英国文学试题

Instructions：This examination consists of 5 parts，and the total time for the examination is 2 hours. All the answers should be entered onto the Answer Sheet.Part I：Multiple Choices（10%）Choose the best answer to the following sentences.1.Which of the following is NOT a feature of Beowulf？A.AlliterationB.Anglo-Saxons early life in EnglandC.Germanic languageD.The national epic of Anglo-Saxon people2.English Renaissance Period was an age of.A. prose and novelB. poetry and dramaC. essays and journalsD. ballads and songs3.The main literary form of the early 17thcentury was poetry. John Milton was acknowledged as the greatest. Besides him，there were two groups of poets. They were the Cavalier poets and.A. the lake poetsB. the university witsC. the Metaphysical poetsD. the Romantic poets4.Pamela is widely considered to be the first novel and was written by _.A.Thomas HardyB.James JoyceC.Samuel RichardsonD.Henry Fielding5.The publication of，which was the joint work of William Wordsworth and Samuel T. Coleridge，marked the beginning of the Romantic Age in England.A. Don JuanB. The Rime of the Ancient MarinerC. Lyrical BalladsD. Queen Mab6.Among the most famous realistic novelists of the Victorian age are，W. M. Thackeray，Bronte sisters，etc.A. Joseph Conrad B. Henry FieldingC. Charles DickensD. D. H. Lawrence7.In James Joyces _ the story “Eveline” paints a portrait of a young woman from Dublin deciding whether or not to leave her hometown.A.UlyssesB.OrlandoC.DublinersD.A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man8.In the 18thcentury England，satire was much used in writing. Literature of this age produced some excellent satirists，such as Jonathan Swift，Henry Fielding and.William BlakeB. Robert BurnsC.Alexander PopeD. Daniel Defoe9.William Wordsworth never used “gaudy and inane phraseology” because he felt that poetry should _.A.be read only by the well-educatedB.use difficult vocabulary to express complicated emotionsC.use simple speech to communicate the truths of human experienceD.rely on strange and uncommon words to bring people new experiences10. Virginia Woolf is renowned for adopting thetechnique，which displays the sequence of thoughts and impressions in a persons mind.A. mind-readingB. third-person narrationC. stream-of-consciousnessD. feministPart II：Gap Filling（10%）Complete the following sentences and write your answers on the Answer Sheet.1.Geoffrey Chaucers workgives us a picture of the condition of English life of his day，such as its work and play，its deeds and dreams，its fun and sympathy.2.During the Norman Conquest，the most important form of literary composition is，the representative of which is the legend of King Arthur and the round table knights.3.Epoch of Renaissance witnessed a particular development of English drama. It was William Shakespeare andwho made blank verse the principal vehicle of expression in drama.4.Hamlet，Othello，Macbethandare generally regarded as William Shakespeares four great tragedies.5.Edmund Spenser is generally regarded as the greatest nondramatic poet of the Elizabethan Age. His fame is chiefly based on his masterpiece.6.In Elizabethan Period，wrote more than 50 excellent essays，which made him one of the best essayists in English literature.7.Thewas a progressive intellectual movement throughout western Europe in the 18thcentury.8.In the latter part of the 18thcentury，there appeared，as a reaction against Reason，_ novel and literature of sentimentality.9.Thomas Grays highly praised poemshows the poets sympathy for the poor，and condemns the great ones who despise the poor and bring sufferings to the common people.10.The Romantic movement in England had two significant movements as its background：the French Revolution and.11_ is perhaps the most talented early novelist. She wrote a number ofbooks concerning young，relatively wealthy women pursuing marriage，such as Pride and Prejudice and Emma.12.George Byron is chiefly known for his two long poems. One is Childe Harolds Pilgrimage and the other is.13John Keats wrote several famous _，a type of lyric poem that is meditative and formal.14._，the eldest of the two famous novelist sisters，wrote Jane Eyre in the middle of the 19thcentury.15._ monologue was first successfully used in poetry by Robert Browning.16.One of the most striking features ofin the 20thcentury literature is anti-past，anti-tradition，anti-novel，anti-hero，etc.17._，the manifesto of modernist poetry in the 20thcentury，was written by T. S. Eliot.18.A Passage to India，Howards End，and A Room with a View are three of the most famous novels by _.19.Lord Jim is one of the most famous novels by _，who was born in Poland and learned English as his third language.20.Man and Superman and Pygmalion are two of most famous plays by _.Part III：Definition of Terms（15%）Choose THREE out of the following terms and explain them in two or three sentences.Sonnet；Point of view；Soliloquy；Setting；Heroic coupletPart IV：Appreciation（40%）Choose TWO of the following three excerpts and write a passage of comment（about 80 words）on each one. Your comment should cover the questions after each excerpt.Excerpt 1：I wandered lonely as a cloudThat floats on high oer vales and hills，When all at once I saw a crowd，A host，of golden daffodils；Beside the lake，beneath the trees，Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.For oft，when on my couch I lieIn vacant or in pensive mood，They flash upon that inward eyeWhich is the bliss of solitude；And then my heart with pleasure fills，And dances with the daffodils.（William Wordsworth，“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”）Questions：1.What is the central image of this poem？What is the poets reaction as revealed in the poem？2.Wordsworth believes that “All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” and poetry “takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility”. How does this poem reflect the poets philosophy of composition？Excerpt 2：The proper study of mankind is man.Placed on this isthmus of a middle state，A being darkly wise，and rudely great：With too much knowledge for the Skeptic side，With too much weakness for the Stoics pride，He hangs between；in doubt to act，or rest；In doubt to deem himself a God，or beast；In doubt his mind or body to prefer；Born but to die，and reasoning such，Whether he thinks too little or too much；Chaos of thought and passion，all confused；Still by himself abused or disabused；Created half to rise，and half to fall；（Alexander Pope，An Essay on Man）Questions：1.Whats the topic of the above lines？2.Summarize the main idea in a few sentences.Excerpt 3：I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts，which I hope will not be liable to the least objection.I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London，that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious，nourishing，and wholesome food，whether stewed，roasted，baked，or boiled；and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout.I do therefore humbly offer it to public consideration that of the hundred and twenty thousand children，already computed，twenty thousand may be reserved for breed，whereof only one fourth part to be males，which is more than we allow to sheep，black cattle，or swine；and my reason is that these children are seldom the fruits of marriage，a circumstance not much regarded by our savages，therefore one male will be sufficient to serve four females. That the remaining hundred thousand may at a year old be offered in sale to the person of quality and fortune through the kingdom，always advising the mother to let them suck plentifully in the last month，so as to render them plump and fat for a good table. A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends，and when the family dines alone，the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish；and seasoned with a little pepper or salt will be very good boiled on the fourth day，especially in winter.（Jonathan Swift，A Modest Proposal）Questions：1.What is the authors modest proposal in the passage？And what do you think is his real idea behind it？2.What kind of tone is shown in the passage？（Explain it with specific quotations from the text）Part V. Critical Reading（25%）Read the attached short story and answer the questions in essay form.1.Whats the turning point in the murder trial？Describe it in a few sentences.2.Read carefully the last two paragraphs of the story and comment，in the form of a 150-200-word essay，on the message or real meaning of the author.The Case for the DefenseGraham Greene1It was the strangest murder trial that I ever attended. They named it the Peckham murder in the headlines，though Northwood Street，where the old woman was found battered to death，was not strictly speaking in Peckham. This was not one of those cases of circumstantial evidence in which you feel the jurymans anxietybecause mistakes have been madelike domes of silence muting the court. No，this murderer was all but found with the body；no one present when the Crown counsel outlined his case believed that the man in the dock stood any chance at all.2He was a heavy stout man with bulging bloodshot eyes. All his muscles seemed to be in his thighs. Yes，an ugly customer，one you wouldnt forget in a hurryand that was an important point because the Crown proposed to call four witnesses who hadnt forgotten him，who had seen him hurrying away from the little red villa in Northwood Street. The clock had just struck two in the morning.3Mrs. Salmon in 15 Northwood Street had been unable to sleep；she heard a door click shut and thought it was her own gate. So she went to the window and saw Adams（that was his name）on the steps of Mrs. Parkers house. He had just come out and he was wearing gloves. He had a hammer in his hand and she saw him drop it into the laurel bushes at the front gate. But before he moved away，he had looked upat her window. The fatal instinct that tells a man when he is watched exposed him in the light of a street-lamp to her gazehis eyes suffused with horrifying and brutal fear，like an animals when you raise a whip. I talked afterwards to Mrs. Salmon，who naturally after the astonishing verdict went in fear herself. As I imagined did all the witnessesHenry MacDougall，who had been driving home from Benfleet late and nearly ran Adams down at the corner of Northwood Street. Adams was walking in the middle of the road looking dazed. And old Mr. Wheeler，who lived next door to Mrs. Parker，at No. 12 and was waken by a noiselike a chair fallingthrough the thin-as-paper villa wall，and got up and looked out of the window，just as Mrs. Salmon had done，saw Adams back and，as he turned，those bulging eyes. In Laurel Avenue he had been seen by yet another witnesshis luck was badly out；he might as well have committed the crime in broad daylight.4“I understand，” the counsel said，“that the defense proposes to plead mistaken identity. Adams wife will tell you that he was with her at two in the morning on February 14，but after you have heard the witnesses for the Crown and examined carefully the features of the prisoner，I do not think you will be prepared to admit the possibility of a mistake.”5It was all over，you would have said，but the hanging.6After the formal evidence had been given by the policeman who had found the body and the surgeon who examined it，Mrs. Salmon was called. She was the ideal witness，with her slight Scotch accent and her expression of honesty，care and kindness.7The counsel for the Crown brought the story gently out. She spoke very firmly. There was no malice in her，and no sense of importance at standing there in the Central Criminal Court with a judge in scarlet handing on her words and the reporters writing them down. Yes，she said，and then she had gone down stairs and rung up the police station.8“And do you see the man here in court？”She looked straight and at the big man in the dock，who stared at her with his Pekingese eyes without emotion.“Yes，” she said，“there he is.”“You are quite certain？”She said simply，“I couldnt be mistaken，sir.”It was as easy as that.“Thank you，Mrs. Salmon.”9Counsel for the defense rose to cross-examine. If you had reported as many murder trials as I have，you would have known beforehand what line he would take. And I was right，up to a point.10“Now，Mrs. Salmon，you must have remembered that a mans life may depend on your evidence.”“I do remember it，sir.”“Is your eyesight good？”“I have never had to wear spectacles，sir.”“You are a woman of fifty-five？”“Fifty-six，sir.”“And the man you saw was on the other side of the road？”“Yes，sir.”“And it was two oclock in the morning. You must have remarkable eyes，Mrs. Salmon？”“No，sir. There was moonlight，and the man looked up，he had the lamplight on his face.”11I couldnt make out what he was at. He couldnt have expected any other answer than the one he got.12“None whatever，sir. It isnt a face one forgets.”13Counsel took a look around the court for a moment. Then he said，“Do you mind，Mrs. Salmon，examining again the people in court？No，not the prisoner. Stand up，please，Mr. Adams，” and there at the back of the court with thick stout body and muscular legs and a pair of bulging eyes，was the exact image of the man in the dock. He was even dressed the sametight blue suit and striped tie.14“Now think very carefully，Mrs. Salmon. Can you still swear that the man you saw drop the hammer in Mrs. Parkers garden was the prisonerand not this man，who is his twin brother？”15Of course she couldnt. She looked from one to the other and didnt say a word.16There the big brute sat in the dock with his legs crossed，and there he stood too at the back of the court and they both stared at Mrs. Salmon. She shook her head.17What we saw then was the end of the case. There wasnt a witness prepared to swear that it was the prisoner hed seen. And the brother？He had his own alibi too；he was with his wife.18And so the man was acquitted for lack of evidence. But whether if he did the murder and not his brotherhe was punished or not，I dont know. That extraordinary day had an extraordinary end. I followed Mrs. Salmon out of court and we got wedged in the crowd who were waiting，of course，for the twins. The police tried to drive the crowd away，but all they could do was keep the roadway clear for traffic. I learned later that they tried to get the twins to leave by a back way，but they wouldnt. One of themno one knew whichsaid，“Ive been acquitted，havent I？” and they walked bang out of the front entrance. Then it happened. I dont know how，though I was only six feet away. The crowd moved and somehow one of the twins got pushed on to the road right in front of a bus.19He gave a squeal like a rabbit and that was all；he was dead，his skull smashed just as Mrs. Parkers had been. Divine vengeance？I wish I knew. There was the other Adams getting on his feet from beside the body and looking straight over at Mrs. Salmon. He was crying，but whether he was the murderer or the innocent man nobody will ever be able to tell. But if you were Mrs. Salmon，could you sleep at night？