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英语阅读理解题20套(带答案)及解析一、英语阅读（日常生活类）1．阅读下面的材料.从每小题所给的 A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。
Dear Lucy,How are you? It has been a month since my family left Hong Kong for England and we are fine.England is very different from Hong Kong. The weather is terrible and it rains a lot. The buildings are funny. They are in rows and not high. I love them because the rooms are much larger. I'm having a wonderful at my new school and my new home!Mum and Dad are happy with their new jobs. But my brother Jack doesn't like moving to England because he misses his friends so much.I've made lots of new friends at school. My teachers are really nice too and my English has improved a lot. After school, we can take part in relaxing activities such as sport, watching films or playing computer games. There's a park near the school where I often go with the other students at the weekend.We are travelling back to Hong Kong for the summer holiday. I will visit you and bring you a present!Write back soon!Love,Sandy （1）Where did Sandy's family live before?A. Hong Kong.B. Sydney.C. New York.D. London.（2）Sandy loves the buildings in England because their rooms are .A. cheaperB. warmerC. newerD. larger（3）How many people are there in Sandy's family?A. 2.B. 4.C. 6.D. 8.（4）Who does not like moving to England?A. Dad.B. Mum.C. Jack.D. Sandy.（5）What is the letter mainly about?A. Sandy's summer holiday.B. Sandy's parents.C. Sandy's new classmates.D. Sandv's new life.【答案】（1）A（2）D（3）B（4）C（5）D【解析】【分析】文章大意：Sandy向Lucy介绍了他一家从香港搬到英国后的生活状况。
大学英语CET6阅读材料大学英语CET6阅读材料it's better to have fought and lost, than never to have fought at all，以下是店铺为大家搜索整理的大学英语CET6阅读材料，希望能给大家带来帮助!Smiles That Destroy the Myth of Female Intuition男性的直觉能力高于女性The popular assumption that women's powers of intuition exceed those of men has been overturned by a new study.传统的观点认为女性的直觉能力比男性强，但英国最新的一项研究结果却否认了这一观点。
Psychologists who tested the abilities of more than 15,000 people to identify the sincerity or otherwise of different smiles have concluded that female intuition is a myth.为了保证研究结果更具信服力，心理学家对15000人的不同的笑进行研究。
研究结果表明女性的直觉是个迷。
Shown a series of pairs of images of individuals displaying real and fake smiles, men marginally outperformed women. When it came to judging genuine and false expressions of happiness in the opposite sex, male participants did significantly better than females.研究对象看完一系列不同人的真实和虚假微笑的对比照片，男性对真假的识别略胜过女性。
【导语】海阔凭你跃，天⾼任你飞。
愿你信⼼满满，尽展聪明才智;妙笔⽣花，谱下锦绣第⼏篇。
学习的敌⼈是⾃⼰的知⾜，要使⾃⼰学⼀点东西，必需从不⾃满开始。
以下是为⼤家整理的《⼩学六年级英语阅读材料【五篇】》供您查阅。
【第⼀篇：逃家⼩兔】1. "Clifford, I have to go out now. Will you help me take care of Wally?" says Emily. Clifford wags his tail. “Cliffod，我现在得出去了。
你愿意帮我照看⼀下Wally吗?”Emily说。
Cliford摇摇尾巴。
2. Cleo and T-bone come to visit. "Wally is so lovely. Can we take him out and play with him?" says Cleo. "OK!" says Clifford. Cleo和T-bone来拜访。
“Wally好可爱。
我们能带他出去和他⼀起玩吗?”Cleo说。
“好啊!”Clifford说 3. Clifford opens the cage, and Wally runs away. Clifford and his friends run after him. T-Bone is stuck in a log. Clifford打开笼⼦，Wally跑了出来。
Clifford和他的朋友在后⾯追它。
T-bone被⽊头困住了。
4. Where is Wally? The three dogs run here and there, but still can't find Wally. "There he is!" says Clifford. "Gosh, he's fast!" says Cleo. Wally在哪?这三只狗到处跑，但还是找不到Wally。
中考英语阅读理解原文材料中考英语阅读理解原文材料英语阅读理解题的原文材料其实也是不错的阅读文章，下面是店铺整理的一些中考英语阅读理解题，欢迎大家阅读!中考英语阅读理解【1】Happiness is for everyone. You don’t need to care about those people who have beautiful houses with large gardens and swimming pools or those who have nice cars and a lot of money and so on. Why? Because those who have big houses may often feel lonely and those who have cars may want to walk on the country roads at their free time. In fact, happiness is always around you if you put your heart into it. When you are in trouble at school, your friends will help you; when you study hard at your lessons, your parents are always taking good care of your life and your health; when you get success, your friends will say congratulations to you; when you do something wrong, people around you will help you to correct it. And when you do something good to others, you will feel happy, too. All these are your happiness. If you notice a bit of them, you can see that happiness is always around you.Happiness is not the same as money. It is a feeling of your heart. When you are poor, you can also you are very happy, because you have something else that can’t be bought with money. When you meet with difficulties, you can say loudly you are very happy, because you have more chances to challenge yourself. So you cannot always say you are poor and poor and you have bad luck. As the saying goes, life is like a revolving(旋转的)door. When it does, it also opens. If you take every chance you get, you can be a happy and lucky person.1. Those who have big houses may often feel ________.A. happyB. lonelyC. freeD. excited2. When you fall down in a PE class, both your teacher and your classmates will ________.A. laugh at youB. play jokes on youC. quarrel with youD. help you up3. What will your friends say to you when you make great progress?A. Oh, so do I.B. Congratulations.C. Good luck.D. It’s just so-so.4. Which idea is NOT RIGHT according to the passage?A. People who have cars would never like to walk in the open air.B. You can get help from others when you make mistakes.C. You can still be a happy person even if you have little money.D. Happiness is always around you though difficulties come towards you.5. Which of the following is this passage about?A. Bad luck.B. Good luck.C. Happiness.D. Life.参考答案：1. B。
介绍课外阅读的英语材料作文The Importance of Extracurricular Reading in English.In the realm of language learning, extracurricular reading plays a pivotal role in enhancing one's command over the language. English, being a global language, requires constant practice and exposure to diverse content to master it effectively. Extracurricular reading not only complements classroom learning but also opens up a world of opportunities for personal growth and cultural understanding.One of the most significant benefits of extracurricular reading is the exposure to a vast vocabulary. Reading materials outside the classroom often contain words and phrases that are not taught in textbooks. Encountering these new words in context helps students understand their meanings and usage better. Over time, this practice significantly enhances their vocabulary size, making them more fluent and confident in their language use.Moreover, extracurricular reading improves reading comprehension skills. Unlike textbooks, which often have simplified language and content, extracurricular materials are written in a more natural and complex manner. This variety challenges students to read more carefully, understand the context, and infer meanings from the text. Regular practice with such materials helps students develop better reading comprehension skills, enabling them to understand and interpret a wide range of texts.Cultural understanding is another crucial aspect of extracurricular reading. By reading materials fromdifferent cultures and backgrounds, students gain insights into different ways of life, values, and perspectives. This cultural exposure broadens their horizons, makes them more tolerant and understanding of others, and prepares them for the globalized world.Additionally, extracurricular reading enhances writing skills. Reading diverse materials helps studentsfamiliarize themselves with different writing styles,structures, and techniques. They can learn how to express ideas effectively, use transitional words smoothly, and create engaging narratives. These skills are invaluable for writing assignments and essays, as well as for future professional writing tasks.Moreover, extracurricular reading provides a relaxing and enjoyable break from the rigorous classroom environment. Reading materials that interest students help them relax,de-stress, and develop a positive attitude towards learning. This positive mindset improves their overall academic performance and engagement.Furthermore, extracurricular reading encourages independent learning. Unlike classroom learning, which is often teacher-directed, extracurricular reading gives students the freedom to choose their own reading materials. This autonomy fosters a sense of responsibility and motivation, encouraging students to take ownership of their learning and pursue their interests.In conclusion, extracurricular reading in English is acrucial aspect of language learning. It not only enhances vocabulary and reading comprehension skills but also promotes cultural understanding, writing skills, and independent learning. By encouraging students to read beyond the classroom, we can help them develop into confident, knowledgeable, and culturally sensitive language learners.。
01、From the time we were babies we have been taught our manners. We are taught how to hold a knife and a fork and not to talk with our mouths full. We are taught how to shake hands and when to stand and when to sit and the way to introduce people. Sometimes good manners in one place are very bad manners somewhere else.Almost everywhere eating together means that you are very friendly to each other. But in parts of Polynesia(波利尼西亚) it is bad manners to be seen eating at all. They politely turn their backs on each other when they are taking food. Some East Africans spit four times as a kind of blessing. They do it to show that they want a sick person to get well, or tobless a new-born baby. In most other places, spitting means just something completely different. It’s something to do to show that you hate someone.When we go to visit someone we say “Hello”, and “How are you” and things like that.If you were visiting an East African village, everyone would be very careful not to pay any attention to you. The polite thing there would be for you to go quietly, without speaking to anyone, and sit beside your friend. You would wait until he had finished what he was doing and then he would begin talking to you.In a village in Arab, a visitor walks behind all the tents(帐篷) until he gets to the one he wants to visit. If he passed in front, he would be invited into each tent and asked to eat. It was rude(粗鲁) to refuse.从我们是婴儿时候起就被教导我们的举止。
英语阅读素材推荐随着全球化的发展，英语已经成为了一门不可或缺的语言。
无论是在学术领域、职场还是日常生活中，英语都扮演着重要的角色。
而提高英语阅读能力是学习英语的关键之一。
下面我将推荐几种适合提高英语阅读能力的素材。
1. 英语报纸和杂志阅读英语报纸和杂志是提高英语阅读能力的一种有效途径。
英语报纸和杂志提供了丰富的信息和各种主题的文章，可以根据自己的兴趣选择合适的阅读材料。
例如，《纽约时报》、《卫报》、《经济学人》等国际知名报纸，以及《国家地理》、《时尚》、《科学美国人》等杂志都是不错的选择。
通过阅读这些材料，不仅可以提高英语词汇量和语法水平，还可以了解国际时事和各个领域的知识。
2. 英语小说和文学作品阅读英语小说和文学作品是提高英语阅读能力的另一种方式。
选择适合自己水平的英语小说，可以让阅读变得更有趣。
经典的英语小说，如《傲慢与偏见》、《了不起的盖茨比》、《哈利·波特》系列等，不仅有精彩的故事情节，还可以让读者感受到不同的文化和思维方式。
此外，还可以阅读一些英语短篇小说和散文，如奥亚·尤斯宾斯基的《爱的教育》、欧·亨利的《最后一片叶子》等。
通过阅读这些文学作品，不仅可以提高阅读理解能力，还可以提升对英语文学的欣赏和理解能力。
3. 学术论文和科技文章如果你对学术研究或科技领域感兴趣，阅读学术论文和科技文章是一个不错的选择。
学术论文和科技文章通常使用较为专业的英语词汇和句式，可以帮助读者提高学术写作和阅读能力。
可以选择一些知名的学术期刊，如《自然》、《科学》、《经济学》等，阅读其中的研究论文。
此外，还可以关注一些科技媒体网站，如《科技评论》、《麻省理工科技评论》等，阅读其中的科技文章。
通过阅读这些素材，不仅可以了解最新的科技进展和学术研究，还可以提高英语阅读能力和科技素养。
4. 英语博客和社交媒体除了传统的阅读素材，英语博客和社交媒体也是提高英语阅读能力的一种途径。
可以关注一些英语博客，如《英语学习博客》、《英语流利说》等，阅读其中的英语学习心得和技巧。
英语口语测试阅读文章材料随着我国经济发展和开放程度的加深,我国参与国际经济活动越来越频繁,英语作为国际上的通用语言与我们的生活越来越密切。
下面是店铺带来的英语口语测试阅读文章材料，欢迎阅读!英语口语测试阅读文章材料1Unit 5 Nightlife夜生活Part One: Expressions1. Do you have any tickets for the show tonight?今晚的演出还有票卖吗?2. I’m sorry. It’s sold out.对不起，都卖光了。
3. What time does it start?什么时候开始?4. Where is section A located?A区在哪里?5. What do you recommend?你有什么推荐?6. I’ll have a tall expresso with soy milk and cinnamon sprinkles, please.我要一个大号浓咖啡，加豆奶和肉桂。
7. Do you serve any draft beer?有生啤卖吗?8. I’d like to make a reservation for two at eight o’clock.我预订一张八点钟的两人台。
9. Can I take your order?可以点菜了吗?10. What are the odds?(成功的)几率是多少?Part Two: Dialogues1.Tickets 买票A: Hi, do you have any tickets for the show tonight?B: Sorry, it’s all sold out.A: Well, do you have any for tomorrow?B: We have tickets for the matinee. It starts at 3p.m.A: Ok. I’ll take it.B: Where would you like to sit?A: Do you have anything in the middle section? I want a good view, but sitting too close hurts my eyes.B: Certainly.A: 你好，今晚的演出还有票卖吗?B: 对不起，卖完了。
精选英语课外阅读材料Title: The Enchanted Forest.Once upon a time, there was a mysterious enchanted forest that lay hidden deep within the heart of the mountains. Legends spoke of this forest, whispering tales of creatures, fairies, and wizards who resided there. The forest was said to be protected by a powerful enchantment, visible only to those with pure hearts and innocent minds.One sunny day, a young girl named Alice stumbled upon the hidden path leading to the enchanted forest. She had been feeling quite bored and adventurous lately, so she decided to follow the path and see where it led. As she walked deeper into the forest, she noticed that the trees seemed to be alive, their branches swaying and whispering to each other. The air was filled with a magical scent, and the sunbeams filtering through the leaves cast a dappled light on the ground.Alice soon encountered a group of fairies dancing playfully among the flowers. They were dressed in vibrant colors and wore wings of shimmering dust. The fairies introduced themselves and invited Alice to join their dance. She happily obliged, and soon she was twirling and laughing along with them.As the dance came to an end, a wise old fairy approached Alice. "You have a special gift, Alice," thefairy said. "Your heart is pure and your mind is innocent. This enchanted forest needs your help."Alice was intrigued. "How can I help?" she asked.The fairy explained that the forest was under the spell of a wicked wizard who had cast a dark enchantment over it, causing the creatures and plants to lose their color and vitality. Only someone with a pure heart could break the spell and restore the forest to its former glory.Alice immediately agreed to help. She followed thefairy to the heart of the forest, where a towering, ancienttree stood. This was the source of the enchantment, and Alice was told that she would need to climb to the tree's highest branch to find the enchanted fruit that held the power to break the spell.With courage in her heart, Alice began her climb. The branches seemed to reach out and guide her, and the leaves whispered encouraging words in her ear. She felt a sense of peace and harmony as she ascended higher and higher.Finally, after much climbing, Alice reached the top of the tree. There, hanging from a branch, was a single, glistening fruit. It was covered in a soft, iridescent glow and seemed to pulse with life. Alice carefully plucked the fruit from the branch and held it in her hand.Instantly, a warm, radiant energy flowed through her body. She felt her heart beating in sync with the rhythm of the forest, and she knew that she had the power to break the spell. She closed her eyes and imagined the forest restored to its former beauty.When she opened her eyes, the forest had transformed. The trees were vibrant and lush, the flowers were bloomingin a riot of colors, and the creatures were dancing and singing with joy. The wicked wizard's spell had been broken, and the enchanted forest was once again a place of magicand wonder.Alice smiled and knew that she had done a good thing. She had helped the forest and its creatures return to their natural state of beauty and harmony. As she made her way back to the real world, she carried with her the memoriesof her adventure in the enchanted forest and the lesson she had learned about the power of a pure heart.And so, the story of Alice's journey in the enchanted forest became a legend that was passed down through the ages, inspiring countless hearts with the belief that anyone, with courage and kindness, can make a difference in the world.。
五、完形填空（共12分，每小题1分）It was a cold afternoon. I was training a football team for first-graders. It was the day of our 35 practice.I seated the kids on a long bench on the grass. Any time I was training a new team, I spent a few minutes getting them to 36 one another, each kid saying his name and the names of all the kids sitting to the left.A few minutes later, I decided to put the kids to a test. Alex was chosen to start at the far left end of the bench, go up to each kid, say that kid’s 37 and then shake his right hand.Alex was doing well and he went down the row --- Dylan, Micah, David, and Beau until he reached Ben. He said Ben’s name and reached out his right hand, but Ben just38 there, his right hand 39 in his jacket.“Ben, why don’t you let Alex shake your hand?” I asked. Ben stood up, and said, “But I don’t have the 40 .” He pulled his jacket away from his right shoulder.Ben’s arm ran from his right shoulder but his arm 41 at the elbow (胳膊肘). No forearm, no hand, no fingers!I got shocked (震惊) and couldn’t think of 42 to say, but the little kids were unwilling to hide their curiosity (好奇心).“Look at that,” said Alex.“Hey, what happened to your arm?” another asked. “Does it hurt?”Ben took off his jacket to 43 the kids what they all wanted to see. He explained to them that he had always been that 44 and that there was nothing45 . What he meant was that he wanted to be treated like everybody else.And he was from that day on.From that day on, he was 46 Ben, one of the players on the team.35. A. first B. next C. later D. last36. A. help B. see C. know D. teach37. A. number B. class C. story D. name38. A. sat B. played C. lay D. studied39. A. opened B. raised C. waved D. hidden40. A. finger B. hand C. foot D. leg41. A. met B. pointed C. stopped D. joined42. A. something B. anything C. nothing D. everything43. A. offer B. give C. show D. ask44. A. style B. manner C. way D. nature45. A. common B. special C. magic D. harmful46. A. also B. even C. yet D. just六、阅读理解。
By Rebecca Laurence13 June 2018“It’s alive! It’s alive!! It’s alive!!! - Frankenstein(James Whale, 1931)One night during the strangely cool and wetsummer of 1816, a group of friends gathered inthe Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva.“We will each write a ghost story,” Lord Byronannounced to the others, who included Byron’sdoctor John Polidori, Percy Shelley and the18-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Frankenstein is simultaneously the first science-fiction novel, a Gothic horror, a tragic romance and a parable all sewn into one towering body“I busied myself to think of a story,” Mary wrote.“One which would speak to the mysterious fearsof our nature and awaken thrilling horror.” Hertale became a novel, published two years lateras ‘Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus’,the story of a young natural philosophy student,who, burning with crazed ambition, brings abody to life but rejects his horrifying ‘creature’ infear and disgust.Mary Godwin (later Shelley) first thought of the story that became Frankenstein when she was 18 years old (Credit: Alamy)More like this:- The ultimate US novel about race- He took us on a tour of Hell- The 100 stories that shaped the worldFrankenstein is simultaneously the firstscience-fiction novel, a Gothic horror, a tragic romance and a parable all sewn into one towering body. Its two central tragedies – one of overreaching and the dangers of ‘playing God’, the other of parental abandonment and societal rejection – are as relevant today as ever.Are there any characters more powerfully cemented in the popular imagination? The two archetypes Mary brought to life, the ‘creature’and the overambitious or ‘mad scientist’, lurched and ranted their way off the page and on to stage and screen, electrifying theatre and filmgoers as two of the lynchpins, not just of the horror genre, but of cinema itself.Frankenstein spawned interpretations and parodies that reach from the very origins of the moving image in Thomas Edison’s horrifying 1910 short film, through Hollywood’s Universal Pictures and Britain’s Hammer series, t o The Rocky Horror Picture Show – and itforeshadowed others, such as 2001: A SpaceOdyssey. There are Italian and JapaneseFrankensteins and a Blaxploitationfilm, Blackenstein; Mel Brooks, KennethBranagh and Tim Burton all have their owntakes. The characters or themes appear in orhave inspired comic books, video games,spin-off novels, TV series and songs by artistsas diverse as Ice Cube, Metallica and T’Pau: “Itwas a flight on the wings of a young girl’sdreams/ That flew too far away/ And we couldmake the monster live again…”Thomas Edison’s 1910 short film was the first time the story of Frankenstein appeared on screen (Credit: Alamy)As a parable, the novel has been used as an argument both for and against slavery and revolution, vivisection and the Empire, and as a dialogue between history and progress, religion and atheism. The prefix ‘Franken-’ thrives in the modern lexicon as a byword for any anxiety about science, scientists and the human body, and has been used to shape worries about the atomic bomb, GM crops, strange foods, stem cell research and bothto characterise and assuage fears about AI. In the two centuries since she wrote it, Mary’s tale, in the words of Bobby Pickett’s comedy song, Monster Mash, has truly been “a graveyard smash” that “caught on in a flash”.‘Mysterious fears of our nature’“All them scientists –they’re all alike. They say they’re working for us but what they really want is to rule the world!” – Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks, 1974).Why was Mary’s vision of ‘science gone wrong’ so ripe a vessel to carry our fears? She certainly captured the zeitgeist: the early 19th Century teetered on the brink of the modern age, and although the term ‘science’ existed, a ‘scientist’ didn’t. Great change brings fear, as Fiona Sampson, author of a new biography of Mary Shelley tells BBC Culture: “With modernity –with the sense that humans are what there is, comes a sense of anxiety about what humans can do and particularly an anxiety about science and technology.” Frankenstein fused these contemporary concerns about the possibilities of science with fiction for the very first time – with electrifying results. Far from an outrageous fantasy, the novel imagined what could happen if people – and in particular overreaching or unhinged scientists – went too far.Luigi Galvani’s experiments using electrici ty to reanimate dead frogs was possibly one of the inspirations for the novel (Credit: Alamy)Several points of popular 19th Centuryintellectual discourse appear in the novel. Weknow from Mary’s writings that in that VillaDiodati tableau of 1816, Shelley and Byrondiscussed the ‘principle of life’. Contemporarydebates raged on the nature of humanity andwhether it was possible to raise the dead. Inthe book’s 1831 preface, Mary Shelley noted‘galvanism’ as an influence, referring to LuigiGalvani’s experiments using electric currents tomake frogs’ legs twitch. Galvani’s nephew Giovanni Aldini would go further in 1803, using a newly-dead murderer as his subject. Many of the doctors and thinkers at the heart of these debates – such as the chemist Sir Humphry Davy –were connected to Mary’s father, thepre-eminent intellectual William Godwin, who himself had developed principles warning of the dangers and moral implications of‘overreaching’.Despite these nuggets of contemporary thought, though, there’s little in the way of tangible theory, method, or scientific paraphernalia in Frankenstein. The climactic moment of creation is described simply: “With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet.” The ‘science’ of the book i s rooted in its time and yet timeless. It is so vague, therefore, as to provide an immediate linguistic and visualreference point for moments of great change and fear.Monster mash-upBut surely the reason we turn to Frankenstein when expressing an anxiety about science is down to the impression the ‘monster’ and ‘mad scientist’ have had on our collective brains. How did this happen? Just as the science is vague in the book, so is the description of the creature as he comes to life. The moment is distilled into a single, bloodcurdling image:“It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.”Theodore von Holst's illustration shows the terrifying moment the creature comes to life (Credit: Alamy)It’s a double-edged sword that Hollywood’s vision secured the story’s longevity butob scured Mary’s version of itWith his ‘yellow skin’, ‘watery eyes’, ‘shrivelledcomplexion’ and ‘straight black lips’ the creatureis far from the beautiful ideal Frankensteinintended. This spare but resonant prose provedirresistible to theatre and later film-makers andtheir audiences, as Christopher Frayling notes inhis book, Frankenstein: The First Two HundredYears. The shocking novel became ascandalous play – and of course, a huge hit, firstin Britain and then abroad. These early plays,Frayling argues, “set the tone for futuredramatisations”. They condensed the story intobasic archetypes, adding many of the mostmemorable elements audiences wouldrecognise today, including the comical labassistant, the line “It lives!” and a bad-brainedmonster who doesn’t speak.James Whale’s 1931 film for Universal Pictures starred Bo ris Karloff as the creature (Credit: Alamy)It’s a double-edged sword that the monstroussuccess of Hollywood’s vision (James Whale’s1931 film for Universal starring Boris Karloff as the creature) in many ways secured the story’s longevity but obscured Ma ry’s version of it. “Frankenstein [the film] created the definitive movie image of the mad scientist, and in the process launched a thousand imitations,” Frayling writes. “It fused a domesticated form of Expressionism, overacting, an irreverent adaptation of an acknowledged classic, European actors and visualisers – and the American carnival tradition – to create an American genre. It began to look as though Hollywood had actually invented Frankenstein.”Making a mythAnd so, a movie legend was born. Although Hollywood may have cherry-picked from Mary Shelley to cement its version of the story, it’s clear she also borrowed from historical myths to create her own. The subtitle of Frankenstein,‘The Modern Prometheus’, namechecks the figure of ancient Greek and Latin mythology whovariously steals fire from the gods and gives it toman (or makes a man out of clay) andrepresents the dangers of overreaching. But theother great myth of the novel is of God andAdam, and a quote from Paradise Lost appearsin the e pigraph to Frankenstein: “Did I requestthee, Maker, from my clay / To mould me man?”.And it is above all the creature’s tragedy – andhis humanity – that in his cinematictransformation into a mute but terrifying monster,has been forgotten.The creatu re’s humanity – and his tragedy – are often forgotten in the story’s trajectory (Credit: Alamy)Mary gave him a voice and a literary educationin order to express his thoughts and desires (heis one of three narrators in the book). Like TheTempest’s Calib an, to whom Shakespeare givesa poetic and poignant speech, the creature’slament is haunting: “Remember that I am thycreature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am ratherthe fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy forno misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from whichI alone am irrevocably excluded. I wasbenevolent and good; misery made me a fiend.Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.”As an allegory of our responsibility to children, outsiders, or those who don’t conform to conventional ideals of beauty, there isn’t a stronger oneIf we think of the creature as a badly made andunattractive human, his tragedy deepens. Hisfirst, catastrophic rejection is by his creator (man,God),which Christopher Frayling calls “thatpost-partum moment”, and is ofte n identified asa parental abandonment. If you consider that Mary Shelley had lost her mother Mary Wollstonecraft at her own birth, had just buried her baby girl and was looking after her pregnant step-sister as she was writing the book – which took exactly nine months to complete – the relevance of birth (and death) makes even more sense. The baby/creature is alienated further as society recoils from him; he is made good, but it is the rejection that creates his murderous revenge. As an allegory of our responsibility to children, outsiders, or those who don’t conform to conventional ideals of beauty, there isn’t a stronger one.Mary lost her mother Mary Wollstonecraft (pictured) at her birth, had buried her baby and was looking after her pregnantstep-sister as she was writing the book (Credit: Alamy)“The way that we sometimes identify withFrankenstein, as we’ve all taken risks, we’ve allhad hubristic moments, and partly with thecreature; they are both aspects of ourselves – allour selves” Fiona Sa mpson tells BBC Culture,“they both speak to us about being human. Andthat’s incredibly powerful.”Some modern interpretations, such as NickDear’s 2011 play (directed by Danny Boyle forthe National Theatre), have highlighted thequestion of who is the monster and who is thevictim, with the lead actors Jonny Lee Miller andBenedict Cumberbatch alternating roles eachnight. And in this shapeshifting context, it’s fittingthat the creature is widely mistaken as‘Frankenstein’, rather than his creator.In Nick Dear’s 2011 play Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller swapped between the roles of the creature and the doctor (Credit: Alamy)So could a new, cinematic version ofFrankenstein be on the cards? One which bringstogether the creature’s humanity, the mirroringof man and monster and contemporary anxieties? Just like the Romantics, we edge towards a new modern age, but this time, of AI, which brings its own raft of fears and moral quandaries. A clutch of recent films and TV shows have channelled Frankenstein, exploring what it means to be human in the context of robotics and AI – Blade Runner, Ex Machina, AI, Her, Humans and Westworld among them. But there is one film director (rumoured to have been developing the story for a while) who might be able to recapture the creature’s lament as a parable for our time.Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water is also a sci-fi monster fable; he is rumoured to be producing his own version of Frankenstein (Credit: Alamy)Collecting a Bafta for a different sci-fi monsterfable, The Shape of Water, this year, Guillermodel Toro thanked Mary Shelley, because“she picked up the plight of Caliban and shegave weight to the burden of Prometheus, andshe gave voice to the voiceless and presence tothe invisible, and she showed me thatsometimes to talk about monsters, we needto fabricate monsters of our own, and parablesdo that for us”.When the then-Mary Godwin thought up herchilling parable that summer of 1816, shecouldn’t have imagined how far it would go toshape culture and society, science and fear, wellinto the 21st Century. “And now, once again, Ibid my hideous progeny go forth and prosper,”she wrote in the preface to the 1831 edition. Thecreator and creature, parent and child, the writerand her story – they went forth, and did they prosper? Two hundred years since its publication, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is no longer just a tale of “thrilling horror” but its own myth, sent out into the world.BBC Culture’s Stories that shaped the world series looks at epic poems, plays and novels from around the globe that have influenced history and changed mindsets. A poll of writers and critics,100 Stories that Shaped the World, was published in May.If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or messageus on Twitter.And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly features newsletter, called “If You Only Read 6 Things This Week”. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future,Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.。
