Brobdingnag,”“Houyhnhnm ,” and“Yahoo ”?
[A]James Joyce‘s Ulsses.
Charles Dickens ‘s Bleak House.
[C]Jonathan Swift ‘s Gulliver’s Travels.
[D]D. H. Lawrence ‘s Women in love.
16.As a literary figure , Belinda appears in Alexander Pope‘s .
[A] “The Dunciad ”“An Essay on Man ”
[C] “An Essay on Criticism ” [D]“The Rape of the lock”
17. “The novel is structured around the discovery of the hero‘s origin. ” This novel is most probably .
[A]Charles Dickens‘s David Copperfield
James Joyce ‘s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
[C]Thomas Hardy ‘s Far from the Madding Growd
[D]Henry Fielding ‘s Tom Jones
18. “To wage by force or guile eternal war ,
Irreconcilable to our grand Foe.“(John Milton , Paradise lost)
By what means were Satan and his followers to wage this war against God ?
[A]By planting a tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden.
By turning into poisonous snakes to threaten man‘s life.
[C]By removing God from His throne.
[D]By corrupting man and woman created by God.
19. “When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table.“
(T. s. Eliot ,“The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock ”)
What does the image in the quoted lines suggest ?
[A]Violence. Horror. [C]Inactivity. [D]Indifference.
20.Which of the following is NOT typical of metaphysical poetry best represented by John Donne‘s works ?
[A]Common speech. Conceit.
[C]Argument. [D]Refined language.
21.William Wordsworth , a romantic poet, advocated all of the following except .
[A]normal contemporary speech patterns
humble and rustic life as subject matter
[C]elegant wording and inflated figures of speech
[D]intensely subjective feeling toward individual experience
22.In Samuel Taylor Coleridge ′s “Kubla Khan,”“A sunny pleasure dome with caves of ice” .
[A]refers to the palace where Kubla Khan once lived
vividly describes a building of poor quality
[C]is the gift given to a beautiful girl called Abyssinian
[D]symbolizes the reconciliation of the conscious and the unconscious
23.The hightide of Romanticism in American literature occurred around .
[A]1820 1850 [C]1880 [D]1920
24.The subject matter of Robert Frost ‘s Poems focuses on .
[A] ordinary country people and scenes
battle scenes of ancient Greek and Roman legends
[C]struggling masses and crowded urban quarters
[D]fantasies and mythical happenings
25.Which group of writers are among those who may be called early pioneers of American literature?
[A]Mark Twain and Henry James.
Fenimore Cooper and Washington lrving.
[C]Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner
[D]Jack London and O‘Henry.
26.To Theodore Dreiser, life is“so sad, so strange , so mysterious and so inexplicable.”No wonder the characters in his books are often subject to the control of the natural forces,especially those of and heredity.
[A]fate morality
[C]social conventions [D]environment
27.Hawthorne generally concerns himself with such issues as in his fiction.
[A]the evil in man‘s heart the material pursuit
[C]the racial conflict [D]the social inequality
28. provides the main source of influence on American naturalism.
[A]The puritan heritage
Howells ‘ ideas of realism
[C]Darwin ‘s theory of evolution
[D]The pioneer spirit of the wild west
29.In Mark Twain‘s The Adventures of huckleberry Finn, Huck writes a letter to inform against Jim , the escaped slave, and then he tears the letter up. This fact reveals that.
[A]Huck has a mixed feeling of love and hate
there is a conflict between society and conscience in Huck
[C]Huck is always an indecisive person
[D]Huck has very little education
30.Which terms can best describe the modernists ‘ concern of the human situation in their fiction?
[A]Fragmentation and alienation.
Courage and honor.
[C]Tradition and faith.
[D]Poverty and desperation.
31.Whitman‘s poems are characterized by all the following features except .
[A]a strict poetic form
a simple and conversational language
[C]a free and natural rhythmic pattern
[D]an easy flow of feelings
32.All his novels reveal that , as time went on, Mark Twain became increasingly.
[A]prolific artistic.
[C]optimistic [D]pessimistic
33.The poem “I like to see it lap the Miles-” is an interesting poem written by Emily Dickinson. What does“it” in the poem stand for?
[A]The hound. The star.
[C]The horse. [D]The train.
34.Which of the following is NOT a typical feature of Henry James ‘s writing style?
[A] exquisite and elaborate language
minute and detailed descriptions
[C]lengthy psychological analyses
[D]American colloquialism
35.In the beginning paragraph of Chapter 3, The Great Gatsby , Fitzgerald describes a big party by saying that“men and girls came and went like moths. ” The author most likely indicates that .
[A]there was a crowd of party-goers
such life does not have real meaning
[C]these people were light-hearted
[D]these were crazy and ignorant characters
36.In Hemingway ‘s “Indian Camp ,” Nick , the main character , witnesses
[A]a tragic killing of the Indians by the white men
real friendship between the white men and the Indians
[C]a senseless killing of each other
[D]terrible scenes of birth and death
37.Which one of the following statements is NOT true of William Faulkner?
[A]He is master of stream-of-consciousness narrative.
His writing is often complex and difficult to understand.
[C]He often depicts slum life in New York and Chicago.
[D]He represents a new group of Southern writers.
38.American “Transcendentalists most typically believe that .
[A]man is divine in name art is superior to life
[C]man can transform nature [D]poetry is the highest form of art
39.By the end of Sister Carrie, Dreiser writes ,“It was forever to the pursuit of that radiance of delight which tints the distant hilltops of the world.” Dreiser implies that .
[A]there is a bright future lying ahead
there is no end to man‘s desire
[C]one should always be forward-looking
[D]happiness is found in the end
40.We can perhaps describe Emily Grierson in Faulkner ‘s short story “A Rose for Emily ” in all the following ways except that .
[A]she is psychologically deformed
she is wicked and morally corrupted
[C]she is a symbol of the Old South
[D]she is a prisoner and victim of the past
PART TWOⅡ。Reading Comprehension (16 points in all, 4 for each )
Read the quoted parts carefully and answer the questions in English. Write your answers in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.
41. “The boast of heraldry , the pomp of power,
And all that beauty , all that wealth e‘er gave.
Awaits the inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave. “
Questions :
A. Identify the author and the title of the poem from which this passage is taken.
B. What does the phrase “inevitable hour ” mean ?
C. Write out the main idea of the passage in plain English.
42. “A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye!
-Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.“
Questions :
A. Identify the author and the title of the poem from which this stanza is taken.
B. Pick out the metaphor used in this stanza.
C. What quality does the author intend to show by using the metaphor?
43. “We passed The School, where Children strove
At Recess -in the Ring -
We passed The Fields of Gazing Grain
We passed The Setting Sun -“
Questions :
A. Who is the author of this stanza taken from the poem “Because I could not stop for Death -?
B. What do the underlined parts symbolize ?
C. Where were “we” heading toward ?
44. “It was you that broke the new wood.
Now is a time for carving.
We have one sap and one root-
Let there be commerce between us. “
Questions :
A. Whom does the“us” refer to ?
B. What does the phrase “broke the new wood” mean here?
C. What is the intention of the poet in writing the poem“A Pact” from which these lines are taken ?
Ⅲ。Questions and Answers (24 points in all, 6 for each )
Give brief answers to each of the following questions in English. Write your answers in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.
45.In Chapter 15 of Wuthering Heights , Heath cliff said to Catherine:“Why did you betray your own , Cathy?…… You loved me -then what right have you to leave me?…… I have not broken your heart -you have broken it-and in breaking it, you have broken mine. ”
Taking the whole novel into consideration , do you think Heathcliff‘s above accusation of Catherine’s betrayal can be justified ? If you think so, what reasons does Catherine have to betray Heathcliff and their love?
46.John Bunyan‘s The Pilgrim ’s Progress is generally regarded as a religious allegory. What does the work symbolically concern ? What is the predominant metaphor that is carried on through the whole work ? And what is the author ‘s purpose in writing such a book?
47. The following passage is taken from The Merchant of Venice. Read it carefully and find the dramatic it contains. Use it as an example to illustrate what dramatic irony is.
“Bassani Antonio , I am married to a wife
Which is as dear to me as life itself ;
But life itself , my wife, and all world,
Are not with me esteem‘d above thy life;
I would lose all, ay , sacrifice them all
Here to this devil, to deliver you.
Portia: Your wife would give you little thanks for that,
If she were by to hear you make the offer.“
48. What is the most famous theme in Henry James′s fiction ? And what is his favourite approach in characterization, which makes him different from Mark and W. D. Howells as realists? Give two titles of his works in which this theme and this approach are employed.
Ⅳ。Topic Discussion(20 points in all, 10 for each)
Write no less than 150 words on each of the following topics in English in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.
49.In Pride and Prejudice , Jane Austen explored three kinds of motivations of marriage the middle-class people had in the second half of the 18th century. Try to make a brief discussion about them with specific examples from the novel. Make comments on Austen ‘s attitude towards these motivations.
50.Retell in a few sentences the story of the last chapter(Ch, 135)“The Chase-Third Day ” of Melville‘s novel Moby-Dick. Discuss the meaning of the ending of the story.
Ⅰ。Multiple Choice (40 points in all, 1 for each )
Select from the four choices of each item the one that best answers the question or completes the statement. Write the answers on the answer sheet.
1.“For a week after the commission of the impious and profane offence of asking for more, Oliver remained a close prisoner in the dark and solitary room ……”(Dickens , Oliver Twist ) What did Oliver ask for?
[A]More time to play. More food to eat.
[C]More book to read. [D]More money to spend.
2. Mrs. Warren‘s Profession is one of George Bernard Shaw’s plays. What is Mrs. Warren‘s profession then ?
[A]Real estate. Prostitution.
[C]House-keeping. [D]Farming.
3. Dr. Faustus is a play based on the German legend of a magician aspiring for
and finally meeting his tragic end as a result of selling his soul to the Devil.
[A]immortality political
[C]money [D]knowledge
4. The statement“A demanding mother turns away from her husband and gives all her affection to her sons ” sums up the main plot of D. H. Lawrence′s .
[A]Lady Chatterley‘s Lover Women in love
[C]Sons and Lovers [D]The Plumed Serpent
5.“Come to me-come to me entirely now ,” said he; and added, in his deepest tone, speaking in my ear as his cheek was laid on mine ,“Make my happiness -I will make yours.”
The above passage presents a scene in .
[A]Emily Bronte ‘s Withering Heights
Charlotte Bronte‘s Jane Eyre
[C]John Galsworthy′s The Forsyte Saga
[D]Thomas Hardy ′s Tess of the D ′Urbervilles
6.Which of the following is NOT written by William Butler Yeats ?
[A] “Sailing to Byzantium. ”“The Lake Isle of Innisfree. ”
[C] “Leda and the Swan.” [D]“The Waste Land. ”
7.“Drive my dead thought over the universe
Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth.“
(Percy Bysshe Shelley,“Ode to the West Wind”)
What rhetorical device does the poet use in the quoted lines?
[A]Synecdoche. Metaphor.
[C]Simile. [D]Onomatopoeia.
8.Crusoe is the hero in The life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Grusoe,of York , Mariner(also known as Robinson Crusoe )by .
[A]Jonathan Swift Daniel Defoe
[C]George Eliot [D]D.H.Lawrence
9.“Beauty is truth , truth beauty ” is an epigrammatic line by .
[A]John Keats William Blake
[C]William Wordsworth [D]Percy Bysshe Shelley
10.Christoper Marlow‘s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love ” is a (n ) .
[A]pastoral lyric elegy [C]eulogy [D]epic
11.Which of the following is NOT regarded as one of the characteristics of Renaissance humanism?
[A]Cultivation of the art of this world and this life.
Tolerance of human foibles.
[C]Search for the genuine flavor of ancient culture.
[D]Glorification of religious faith.
12. “In dream vision Arthur witnessed the loveliness of Gloriana , and upon awaking resolves to seek her. ” The two literary figures Arthur and Gloriana are form .
[A]Edmund Spenser ‘s The Faerie Queene
William Shakespeare ‘s Romeo and Juliet
[C]Christopher Marlowe‘s “The Passionate Shepherd to His love ”
[D]John Donne ‘s “A Valediction : Forbidding Mourning”
13.Which of the following best describes the nature of Thomas Hardy ‘s later works?
[A]Sentimentalism. Tragic sense.
[C]Surrealism. [D]Comic sense.
14. “……This grew : I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped altogether……“
(Robert Browning ,“My Last Duchess ”)
The above lines imply that .
[A]the Duchess was killed by her husband
the Duchess stopped smiling at her husband‘s order
[C]the Duchess died of laughing too much
[D]the Duchess did not want to smile as much as her husband requested
15.In which of the following works can you find the proper names“Lilliput,”“Brobdingnag,”“Houyhnhnm ,” and“Yahoo ”?
[A]James Joyce‘s Ulsses.
Charles Dickens ‘s Bleak House.
[C]Jonathan Swift ‘s Gulliver’s Travels.
[D]D. H. Lawrence ‘s Women in love.
16.As a literary figure , Belinda appears in Alexander Pope‘s .
[A] “The Dunciad ”“An Essay on Man ”
[C] “An Essay on Criticism ” [D]“The Rape of the lock”
17. “The novel is structured around the discovery of the hero‘s origin. ” This novel is most probably .
[A]Charles Dickens‘s David Copperfield
James Joyce ‘s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
[C]Thomas Hardy ‘s Far from the Madding Growd
[D]Henry Fielding ‘s Tom Jones
18. “To wage by force or guile eternal war ,
Irreconcilable to our grand Foe.“(John Milton , Paradise lost)
By what means were Satan and his followers to wage this war against God ?
[A]By planting a tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden.
By turning into poisonous snakes to threaten man‘s life.
[C]By removing God from His throne.
[D]By corrupting man and woman created by God.
19. “When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table.“
(T. s. Eliot ,“The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock ”)
What does the image in the quoted lines suggest ?
[A]Violence. Horror. [C]Inactivity. [D]Indifference.
20.Which of the following is NOT typical of metaphysical poetry best represented by John Donne‘s works ?
[A]Common speech. Conceit.
[C]Argument. [D]Refined language.
21.William Wordsworth , a romantic poet, advocated all of the following except .
[A]normal contemporary speech patterns
humble and rustic life as subject matter
[C]elegant wording and inflated figures of speech
[D]intensely subjective feeling toward individual experience
22.In Samuel Taylor Coleridge ′s “Kubla Khan,”“A sunny pleasure dome with caves of ice” .
[A]refers to the palace where Kubla Khan once lived
vividly describes a building of poor quality
[C]is the gift given to a beautiful girl called Abyssinian
[D]symbolizes the reconciliation of the conscious and the unconscious
23.The hightide of Romanticism in American literature occurred around .
[A]1820 1850 [C]1880 [D]1920
24.The subject matter of Robert Frost ‘s Poems focuses on .
[A] ordinary country people and scenes
battle scenes of ancient Greek and Roman legends
[C]struggling masses and crowded urban quarters
[D]fantasies and mythical happenings
25.Which group of writers are among those who may be called early pioneers of American literature?
[A]Mark Twain and Henry James.
Fenimore Cooper and Washington lrving.
[C]Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner
[D]Jack London and O‘Henry.
26.To Theodore Dreiser, life is“so sad, so strange , so mysterious and so inexplicable.”No wonder the characters in his books are often subject to the control of the natural forces,especially those of and heredity.
[A]fate morality
[C]social conventions [D]environment
27.Hawthorne generally concerns himself with such issues as in his fiction.
[A]the evil in man‘s heart the material pursuit
[C]the racial conflict [D]the social inequality
28. provides the main source of influence on American naturalism.
[A]The puritan heritage
Howells ‘ ideas of realism
[C]Darwin ‘s theory of evolution
[D]The pioneer spirit of the wild west
29.In Mark Twain‘s The Adventures of huckleberry Finn, Huck writes a letter to inform against Jim , the escaped slave, and then he tears the letter up. This fact reveals that.
[A]Huck has a mixed feeling of love and hate
there is a conflict between society and conscience in Huck
[C]Huck is always an indecisive person
[D]Huck has very little education
30.Which terms can best describe the modernists ‘ concern of the human situation in their fiction?
[A]Fragmentation and alienation.
Courage and honor.
[C]Tradition and faith.
[D]Poverty and desperation.
31.Whitman‘s poems are characterized by all the following features except .
[A]a strict poetic form
a simple and conversational language
[C]a free and natural rhythmic pattern
[D]an easy flow of feelings
32.All his novels reveal that , as time went on, Mark Twain became increasingly.
[A]prolific artistic.
[C]optimistic [D]pessimistic
33.The poem “I like to see it lap the Miles-” is an interesting poem written by Emily Dickinson. What does“it” in the poem stand for?
[A]The hound. The star.
[C]The horse. [D]The train.
34.Which of the following is NOT a typical feature of Henry James ‘s writing style?
[A] exquisite and elaborate language
minute and detailed descriptions
[C]lengthy psychological analyses
[D]American colloquialism
35.In the beginning paragraph of Chapter 3, The Great Gatsby , Fitzgerald describes a big party by saying that“men and girls came and went like moths. ” The author most likely indicates that .
[A]there was a crowd of party-goers
such life does not have real meaning
[C]these people were light-hearted
[D]these were crazy and ignorant characters
36.In Hemingway ‘s “Indian Camp ,” Nick , the main character , witnesses
[A]a tragic killing of the Indians by the white men
real friendship between the white men and the Indians
[C]a senseless killing of each other
[D]terrible scenes of birth and death
37.Which one of the following statements is NOT true of William Faulkner?
[A]He is master of stream-of-consciousness narrative.
His writing is often complex and difficult to understand.
[C]He often depicts slum life in New York and Chicago.
[D]He represents a new group of Southern writers.
38.American “Transcendentalists most typically believe that .
[A]man is divine in name art is superior to life
[C]man can transform nature [D]poetry is the highest form of art
39.By the end of Sister Carrie, Dreiser writes ,“It was forever to the pursuit of that radiance of delight which tints the distant hilltops of the world.” Dreiser implies that .
[A]there is a bright future lying ahead
there is no end to man‘s desire
[C]one should always be forward-looking
[D]happiness is found in the end
40.We can perhaps describe Emily Grierson in Faulkner ‘s short story “A Rose for Emily ” in all the following ways except that .
[A]she is psychologically deformed
she is wicked and morally corrupted
[C]she is a symbol of the Old South
[D]she is a prisoner and victim of the past
PART TWOⅡ。Reading Comprehension (16 points in all, 4 for each )
Read the quoted parts carefully and answer the questions in English. Write your answers in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.
41. “The boast of heraldry , the pomp of power,
And all that beauty , all that wealth e‘er gave.
Awaits the inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave. “
Questions :
A. Identify the author and the title of the poem from which this passage is taken.
B. What does the phrase “inevitable hour ” mean ?
C. Write out the main idea of the passage in plain English.
42. “A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye!
-Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.“
Questions :
A. Identify the author and the title of the poem from which this stanza is taken.
B. Pick out the metaphor used in this stanza.
C. What quality does the author intend to show by using the metaphor?
43. “We passed The School, where Children strove
At Recess -in the Ring -
We passed The Fields of Gazing Grain
We passed The Setting Sun -“
Questions :
A. Who is the author of this stanza taken from the poem “Because I could not stop for Death -?
B. What do the underlined parts symbolize ?
C. Where were “we” heading toward ?
44. “It was you that broke the new wood.
Now is a time for carving.
We have one sap and one root-
Let there be commerce between us. “
Questions :
A. Whom does the“us” refer to ?
B. What does the phrase “broke the new wood” mean here?
C. What is the intention of the poet in writing the poem“A Pact” from which these lines are taken ?
Ⅲ。Questions and Answers (24 points in all, 6 for each )
Give brief answers to each of the following questions in English. Write your answers in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.
45.In Chapter 15 of Wuthering Heights , Heath cliff said to Catherine:“Why did you betray your own , Cathy?…… You loved me -then what right have you to leave me?…… I have not broken your heart -you have broken it-and in breaking it, you have broken mine. ”
Taking the whole novel into consideration , do you think Heathcliff‘s above accusation of Catherine’s betrayal can be justified ? If you think so, what reasons does Catherine have to betray Heathcliff and their love?
46.John Bunyan‘s The Pilgrim ’s Progress is generally regarded as a religious allegory. What does the work symbolically concern ? What is the predominant metaphor that is carried on through the whole work ? And what is the author ‘s purpose in writing such a book?
47. The following passage is taken from The Merchant of Venice. Read it carefully and find the dramatic it contains. Use it as an example to illustrate what dramatic irony is.
“Bassani Antonio , I am married to a wife
Which is as dear to me as life itself ;
But life itself , my wife, and all world,
Are not with me esteem‘d above thy life;
I would lose all, ay , sacrifice them all
Here to this devil, to deliver you.
Portia: Your wife would give you little thanks for that,
If she were by to hear you make the offer.“
48. What is the most famous theme in Henry James′s fiction ? And what is his favourite approach in characterization, which makes him different from Mark and W. D. Howells as realists? Give two titles of his works in which this theme and this approach are employed.
Ⅳ。Topic Discussion(20 points in all, 10 for each)
Write no less than 150 words on each of the following topics in English in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.
49.In Pride and Prejudice , Jane Austen explored three kinds of motivations of marriage the middle-class people had in the second half of the 18th century. Try to make a brief discussion about them with specific examples from the novel. Make comments on Austen ‘s attitude towards these motivations.
50.Retell in a few sentences the story of the last chapter(Ch, 135)“The Chase-Third Day ” of Melville‘s novel Moby-Dick. Discuss the meaning of the ending of the story.