美国文学史及作品选读习题集(1).doc

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1、_1 Basic Literary Knowledge. Fill in the blanks 1. The _is the most commonly used foot in English poetry, in which an unstressed syllable comes first, followed by a _syllable.2. Rhyme is the _of sounds in two or more words or phrases that usually appear close to each other in a poem. For example: we

2、/thee, man/can, and gold/hold.3. A _is a sign that suggests more than its literal meaning.4. The two-line stanza form is called the _, the best-known being the _which is written in iambic pentameter with an end rhyme.5. The _foot, which is the reverse of the iambic foot, also consists of one stresse

3、d and one unstressed syllables, but with the stressed one coming first.6. An anapestic foot is made up of two _and one stressed syllables, with the two unstressed in front.7. American achievements in the short story have demanded international respect and admiration for more from _in the early 19th

4、century.8. _is generally thought of as the true beginner of the short stories because he was the first writer who formulated a poetics of the short stories.9. There were two other American writers who had made significant contributions to the literary form of short story: _, with his stories of earl

5、y life in California, started a vogue of local color stories and made the short story seem completely at home in the US, and Henry James, brought to the form a careful writing that made his stories models.10. In the 20th century, there have been many who have won fame abroad as well as in the US for

6、 their stories: _, _, _, _, and dozens of others.11. As you read from writer to writer, from _s Rip Van Winkle to _s A Good Man is Hard to Find, you will see the coming of a short story age, growing from an entertaining tale into a store which probes deep into human souls.12. Modern literary fiction

7、 has been dominated by two forms: _13. Washing Irving, the father of American literature, developed the _as a genre in American literature.14. _is usually acknowledged as the originator of detective stories. He is also credited with developing many of the standard features of detective fiction. His

8、detective M August Dupin of Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Purloined Letter is the forerunner of a long line of fictional detectives who are eccentric and brilliant.15. _is the repetition of similar vowel sounds situated in a sentence, a verse line or series of words.16. A dactylic foot is made u

9、p of one _ and two _syllables, with the stressed in front.17. The _is a structured division of a poem, consisting of a series of verse lines which usually comprise a recurring pattern of meter and rhyme. In traditional English poetry, there are various forms containing two, there, four, five, six, s

10、even, eight or nine lines.18. Consonance is the repetition of _but with different preceding vowels e.g. heart/light, flag/plug. Unlike alliteration and assonance, consonance can serve as end rhythm. Multiple Choices1. Edgar Allan Poe wrote poems which are marvels of beauty and craftsmanship such as

11、_.A. I Hear America Singing B. The Raven C. To a Waterfowl D. The Fall of the House of Usher2. Which writer is not a poet?A. Michael Wigglesworth B. Anne Bradstreet C. Edward Taylor D. Thomas Hooker.3. The common thread throughout American literature has been the emphasis on the _A. Revolutionism B.

12、 Reason C. Individualism D. Rationalism4. In American literature, the 18th century was the age of Enlightenment, _was the dominant spirit.A. Humanism B. Rationalism C. Revolution D. Evolution5. Who was considered as the “poet of American revolution”?A. Michael Wigglesworth B. Edward Taylor C. Anne B

13、radstreet D. Philip Freneau6. Thomas Jeffersons attitude, that is, a firm belief in progress, and the pursuit of happiness, is typical of the period we now call _.A. Age of Evolution B. Age of ReasonC. Age of Romanticism D. Age of Regionalism7. Howells defined realism as “nothing more and nothing le

14、ss than the truthful treatment of material”, and he best exemplified his theories in three novels: The Modern Instance, The Rise of Silas Laphan, and _. A. White Fang B. The last of the Mohicans C. A Hazard of New Fortunes D. The Prince and the Pauper8Mark twain created, in _, a masterpiece of Ameri

15、can realism that is also one of the great books of world literature.A. Huckleberry Finn B. Tom SawyerC. The Man That Corrupted Hadleybury D. The Gilded Age9. The pessimism and deterministic ideas of naturalism pervaded the works of such American writers as _.A. Mark Twain B. Francis Scott Fitzgerald

16、C. Wait Whitman D. Stephen Crane10. Although realism and naturalism were products of the 19th century, their final triumph came in the 20th century, with the popular and critical successes of such writers as Edwin Arlington, Willa Cather, Robert Frost, William Faulkner, and _A. Edgar Allan Poe B. Sh

17、erwood AndersonC. Washington Irving D. Ralph Ellison11. American literature produced only one female poet during the 19th century. She was _.A. Anne Bradstreet B. Jane AustenC. Emily Dickenson D. Harriet Beecher12. Choose the well-known short stories written by William Sidney Porter.A. The Gift of t

18、he Magi B. Self-Reliance C. The Red Badge of Courage D. The Ministers Black Veil13. In 1900, Jack London published his first collection of short stories, named _A. The Son of the Wolf B. The Sea Wolf C. The Law of Life D. White Fang14. With Howells, James, and Mark Twain active on the scene, _become

19、 the major trend in the seventies and eighties of the 19th century.A. sentimentalism B. romanticismC. realism D. naturalism15. Choose from the following writers a staunch advocate of 19th century American realism.A. Mark Twain B. Washington Irving C. Stephen Crane D. Jack London16. Which writer has

20、naturalist tendency?A. Frank Norris B. William Dean Howells C. Theodore Dreiser D. Both A and B 17. Early in the 20th century, _published works that would change the nature of American poetry.A. Ezra Pound B. T. S. EliotC. Robert Frost D. Both A and B18. The American “Thirties” lasted from the Crash

21、, though the ensuing Great Depression, until the outbreak of the Second World WAR 1939. THIS WAS a period of “_”A. Poverty B. BleaknessC. Important social movements D.A new social consciousness19. The imagist writers followed three principles. They respectively are direct treatment, economy of expre

22、ssion and _.A. local color B. ironyC. clear rhythm D. blank verse20. “The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough.” This is the shortest written by _.A. T. S. Eliot B. Robert Frost C. Ezra Pound D. E .E. Cummings21. Richard Cory and Miniver Cheevy are good examples of Ar

23、lington Robinsons_ attitude.A. romantic B. fantastic C. realism D. materialistic22. Frost is famous for his lyric poems. Which of the following lyric poems was not written by Frost?A. BirchesB. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy EveningC. After Apple-PickingD. The Road Not TakenE. Richard Cory23. As a poe

24、t, Sandburg was associated with the Imagists and wrote well=known Imagist poems such as _.A. Fog B. LostC. Monotone D. The HarborE. all of the above24. Sandburg had also taken interest in folk songs which he tried to collect and sing during his travels. These folk songs appeared eventually in print

25、in his well-known _.A. Good Morning, America B. The People, YesC. In Rechless Ecstasy D. The American Songbag25. _, one of the essays in The Sacred Wood, is the earliest statement of T. S. Eliots aesthetics, which provided a useful instrument for modern criticism. A. Sweeny Agonistes B. Tradition an

26、d the Individual TalentC. A Primer of Modern Heresy D. Gerontion26. T. S. Eliots used a form, that is, the orchestration of related themes in successive movements, in such works as _.A. The Waste Land B. A Rose for EmilyC. The Scarlet Letter D. The Egg27. Eliots first major poem (1917) _ has been ca

27、lled the first masterpiece of modernism in English.A. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock B. The Waste LandC. Four Quartets D. Preludes28. Choose the collections of short stories written by Fitzgerald.A. Flappers and Philosophers B. Tales of the Jazz AgeC. All the Sad Yong Men D. All of the above29.

28、 The three poets Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot and _opened the way to Modern poetry.A. O. Henry B. Henry David ThoreauC. E. E. Cummings D. Robert Frost30. In Paris, Hemingway, along with _, accomplished a revolution in literary style and language.A. Gertrude Stein B. Ezra Pound C. T. S. Eliot D. James Joy

29、ce31. In 1954, _ was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature for his “mastery of the art of modern narration”.A. T. S. Eliot B. Earnest HemingwayC. John Steinbeck D. William Faulkner32. William Faulkner is one of the most important southern writer in the United States. _, As I Lay Dying, Light in Aug

30、ust, and Absalom, Absalom are works that ambitious critics tend to admire.A. The Sound and the Fury B. The Invisible ManC. A Good Man Is Hard to Find D. The Wrath of the Grapes33. Most of the important 20th American poets were related with Imagist movement, including _.A. Ezra PoundB. Wallace Steven

31、sC. E. E. Cummings D. Carl SandburgE. all of the above. Identification Passage 1These are the times that try mens souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woma

32、n. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its go

33、ods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to TAX) but” to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER,” and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is

34、 there not such a thing as slavery upon earth. Even the expression is impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God.Questions:1. Which book is this passage taken from?2. Who is the author of the book?Passage 2But you would have uttered moreHad you known of natures power;From the world whe

35、n you retreat,And a leafs your winding sheet,Long before your spirit fled,Who can tell but nature said,Live again, my Caty-did!Live, and chatter Caty-did.Questions:3. Who is the writer of these verses?4. What is the title of this lyrical poem?5. What is Caty-did?Passage 3I celebrate myself, and sing

36、 myself,And what I assume you shall assume,For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.I loafe and invite my soul,I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.My tongue, every atom of my blood, formd from this soil, this air,Born here of parents born here from parents the

37、same, and their parents the same,I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,Hoping to cease not till death.Creeds and schools in abeyance,Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never forgotten,I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,Nature without check w

38、ith original energy.Questions:6. This is the first two stanzas in the first section of a long poem entitled_.7. The name of the poet is _.8. What is the verse structure?Passage 4Because I could not stop for death, He kindly stopped for me;The carriage held but just ourselvesAnd immortality.We slowly

39、 drove, he knew no haste, And I had put away My labor and my leisure too,For his civility.We passed the school where children played,Their lessons scarcely done;We passed the fields of gazing grain,We passed the setting sun.We paused before a house that seemed A swelling of the ground;The roof was s

40、carcely visible,The cornice but a mound.Since then t is centuries; but eachFeels shorter than the dayI first surmised the horses headsWere toward eternity.Questions:9. Who is the writer of the lines?10. In which category would you place this poem?A. narrative B. dramatic C. lyric11. The poet is note

41、d for her uses of _to achieve special effects.A. perfect rhyme B. exact rhyme C. slant rhymePassage 5When a girl leaves her home at eighteen, she does one of two things. Either she falls into saving hands and becomes better worse. Of an intermediate balance, under the circumstances, there is no poss

42、ibility. 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

43、 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, vast array of human hives, appeal to the astonished senses in equivocal terms. Without a counselor at hand to whisper cautious interpretations, what falsehoods may not these things breathe into the unguarded ear! Unrecognized for what they are, their beauty, like music, too often relaxes, then weakens, then perverts the