美国文学史及选读试卷

Multiple Choice (1’×15=15’)1.______was the first colony in American history.A. MassachusettsB. New JerseyC. VirginiaD.Georgia2. ______ was the only good American author before the Revolutionary War. Oneof his fellow Americans said, “His shadow lies heavier than any other man’s onthis young nation.”A. John SmithB. Benjamin FranklinC. Thomas JeffersonD.Thomas Paine3. Romantics put emphasis on the following EXCEPT ______.A. common senseB. imaginationC. intuitionD. individualism4. The Raven was written in 1844 by ________A. Philip FreneauB. Edgar Allan PoeC. Henry Wadsworth LongfellowD. Emily Dickinson5. The ship ______ carried about one hundred Pilgrims and took 66 days to beatits way across the Atlantic. In December of 1620, it put the Pilgrims ashore atPlymouth, Massachusetts.A. SunflowerB. ArmadaC. MayflowerD. Titanic6. Melville’s novel ______ is a tremendous chronicle of a whaling voyage inpursuit of a seemingly supernatural white whale.A. TypeeB. OmooC. White JacketD. Moby Dick7. As a philosophical and literary movement, ______ flourished in New Englandfrom the 1830s to the Civil War.A.ModernismB.RationalismC.SentimentalismD.Transcendentalism8. The theme of original sin is fully reflected in _________.A. The Scarlet LetterB. Sister CarrieC. The Great GatsbyD. The Old Man and Sea9. In all his novels Theodore Dreiser sets himself to project the ______ American values. For example,in Sister Carrie, there is not one character whose status isnot determined economically.A. PuritanB. materialisticC. psychologicalD. religious10. Realism was a reaction against______ or a move away from the bias towards romance and self-creating fictions, and paved the way to Modernism.A. RationalismB. RomanticismC. NeoclassicismD. Enlightenment11. ________ was a poet in American modern period who was deeply influence by eastern culture.A. T. S EliotB. Robert FrostC. Ezra PoundD. Walt Whitman12. Which of the following statements about Emily Dickinson is NOT true?A. After 1862 she became a total recluse, not leaving her house nor seeingclose friends.B. She once felt a deep affection for Charles Wadsworth, a married aged minister, but it proved to be a frustrated love affair for Dickinson.C. She wrote about death, immortality, nature, success and failure.D. During her lifetime, all her poems are published.13. The realistic period is referred to as “the Gilded Age” by _______.A. Mark TwainB. Henry JamesC. Emily DickinsonD. Theodore Dreiser14. Which of the following works is NOT by Ernest Hemingway?A. The Old Man and SeaB. A Farewell to ArmsC. Sound and FuryD. For Whom the Bell Tolls15. Which one is NOT the characteristic of modernism?A. Modernism in literature is characterized by experimentation, anti-realism, individualism and a stress on the cerebral rather than emotive aspects.B. Modernism is greatly influenced by the two world wars.C. The work of Marx, and Freud, had mounted an assault against orthodox religious faith that lasted into the twentieth century.D. Modernists believe that human nature is kind.I.Match the Column A with Column B (1’×10=10’)Column A Column B( ) 1. Dimmesdale a. Robert Frost( ) 2. Ahab b. Mark Twain( ) 3. Drouet c. The Scarlet Letter ( ) 4. Pulitzer Prizer d. Thomas Jefferson( ) 5. Reclusive poet e. Moby Dick( ) 6. humorist and satirist f. Ernest Heminway( ) 7. The Decalration of Indepenence g. Henry David Thoreau( ) 8. transcendentalist h. Emily Dickinson( ) 9. The Great Gatsby i. Sister Carrie( ) 10. The Lost Generation j. F. Scott FitzgeraldII.Define the following words within one phrase(2’×5=10’)1. free verse2. Ralph Waldo Emerson3. Mark Twain4. Benjamin Franklin5. Ezra PoundIII.Simple questions (5’×4=20’)1.What are Puritan thoughts?2.What is Transcedentalism and list some representative figures?3. Explain the symbolic meanings of “A” in The Scarlet Letter.4. Illustrate the three principles of Imagist Poetry.IV.Interpreting the following texts (45’)Text 1When a girl leaves her home at eighteen, she does one of two things. Either she falls into saving hands and becomes better, or she rapidly assumes the cosmopolitan standard of virtue and becomes worse. Of an intermediate balance, under the circumstances, there is no possibility. The city has its cunning wiles, no less than the infinitely smaller and more human tempter. There are large forces which allure with all the soulfulness of expression possible in the most cultured human.The gleam of a thousand lights is often as effective as the persuasive light in a wooing and fascinating eye. Half the undoing of the unsophisticated and natural mind is accomplished by forces wholly superhuman. A blare of sound, a roar of life, a vast array of human hives, appeal to the astonished senses in equivocal terms. Without a counsellor at hand to whisper cautious interpretations, what falsehoods may not these things breathe into the unguarded ear!Unrecognised for what they are, their beauty, like music, too often relaxes, then weakens, then perverts the simpler human perceptions.Questions1.Please use one phrase to summarize the above paragraph (2’)2.What are the two possibilities for a girl of eighteen leaving her home?(2’)3.Please find out the figures of speech (2’)4.What are the attractive forces mentioned in a big city? (4’)5.How are naturalist views are reflected in this paragraph? Illustrate your points with examples(5’)Text 2Because I could not stop for Death –He kindly stopped for me --The Carriage held but just Ourselves --And Immortality.We slowly drove -- He knew no hasteAnd I had put awayMy labor and my leisure too,For His Civility –We passed the School, where Children stroveAt Recess -- in the Ring --We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain --We passed the Setting Sun –…Since then -- 'tis Centuries -- and yetFeels shorter than the DayI first surmised the Horses' HeadsWere toward Eternity –Questions:1.Identify the poet and the title of this poem? (2’)2.Explain the underlined words (4’)3.What are the implications of “the School”, “the fields of Gazing Grain”, “the Setting Sun”? (3’)4.How do you understand “Since then -- 'tis Centuries -- and yet / Feelsshorter than the Day” ? (3’)5.What are the speaker’s opinions about death? (3’)Text 3Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth.Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same.And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.Questions:1.Please examine the poetic form (rhyme and meter) (2’)2.Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? (3’)3.How do you understand the word “sigh”? (4’)4.What might the two roads stand for in the speaker’s mind? (4’)5.What is the theme of this poem? (2’)V.Interpreting the following texts (45’)Text 11. Please use one phrase to summarize the above paragraph (2’)2. What are the two possibilities for a girl of eighteen leaving her home?(2’)3. Please find out the figures of speech (2’)4. What are the attractive forces mentioned in a big city? (4’)5. How are naturalist views are reflected in this paragraph? Illustrate your points with examples(5’)Text 21. Identify the poet and the title of this poem? (2’)2. Explain the underlined words (4’)3. What are the implications of “the School”, “the fields of Gazing Grain”, “the Setting Sun”? (3’)4. How do you understand “Since then -- 'tis Centuries -- and yet / Feels shorter than the Day” ? (3’)5. What are the speaker’s opinions about death? (3’)Text 3V.Please examine the poetic form (rhyme and meter) (2’)VI.Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? (3’) VII.How do you understand the word “sigh”? (4’)VIII.What might the two roads stand for in the speaker’s mind? (4’)IX.What is the theme of this poem? (2’)参考答案I.Multiple Choice (1’×15=15’)1. _C___2._B__3.__A__4.__B__5.__C___6.__D_7.__D__8._A__9.__B__ 10.__B___11._C__ 12.__D__ 13._A_ 14._C __ 15._D__II.Match the Column A with Column B (1’×10=10’)1.( c )2.( e )3.( i )4.( a )5.( h )6.( b )7.( d )8.( g )9.(j ) 10.( f )III.Define the following words within one phrase (2’×5=10’)(Any related information can be given marks)1. poetry without a fived beat or regular rhyme scheme, produced by Walt Whitman2. is the representative of transcedentalists, who believes in individualism and self-reliance and bringstranscedentalism to New England3．is a humorist and satirist, who uses broad humor and biting social satire4．is one of Thoreau’s masterpieces, which is the result of the author’s two years of living near Walden lake.5. is regarded as the classical poem of imagist poetry by Ezra Pound, conveying the theme of thespeaker’s sudden pleasure of finding some beautiful faces in the subwayIV.Simple Questions (5’×4=20’) (Answers should be to the points. 1 score for time, 2 scores for features and 1 score for representative figures when defining theliterary terms)a)Puritan thoughts: to make pure their religious beliefs and practices, to restore simplicity, to live a hardand disciplined life and oppose pleasure and arts.b)Transcendentalism is the climax of American Romanticism.First, the Transcendentalist placed emphasis on spirit, or the oversoul, as the mostimportant thing in the universe.Secondly, Transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual.Thirdly, the Transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic ofthe spirit.3. a. The letter’s meaning shifts as time passes. Originally intended to mark Hester asan adulterer, the “A”eventually comes to stand for “Able”or“Angel”.b. Besides Hester, Dimmesdale also ironed the letter A on his body, which provokedhis self-consciousness and showed his repent for what he did.c. Pearl, their baby, wore a green letter a in a piece of seaweed while playing on thebeach. This green letter A symbolizes vitality or new life, and also suggests herinheritance from her mother.4. a. direct treatment of the “thing”（no fuss, frill, or ornament）,b. exclusion of superfluous words（precision and economy of expression）,c. the rhythm of the musical phrase rather than the sequence of a metronome（free verse form and music）.V.Interpreting the following texts (45’)Text 11. The attraction of big city (2’)2. One is to fall into the saving hands and becomes better; secondly, she may admit themoral value of big city and becomes worse. (2’)3. Simile, metaphor and synecdoche (2’)4. The gleam of lights, a blare of sound, a roar of life, and a vast array of humanhives (4’)5. Naturalist attempted to achieve extreme objectivity and frankness, presenting characters of low socialand economic classes who were dominated by their environment and heredity. In this novel, the major female character Carrie Meeber is deeply influenced by the present environment and heredity, which leads to the result of her dynamic character.(5’) (the features of naturalism 3 scores, examples2 scores)Text 21. Emily Dickinson and “Because I Could not Stop for Death”(2’)2. He: death; civility: politeness; Recess: break Surmised: guessed (4’)3. They represent three stages of life. The school is the childhood and young age; the fields of gazinggrain refers to the mature period and the setting sun the old age, that is the end of one’s life. (3’)4. Because this day is towards death, immortal and eternal (3’)5. Death is immortality (3’)Text 31. It is written in iambic tetrameter and rhymed abaab.(2’)2. Similarities: both of the roads are beautiful (fair)Differences: one is quiet and grassy, less-traveled; the other is trodden by manypeople and flatHe took the less-travelled road (3’)3. The word “sigh”is a tricky word. Because sigh can be interpreted into nostalgic relief or regret. If it is the relief sigh, then the difference means the speaker feels glad with the road he took. If it is the regret sigh, then the difference would not be good, and the speaker would be sighing in regret. Hence, sigh is ambigous here for the speaker is not showing whether his choice is right or wrong. (4’)4. The real road; the life road and the road in career (4’)5.Choice is inevitable but you never know what your choice will mean until you have lived it. This isalso the theme of the poem. (2’)。