英國(guó)文學(xué)選讀試題

1、英國(guó)文學(xué)選讀 試題i. prose selection：in this section, you are required to read the selection taken from some famous literary works, and then answer the questions below. writeyour answers on the answer sheet (30 points). to spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament, is affecta

2、tion; to make judgment wholly by their rules, is the humor of a scholar. they perfect nature, and are perfected by experience: for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study; and studies themselves, do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by e

3、xperience. crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them; for they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation. read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but

4、to weigh and consider. questions: 1. which book is this passage taken from? and whats the title of the essay? who is the author of it? 2. how many abuses or misuses of studies the author summarized in this passage, and do you agree with him, why or why not?3. what is the relationship of practice and

5、 studies, try to illustrate it by relating your own experience.according to the author, what is the most effective way to pursue ones studies and why?ii. poem selection： in this section, you are required to read the selection taken from some famous literary works, and then answer the questions after

6、 the selection. writeyour answers on the answer sheet (30 points).death, be not proud, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so ; for those, whom thou thinkst thou dost overthrow, die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me. from rest and sleep, which but thy picture

7、s be, much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow, and soonest our best men with thee do go, rest of their bones, and souls delivery. thourt slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, and dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, and poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well, and bette

8、r than thy stroke ; why swellst thou then ? one short sleep past, we wake eternally, and death shall be no more ; death, thou shalt diequestions:1. what type of poem is this one, and who is the poet? what is the poets attitude toward death?2. what is the renaissance idea of sleep, can you describe d

9、eaths image and compare it to that expressed in hamlets soliloquy (to be or not to be, that is the question).3. why does the poet say that death is “slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men”, do you think death is powerful enough to choose who is to die?4. what is your idea about death, do you

10、 think death can be swelling with pride today?iii. novel selection: in this section, you are required to read the selection taken from some famous literary works, and then answer the questions after the selection. writeyour answers on the answer sheet (40 points). it is a truth universally acknowled

11、ged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. however little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful propert

12、y of some one or other of their daughters. my dear mr. bennet, said his lady to him one day, have you heard that netherfield park is let at last? mr. bennet replied that he had not. but it is, returned she; for mrs. long has just been here, and she told me all about it. mr. bennet made no answer. do

13、 not you want to know who has taken it? cried his wife impatiently. you want to tell me, and i have no objection to hearing it. this was invitation enough. why, my dear, you must know, mrs. long says that netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of england; that he came do

14、wn on monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with mr. morris immediately; that he is to take possession before michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week. what is his name? bingley. is he married or sing

15、le? oh! single, my dear, to be sure! a single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. what a fine thing for our girls! how so? how can it affect them? my dear mr. bennet, replied his wife, how can you be so tiresome! you must know that i am thinking of his marrying one of them. is that h

16、is design in settling here? design! nonsense, how can you talk so! but it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes. i see no occasion for that. you and the girls may go, or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be st

17、ill better; for, as you are as handsome as any of them, mr. bingley might like you the best of the party. my dear, you flatter me. i certainly have had my share of beauty, but i do not pretend to be any thing extraordinary now. when a woman has five grown up daughters, she ought to give over thinkin

18、g of her own beauty. in such cases, a woman has not often much beauty to think of. but, my dear, you must indeed go and see mr. bingley when he comes into the neighbourhood. it is more than i engage for, i assure you.but consider your daughters. only think what an establishment it would be for one o

19、f them. sir william and lady lucas are determined to go, merely on that account, for in general, you know they visit no new comers. indeed you must go, for it will be impossible for us to visit him, if you do not. you are over-scrupulous, surely. i dare say mr. bingley will be very glad to see you;

20、and i will send a few lines by you to assure him of my hearty consent to his marrying which ever he chuses of the girls; though i must throw in a good word for my little lizzy. i desire you will do no such thing. lizzy is not a bit better than the others; and i am sure she is not half so handsome as

21、 jane, nor half so good humoured as lydia. but you are always giving her the preference. they have none of them much to recommend them, replied he; they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters. mr. bennet, how can you abuse your own chi

22、ldren in such way? you take delight in vexing me. you have no compassion on my poor nerves. you mistake me, my dear. i have a high respect for your nerves. they are my old friends. i have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least. ah! you do not know what i suffer. but i

23、hope you will get over it, and live to see many young men of four thousand a year come into the neighbourhood. it will be no use to us if twenty such should come, since you will not visit them. depend upon it, my dear, that when there are twenty i will visit them all. questions:1. do you agree with

24、the statement “it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife”, why or why not? 2. describe the relationship between mr. bennet and mrs. bennet. tell how you think they feel about each other, and give details from the excerpts to s

25、upport your opinion.3. hyperbole and irony are effectively used by jane austen in this novel. point out with a single underline the hyperbolic or ironical expressions in the following sentences:? it is more than i engage for, i assure you. ? have a little compassion on my nerves. you tear them to pi

26、eces ? i have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least. ? it is very unlucky: but as i have actually paid the visit, we cannot escape the acquaintance now(chap.2). 4. what do you think of the theme of this novel? does it have anything to do with its original title: first

27、 impressions?5. who is your favourite character of this novel, and why?5英國(guó)文學(xué)選讀 試題i. prose selection：in this section, you are required to read the selection taken from some famous literary works, and then answer the questions below. writeyour answers on the answer sheet (30 points). histories make me

28、n wise, poets witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend. there is no stond or impediment in the wit but may be wrought out by fit studies, like as the diseases of the body may have appropriate exercises. bowling is good for the stone a

29、nd reins, shooting for the lungs and breast, gentle walking for the stomach, riding for the head, and the like. so if a mans wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics; for in demonstration, if his wit be called away never so little, he must begin again. if his wit be not apt to distinguish or

30、find differences, let him study the schoolmen, for they are hair splitters. so every defect of the mind may have a special receipt. questions: 1. which book is this passage taken from? and whats the title of the essay? who is the author of it? 2. in what sense does reading make a full man? and what

31、kind of reading does the author refer to in this context?3. can you give an example to show the effect of a special kind of reading or sport upon human character by relating your own experience? according to the author, every defect of the mind may have a special receipt. do you agree with the autho

32、r, why or why not?ii. poem selection： in this section, you are required to read a poem taken from some famous collection, and then answer the questions after the selection. write your answers on the answer sheet (30 points).shall i compare thee to a summers day?thou art more lovely and more temperat

33、e.rough winds do shake the darling buds of may,and summers lease hath all too short a date:sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,and often is his gold complexion dimmed,and every fire from faire sometime declines, by chance or natures changing course untrimmed:but thy eternal summer shall not fa

34、de.nor lose possession of that fair thou owst; nor shall death brag thou wanderst in his shade, when in eternal lines to time thou growst: so long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to theequestions:1. what type of poem is this one, and its poetic features?

35、who is the poet? 2. why does the poet compare thee to a summers day? and who could thee be, why?3. point out some of the figures of speech used in this poem.4. what is the theme of the poem?iii. novel selection: in this section, you are required to read the selection taken from robinson crosoe, and

36、then answer the questions after the selection. writeyour answers on the answer sheet (40 points) my thoughts were now wholly employd about securing my self against either savages, if any should appear, or wild beasts, if any were in the island; and i had many thoughts of the method how to do this, a

37、nd what kind of dwelling to make, whether i should make me a cave in the earth, or a tent upon the earth: and, in short, i resolvd upon both, the manner and description of which, it may not be improper to give an account of.i soon found the place i was in was not for my settlement, particularly beca

38、use it was upon a low moorish ground near the sea, and i believd would not be wholesome, and more particularly because there was no fresh water near it, so i resolvd to find a more healthy and more convenient spot of ground. i consulted several things in my situation which i found would be proper fo

39、r me, 1st. health, and fresh water i just now mentiond, 2dly. shelter from the heat of the sun, 3dly. security from ravenous creatures, whether men or beasts, 4thly. a view to the sea, that if god sent any ship in sight, i might not lose any advantage for my deliverance, of which i was not willing t

40、o banish all my expectation yet. in search of a place proper for this, i found a little plain on the side of a rising hill; whose front towards this little plain, was steep as a house-side, so that nothing could come down upon me from the top; on the side of this rock there was a hollow place worn a

41、 little way in like the entrance or door of a cave, but there was not really any cave or way into the rock at all. on the flat of the green, just before this hollow place, i resolvd to pitch my tent: this plain was not above an hundred yards broad, and about twice as long, and lay like a green befor

42、e my door, and at the end of it descended irregularly every way down into the low-grounds by the sea-side. it was on the n.n.w. side of the hill, so that i was shelterd from the heat every day, till it came to a w. and by s. sun, or thereabouts, which in those countries is near the setting. before i

43、 set up my tent, i drew a half circle before the hollow place, which took in about ten yards in its semi-diameter from the rock, and twenty yards in its diameter, from its beginning and ending. in this half circle i pitchd two rows of strong stakes, driving them into the ground till they stood very

44、firm like piles, the biggest end being out of the ground about five foot and a half, and sharpend on the top: the two rows did not stand above six inches from one another. then i took the pieces of cable which i had cut in the ship, and i laid them in rows one upon another, within the circle, betwee

45、n these two rows of stakes, up to the top, placing other stakes in the in-side, leaning against them, about two foot and a half high, like a spurr to a post, and this fence was so strong, that neither man or beast could get into it or over it: this cost me a great deal of time and labour, especially

46、 to cut the piles in the woods, bring them to the place, and drive them into the earth. the entrance into this place i made to be not by a door, but by a short ladder to go over the top, which ladder, when i was in, i lifted over after me, and so i was completely fencd in, and fortifyd, as i thought

47、, from all the world, and consequently slept secure in the night, which otherwise i could not have done, though, as it appeard afterward, there was no need of all this caution from the enemies that i apprehended danger from. i had a dismal prospect of my condition, for as i was not cast away upon that island without being driven, as is said, by a violent storm quite out of the course of our intended voyage, and a great way, viz. some hundreds of leagues out of the ordinary course of the trade of mankind, i had great reason to consider it as a determinat