英美文学选读备考《英美文学选读》课程讲义课程讲义讲义08

第一章　浪漫主义时期 　　Ⅰ.超验主义 　　The most clearly defined Romantic literary movement in Romantic　Period is New England Transcendentalism.It was started by a group of people who were numbers of an informal club，i.e..the Transcendental Club in New England in the l830s.The major figures were Emerson and Thoreau. The main issues were generally philosophical, concerning nature, man and the universe.It has been defined as “the recognition in man of the capacity of knowing truth intuitively，or of attaining knowledge transcending the reach of the senses.” Other ideas are: nature is ennobling and the individual is divine and，therefore, self-reliant. 　　【典型例题分析】 　　The transcendentalists believe that nature is ennobling and the individual is divine：therefore， .（　） 　　A.self—conscious 　　B.self—defence 　　C.self—reliant 　　D.self-respect 　　【答案】：C 　　【分析】：超验主义者认为，自然是高尚的，个人是神圣的，因此人必须自助. 　　Ⅱ.《论自然》的内容、主题及意义 　　“Nature” contains all introduction and eight brief chapters，which discuss the love of nature，the uses of nature，the idealist philosophy in relation to nature，evidences of spirit in the material universe，and the potential expansion of human souls and works that will result from a general return to direct，immediate contact with the natural environment.In the essay Emerson clearly expresses the main principles of his Transcendentalist pursuit and his love for nature.In expressing his belief in the mystical “OverSoul” 0r“Universal Mind.”This essay has become so important that most people consider it an unofficial manifesto for the “Transcendental club.” 　　【典型例题分析】 　　What’s the theme of “Nature”? 　　【答案】：In “Nature”，Emerson clearly expresses the main principles of his Transcendentalist pursuit and his love for nature. 　　【分析】：《论自然》表达了爱默生超验主义的思想原则及对自然的热爱。 　　Ⅲ.《红字》的主题及象征手法 　　In “The Scarlet Letter”，the Puritan concept of life is condemned.By using Pearl as a thematic symbol，Hawthorne emphasizes the consequence the sin of adultery has brought to the community and people living in that community.With the scarlet letter A as the biggest symbol of all，Hawthorne proves himself to be one of the best symbolist。As a key to the whole novel，the letter A takes on different layers of symbolic meanings as the plot develops，but people come up with different interpretations and they do not know which one is definite. 　　【典型例题分析】 　　What is the symbolic meaning of “Pearl” in “The Scarlet Letter”? 　　【答案】：Using Pearl as a thematic symbol，Hawthorne emphasizes the consequence the sin of adultery has brought to the community and people living in that community. 　　【分析】：霍桑把“珠儿”作为主题象征，用于强调通奸罪给人们和社会带来的后果。 　　Ⅳ.《白鲸》的主题思想和象征手法 　　“Moby—Dick”，the first American prose epic，is about Ahab，a mall with an obsession to kill the whale which has crippled him，on board his ship in chase of the big whale，but it turned out to be a symbolic voyage of the mind in quest of the truth and knowledge of the universe，a spiritual exploration into man，deep reality and psychology.Symbolism is the important means for the theme. 　　Different people on board the ship are representations of different ideas and different social and ethnic groups；facts become symbols and incidents acquire universal meanings；the Pequod is the microcosm of human society and the voyage becomes a search for truth.The white whale，Moby—Dick，symbolizes nature for Melville，for it is complex，unfathomable，malignant，and beautiful as well.For the character Ahab，however, the whale represents only evil. Moby—Dick is like wall，hiding some unknown, mysterious things behind. 　　Ahab wills the whole crew on the Pequod to join him in the pursuit of the big whale so as to pierce the wall，to root out the evil，but only to be destroyed by evil，in this case，by his own consuming desire，his madness.For the author, as well as for the reader and Ishmael，the narrator，Moby—Dick is still a mystery，an ultimate mystery of the universe, inscrutable and ambivalent，and the voyage of the mind will forever remain a search，not a discovery，of the truth. 　　【典型例题分析】 　　What’s the symbolic meaning of “Moby—Dick” for Ishmael? 　　【答案】：For Ishmael，Moby.Dick is a mystery，an ultimate mystery of the universe，inscrutable and ambivalent，and the voyage of the mind in quest of the truth and knowledge of the universe will forever remain a search，not a discovery，of the truth. 　　【分析】：对伊什梅尔来说，白鲸是个秘密，宇宙的终极秘密，难以识别，模糊不清；追求真理的心路历程永远是探索，而不是发现。 　　Ⅴ.历年考题分析 　　1.（2001.4，选择23）Which of the following works concerns most concentratedly the Calvinistic view of original sin?（ ） 　　A. The Waste Land. 　　B. The Scarlet Letter. 　　C. Leaves of Grass. 　　D. As I Lay Dying. 　　　　答案：B 　　分析：霍桑对罪恶的敏感和理解方式是典型的加尔文主义思想，认为人类本质是邪恶的，必然向上帝赎罪。《红字》讲述了四个生活在清教社区的主人公，以不同方式犯有通奸罪的故事，表现了霍桑反清教的思想。 　　2.（2001.4，选择24）We can perhaps summarize the Walt Whitman’s poems are characterized by all the following features EXCEPT that they are（ ） 　　A. conversational and casual 　　B. lyrical and well-structured 　　C. simple and rather crude 　　D. free-flowing 　　　　答案：B 　　分析：惠特曼创造了“自由体诗”，没有固定的节奏和韵律。诗句结构较松散；犹如行云流水；在诗中，惠特曼像普遍人一样，家常、随意，语言上不事修饰、质朴，甚至带有野味。正确答案为B。 　　3.（2001.4，选择28）The period before the American Civil War is commonly referred to as （ ）. 　　A. the Romantic Period 　　B. the Realistic Period 　　C. the Naturalist Period 　　D. the Modern Period 　　答案：A 　　分析：浪漫主义时期开始于十八世纪末，到内战爆发为止。 　　　4.（2001.4，选择29）Most of Herman Melville’s novels are based on sea voyages and sea adventures. Which of the following is NOT the case? （ ） 　　A. Typee. 　　B. Moby-Dick. 　　C. Omoo. 　　D. The Confidence-Man. 　　　　答案：D 　　分析：《泰比》、《奥穆》、《白鲸》都是麦尔维尔以他自己的海员生活及经历为背景写的小说。而在The Confidence-Man 中，他借助主人公来探索信仰的矛盾，以及美国生活的乐观主义和虚伪性。 　　5.（2001.4，选择32）The Transcendentalists believe that, first, nature is ennobling; and second, the individual is （ ）. 　　A. insignificant 　　B. vicious by nature 　　C. divine 　　D. forward-looking 　　　　答案：C 　　分析：超验主义认为自然是高尚的，个人是神圣的，因此人必须自助。 　　6.（2001.4，选择33）Which of the following is not a work of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s? 　　A. The House of the Seven Gables 　　B. The Blithedale Romance 　　C. The Marble Faun 　　D. White Jacket 　　　　答案：D 　　分析：D. White Jacket《白外衣》的作者是赫尔曼·麦尔维尔。 　　7.（2001.4，选择35）In Hawthorne’s novels and short stories, intellectuals usually appear as （ ）. 　　A. commentators 　　B. observers 　　C. villains 　　D. saviors 　　　答案：C 　　分析：霍桑最关注的一个罪恶之源是一个人过于自尊自负。他笔下的哪些自尊自负的知识分子因为缺乏人情的温暖而成为恶棍。 　　8.（2001.4，选择36）Besides sketches, tales and essays, Washington Irving also published a book on （ ）, which is also considered an important part of his creative writing. 　　A. Poetic theory 　　B. French art 　　C. A history of New York 　　D. Life of George Washington 　　　　答案：C 　　分析：欧文的《纽约史》出版，便受到广泛好评，并被认为是他创作的一个重要部分。 　　9.（2002.4，选择23）The Romantic writers would focus on all the following issues EXCEPT the （ ） in the American literary history. 　　A. individual feelings 　　B. idea of survival of the fittest 　　C. strong imagination 　　D. return to nature 　　　　答案：B 　　分析：浪漫主义时期是美国文学史最重要的时期之一。这时期，大部分作品都强调文学的想象与感情成分；逃避社会、回归自然的欲望成为美国文学的永恒的传统。 　　10.（2002.4，选择24）Henry David Thoreau’s work, （ ）,has al-ways been regarded as a masterpiece of New England Transcendental-ism. 　　A. Walden 　　B. The Pioneers 　　C. Nature 　　D. Song of Myself 　　　答案：A 　　分析：美国浪漫主义文学运动足以标炳的是新英格兰的超验主义运动。其中梭罗是重要成员之一，他的作品《沃尔登》被认为是新英格兰超验主义的代表作。 　　11.（2002.4，选择25）The famous 20 – year sleep in “Rip Van Winkle” helps to construct the story in story in such a way that we are greatly affected by Irving’s （ ）. 　　A. concern with the passage of time 　　B. expression of transient beauty 　　C. satire on laziness and corruptibility of human beings 　　D. idea about supernatural manipulation of man’s life 　　　　答案：A 　　分析：欧文将瑞普沉睡20年前后的社会状况作对比，表现了欧文对一去不复返的东西十分依恋的怀旧思想。 　　12.（2002.4，选择26）Walt Whitman was a pioneering figure of American poetry. His innovation first of all lies in his use of （ ）, poetry without a fixed beat or regular rhyme scheme. （ ） 　　A. blank verse 　　B. heroic couplet 　　C. free verse 　　D. iambic pentameter 　　　　答案：C 　　分析：惠特曼的诗传达了美国崭新的思想、事物、生活风格，对后世影响巨大。他创造了“自由体诗”，没有固定的节奏和韵律。 　　13.（2002.4，选择28）Hester Pryme, Dimmesdale, Chillingworth and Pearl are most likely the names of the characters in （ ）. 　　A. The Scarlet Letter 　　B. The House of the Seven Gables 　　C. The Portrait of a Lady 　　D. The Pioneers 　　　　答案：A 　　分析：此题要求考生对霍桑作品《红字》的主要内容要熟悉。 　　14.（2001.4，阅读理解43）“When the minister spoke from the pulpit, with power and fervid eloquence, and with his hand on the open Bible, of the sacred truths of our religion, and of saint – like lives and triumphant deaths, and of future bliss of misery unutterable, then did Goodman Brown turn pale, dreading, lest the reef should thunder down upon the gray blasphemer and his hearers.” 　　Questions: 　　A. Identify the title of the short story from which this part is taken. 　　B. What had happened in the story before this church scene? 　　C. why was Goodman Brown afraid the roof might thunder down? 　　　　答案： 　　A. Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown. 　　B. Brown had attended a witches’ party where he saw many prominent people of the village, the minister included. 　　C. Brown was shocked by the minister, secretly a member of the evil club, who could talk about sacred truths of the religion openly and un-ashamedly. He thought God would punish such hypocrites by letting the roof thunder down on them. 　　分析：此题要求考生熟悉霍桑作品《好小伙布朗》的主要内容。 　　15.（2001.4，阅读理解44）（A lot of common objects have been enumerated before, and here are the last two lines of “There Was a Child Went Forth”:） 　　The horizon’s edge, the flying sea-crow, the fragrance of salt marsh and shore mud. 　　These became part of that child who went forth every day, and who now goes, and will always go forth every day. 　　Questions: 　　A. Who is author of this poem? 　　B. What does the “child” stand for in the poem? 　　C. In one or two sentences, interpret the implied meaning of the two lines. 　　　　答案： 　　A.Walt Whitman. 　　B.The young growing America. 　　C.The poet uses his childhood experience of growing up and learning about the world around him to imply that young America will grow and develop like that. 　　分析：此题要求考生掌握惠特曼诗作《有一个向前走的孩子》的主要内容及思想意义。 　　16.（2002.4，阅读理解43）“God knows,…I’m not myself—I’m somebody else--…and I’m changed, and I can’t tell what’s my name ,or who I am.” 　　Questions: 　　A. Identify the work and the author. 　　B. The speaker says he is changed. Do you think he is changed, or the social environment has changed? 　　C. What idea does the quoted sentence express? 　　　　答案： 　　A.Washington Irving:“Rip Van Winkle”. 　　B.The social environment is changed. 　　C.When Rip is back home after a period of 20 years, he finds that every-thing has changed. All those old values are gone, and he can hardly feel at home in a changed society. One of the functions that Rip serves in the story is to provide a measuring stick for change. It is through him that Irving drives home the theme that a desire for change, improvement, and progress could subvert a stable society. 　　分析：此题要求考生掌握欧文作品《瑞普·凡·温克尔》主要内容及其思想意义。 　　17.（2002.4，简答47）The white whale, Moby – Dick, is the most important symbol in Melville’s novel. What symbolic meaning can you draw from it? 　　　　答案： 　　A. To Ahab, the whale is either an evil creature itself or the agent of an evil force that controls the universe, or perhaps both. 　　B. To Ishmael, the whale is an astonishing force, an immense power, which defies rational explanation due to a sense of mystery it carries. It is beautiful, but malignant at the same time. It also represents the tremendous organic vitality of the universe, for it has a life force that surges on-ward irresistibly, impervious to the desire or wills of men. 　　C. As to the reader, the whale can be viewed as a symbol of the physical limits that life imposes upon man. It may also be regarded as a symbol of nature, or an instrument of God’s vengeance upon evil man. In general, the multiplicity and ambivalence of the symbolic meaning of the whale is such that it becomes a source of intense speculation, an object of pro-found curiosity for the reader. 　　分析：此题考查的知识点为麦尔维尔作品《白鲸》中的白鲸的象征意义，考生要重点掌握。 　　18.（2002.4，简答48）Nature is a philosophic work, in which Emerson gives an explicit discussion on his idea of the Oversoul. What is your understanding of Emersonian“Oversoul”? 　　　　答案： 　　A. The Oversoul is believed to be an all-pervading power for goodness, omnipresent and omnipotent from which all things come and of which all are a part. It exists in nature and man alike and constitutes the chief element of the universe. 　　B. According to Emerson, it is a supreme reality of mind, a spiritual unity of all beings, and a religion regarded as an emotional communication between an individual soul and the universal Oversoul of which it is a pare. 　　C. He holds that intuition is a more certain way of knowing than reason and that the mind could intuitively perceive the existence of the Oversoul and of certain absolutes. 　　分析：此题考查爱默生在作品《论自然》中的超验主义思想的内容，在其中他提出了超灵哲学。 PAGE 1