美国文学题_答案

Literary terms1. Transcendentalism: 超验主义1. Flourished from about 1836 to 1860. It stood in reaction against the rationalism of the Enlightenment, and as a revolt against the cultural dominion of England.2. General features(1)Emphasis on the significance of imagination, spirit and individualism, exploring the innermost being of man(2)Opposition against neoclassical conception of formality and order(3)Divinity of man and nature, perception of nature as symbolic of Spirit or God(4)Goes further into nature to acquire truth and knowledge than Romanticism3. Major figures of Transcendentalism: Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller.2. American naturalism：1. Flourished between1880 to 1940. It was a term created by Emile Zola. Charles Darwin‟s evolutionary theory and French naturalism played an important role in American naturalism.2. General features:(1)A view of human beings as passive victims of natural forces and social environment(2)Scientific accuracy and lots of factual details(3)Extreme objectivity and frankness(4)Tone: ugly side of the society, gloom, hopelessness, despair3. Major figures of naturalism: Stephen crane，Frank Norris, Jack London and Theodore Dreiser.3.The lost generation:1. The term came from Gertrude Stein who said in Hemingway's presence that “you are all a lost generation.”2. It refers to the generation after the World War I or the young writers who lived as expatriates in Western Europe for a short time. Most of them caught in the war and cut from the old value.3. They were disillusioned with capitalist ideals and civilization and sense of loss after the world war.4. These writers adopted unconventional style of writing and reacted against the tendencies of the older writers in the 1920s.4.Jazz age:1. It refers to the time in 1930s after the World War I when there was a financial boom.2. It is about life and fate of young men who indulged in stimulus and pleasure3. And disillusionment of American dream.4. Fitzgerald was the literary spokesman for the Jazz age.5.Free verse:1. It is a style of poetry that has irregular rhythms and lines and attempts to avoid any predetermined verse structure. Instead, it uses the cadences of natural speech.2. While it alternates stressed and unstressed syllables as stricter verse forms do, free verse does so in a looser way.3. Whitman's poetry is the most impressive example of free verse. Other major figures of free verse include Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot and other major American can poets of the 20th century.6. The iceberg analogy:1. The Iceberg Theory is a writing theory by Ernest Hemingway: "The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one eighth of it being above water.”2. It means that a writer may omit things but the readers will have a feeling of those things as stronglyas though the writer had stated them if the writer is writing truly enough.3. It was well suited to evoke the stoic courage of his characters who face lonely and thankless tasks. 1.Poe's Poetic Ideas1. Poe believes that Poetry is not to summarize and interpret earthly experience, but the elevation of excitement of the soul should be “the poetic principle”. The best poetic topic is perishing of beauty, or “supernal beauty”.2. Everything that detains human soul must be excluded from the poetry, including moral sense.3. Poe defines poetry as “the rhythmical creation of beauty”, giving emphasis upon the importance of the rhythmical or musical element in poetry.2．Whitman's style1. Transcendentalism: optimism, divinity of man and nature, emphasis on individualism and exploring the innermost of being of man.2. Democratic thought: celebration of ideal democratic society and attacks against corruption3. The sprawling lines: extremely long.4. Parallelism: the parallel lines say the same thing but use different words.5. Envelope structure: the first line begins with the subject, and then more and more lines list modifiers till the verb appears in the last line of the stanza. This is like enclosing a whole list of ideas in an envelope.6. Catalogue technique: means listing. Typical poems by Whitman make long, long lists of images, of sights, sounds, smells, taste, and touch.7. No conventional meter and rhythm8. The verse unit is usually an independent clause.3．Formal features of Dickinson's poetry1. Based on her own experience2. Theme: love, nature, friendship, death and immorality3. Peculiar poetic form: abundant dashes, irregular punctuation and capitalization, faulty grammar, no title, no regular line4. Remarkable for its uncommon variety, original subtlety and unusual richness5. Poetic indirection: e.g. “There is certain slant of light” and “Tell all the truth but tell its slant!”4．The theme and techniques in Eliot's "The W aste Land"Theme：1. Modern spiritual barrenness,2. Despair and depression that followed the WWI3. Sterility and turbulence of the modern world, and the decline and break-down of western culture4. Shows the search for regeneration by people living in a chaotic world.Technique： 1. V aried length and rhythm to harmonize with the changing subject matter2. Unrhymed lines,3. Lots of borrowings from different writers5．Analysis of "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson1. Theme：It seems that Cory‟s life should be a happy and successful one, but his inner world is far more complicated than what he appears to be. It tells us that success may be meaningless to somepeople and cannot reflect the true meaning and value of life and shows the hollowness and loneliness of modern people.2. TechniqueWording: (1)Lively words: “imperially”; “quietly”; “admirably”(2)Simple words: looked at；clean favored；was arrayed；glittered; was human; put a bullet through his head(3)Simple words to show contrast between the cheering life and the tragic ending(4)Ancient words: …clean favored‟、…arrayed‟、…schooled‟to correspond the serious topic Unexpected ending, sharp contrast and mild sarcasm, leaving great room for readers to think about the topicPoetic sounds: Traditional pentameter with a rhyming scheme of“abab, cdcd，elef, ghgh”6. Comment on “Stopping by W oods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert FrostSummary and Theme:The speaker is stopping by some woods on a snowy evening. He or she takes in the lovely scene in near-silence, is tempted to stay longer, but acknowledges the obligations and duties yet to be fulfilled before he or she can rest for the night. In this poem, Robert Frost discusses the relation between mortal obligations and the eternal rest.Form:The poem consists of four (almost) identically constructed stanzas. Each line is iambic, with four stressed syllables:Features of content:1. Plain in words, but profound in meaning. Simple words with far-reaching meanings2. Since it is full of symbolic constructs, it is thought- provoking, and the readers can get great fun in developing the subtext.Detailed analysis:In the first stanza, the poet leads us to a piece of beautiful woods filled up with snow. As we all know that the woods are usually linked with myth, the unknown world, and the utmost tranquility. We can guess that, in this poem, the poet takes the woods as the eternal life, the bliss, that is to say the Heaven. He is fed up with the routine duties, and wants to rest forever. The woods happens to provide an ideal place.Then it comes to the snowy evening. “It is the darkest evening of the year.” The snow is cold and the evening dark, all of which indicate that the poet is depressed inside. His subconscious wants him to s top, but his “little horse” with the inspiring bells, which is actually a symbol of vitality, urges him to go. In the second stanza, the poet uses “frozen lake” to denote death. Why he transfers the embodiment of death from the beautiful “woods” to the deadly “frozen lake” is because the point of view has changed from the poet to the little horse.In the third stanza, the little horse wonders why the poet stops when he should go on. Only “the easy wind” and “downy flake” answer it with soft sweep. We can imagine the scene: the “downy flake” is so light and gentle that it flies in the soft wind. Thus we can get the idea: the poet‟s answer is as slight and uncertain as the flakes, because he himself doesn‟t know why he stops suddenly in the woods.Toward the end, the poet comes back from the illusion. Though the woods are attractive, he must move on, because he has promise to keep. “The promise” could be an obligation or a goal. One cannotdie before fulfilling one‟s dream. The poet uses “sleep” to represent death, just as we usually do.7.Theme and technique in The Great Gatsby by FitzgeraldTheme:It resents the decline of the American dream in1920s, the hollowness of the upper class and the falseness of ideals and moves toward disillusion. It also shows that will not to a perfect country. Instead, it leads total depravity. The nationals become hypocritical, indifferent, empty, and cruel, day and night indulged in material pursuing.Technique:1. Development of traditional narrative techniques and first-person narrator: The whole novel proceeded with Nick‟s narration.2. Two main clues of the story: The main clue is the imbroglio between Gatsby and the family of Tom, and the minor one is the imbroglio between Tom and the family of Wilson.3. The contrastive techniques endow the novel with artistic glamour and profound connotation.4. Technique of delayed character revelation to emphasize the theatrical quality of Gatsby‟s approach to lifement on Hemingway's style and Farewell to Arms"Style:1. News reporting style: direct, concise, life-like dialogues, less ornaments2. Iceberg theory: omit something but the readers will still have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them thanks to the direct and true description.3. The Loss generation: people disillusioned after the world war by old values and insensitivity and hollowness of society4. Hemingway code heroes: (1) physically strong, (2) endowed with certain skills, (3)strong will power(Man can be destroyed, not defeated; Courage=grace under pressure), (4)tested in difficulties Farewell to ArmsThemes:The grim reality of war, the relationship between love and pain, feelings of lossMotifs:Masculinity, games and divertissement, loyalty versus abandonment, illusions and fantasies, alcoholismSymbols: Rain serves in the novel as a potent symbol of the inevitable disintegration of happiness in life. Catherine‟s hair9.Analyze "Dry September" by William Faulkner1. “Dry September” was written in 1931, and is a well-known story of Faulkner.2. This story touches upon the strange relationship between sex and violence, examines the psychological state of the main characters, and exposes the crime of racial discrimination which makes one bristle with anger.3. The tone of this story contributes much to its effectiveness, particularly to the imagery of infernal heat and dryness and to the setting itself.4. From the character Miss Minnie the reader could perceive the obvious impact of Freud‟s ideas on William Faulkner.。

I. Complete each of the following statements with proper words or phrases andput your answers on the Answer Sheet. (20%, 1 point for each)1. The first permanent English settlement in North America was established at Jamestown, Virginia in .2. became the first American writer.3. Hard work, thrift, piety and sobriety were the values that dominated much of the early American writing.4. In American literature, the 18th century was an age of and Revolution.5. Franklin’s best writing is found in his masterpiece .6. On January 10, 1776, Thomas Paine’s famous pamphlet appeared.7. The signing of symbolized the birth of an independent American nation.8. The most outstanding poet in America of the 18th century was .9. Washington Irving’s became the first work by an American writer to win international fame.10. is the summit of American Romanticism.11. With the publication of Emerson’s in 1836,American R omanticism reached its summit.12. Hester Prynne is the heroine in Hawthorne’s novel .13.Henry James’ major fictional theme is .14. brought the Romantic period to an end. So the age of Realism came into existence.15. The Poetic style invented by Whitman is now called .16. “Because I could not stop for Death---” is written by .17. The term The Gilded Age is given by to describe the post-civil war years.18. Theodore Dreiser’s first novel is .19. The leader of the literary movement Imagism is .20. is the spokesman for Lost Generation.答案: 1. 1607 2. John Smith 3. Puritan 4. Reason5. The Autobiography6. Common Sense7. The Declaration of Independence8. Philip Freneau9. Sketch Book 10. Transcendentalism11. Nature 12. The Scarlet Letter 13. international theme 14. The civil war15. free verse 16. Emily Dickinson 17. Mark Twain18. Sister Carrie 19. Ezra Pound 20. Ernest HemingwayII. Each of the following statements below is followed by four alternative answersor completions. Choose the one that is the best in each case and put your answers on the Answer Sheet. (30%, 1 point for each)1. The first American writer of local color to achieve wide popularity was .A. Bret HarteB. Mark TwainC. Henry JamesD. William Dean Howells2. Which of the following is the masterpiece of Mark Twain?A. The Gilded AgeB. The Adventures of Tom SawyerC. The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnD. Jumping Frog3. Which writer has no naturalist tendency?A. Mark TwainB. Jack LondonC. Theodore DreiserD. Frank Norris4. Transcendentalist doctrines found their greatest literary advocates in and Thoreau.A. JeffersonB. EmersonC. FreneauD. Oversoul5. Which of the following doesn’t belong to Dreiser’s “Trilogy of Desire”?A. The FinancierB. The TitanC. The StoicD. An American Tragedy6. Which is the character who appears in the novel Moby Dick?A. Hester PrynneB. Mr. HooperC. AhabD. Pearl7. written by Henry James brought him first international fame.A. The Golden BowlB. The AmericanC. The Tragic MuseD. Daisy Miller8. “ ”was a term created by the French novelist, Emile Zola.A. realismB. naturalismC. transcendentalismD. veritism9. Jack London was at his height of his powers when he wrote , which is deeply influenced by Darwinism.A. The Sea WolfB. To Build a FireC. The Call of the WildD. Martin Eden10. The Cop and the Anthem is written by .A. O. HenryB. Henry JamesC. Jack LondonD. Mark Twain11. “Two small people, without dislike or suspicion.” is a line in the poem The River-Merchant’s Wife: A Letter written by .A. T. S. EliotB.Robert FrostC.Ezra PoundD. Carl Sandburg12. The imagist poets followed three principles, they are , direct treatment and economy of expression.A. blank verseB. rhythmC. free verseD. common speech13. Of the following American writers, who has NOT been an expatriate in Paris?A. Ernest HemingwayB. Ezra PoundC. F. S. FitzgeraldD. Emily Dickinson14. Who was the foremost novelist of the American Depression of the 1930s?A. Ernest HemingwayB. Ezra PoundC. John SteinbeckD. F. S. Fitzgerald15. The first writings that we call American were the narratives and of the early settlements.A. journalsB. poetryC. dramaD. folklores16. An American Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1828 by .A. Samuel JohnsonB. Noah WebsterC. Daniel WebsterD. Daniel Defoe17. Walden is written by .A. EmersonB. ThoreauC. PoeD. Hawthorne18. is famous for psychological realism.A. Mark TwainB. William Dean HowellsC. Henry JamesD. Walt Whitman19. Which is generally regarded as the Bible of New England Transcendentalism?A. NatureB. WaldenC. On BeautyD. Self-Reliance20. Which is regarded as the “Declaration of Intellectual Independence”?A. The American ScholarB. English TraitsC. The Conduct of LifeD. Nature21. Santiago is the character in Hemingway’s nov el .A. In Our TimeB. The Old Man and the SeaC. For Whom the Bell TollsD. The Sun Also Rises22. Which of the following isa much harsher realism?A. local colorismB. naturalismC. romanticismD. imagism23. Who is the arbiter of 19th century literary realism in America?A. Mark TwainB. Bret HarteC. William Dean HowellsD. Henry James24. F. S. Fitzgerald is NOT the author of .A. The Great GatsbyB. Tender is the NightC. A Farewell to the ArmsD. This Side of Paradise25. The pessimism and deterministic ideas of naturalism pervaded the works of such American writers as .A. Mark TwainB. F. S. FitzgeraldC. Walt WhitmanD. Stephen Crane26. Charles Drouet is a character in the novel of______.A. The AmericanB. The Portrait of aLadyC. Sister CarrieD. The Gift of the Magi27. American literature produced only one female poet during the 19th century. She was .A. Anne BradstreetB. Jane AustenC. Emily DickinsonD. Harriet Beecher28. read his poetry at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy.A. Robert FrostB. T. S. EliotC. Carl SandburgD. Ezra Pound29. With Howells, James and Mark Twain active on the scene, became the major trend in the 70s and 80s of the 19th century.A. sentimentalismB. romanticismC. realismD. naturalism30. “The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough”. This is the shortest poem written by .A. T. S. EliotB. Robert FrostC.Ezra PoundD. Wallace Stevens答案: 1 --- 5: A C A B D 6 --- 10: C D B C A11 ---15:C B D C A 16 --- 20: B B C A A21 ---25: B B C C D 26 --- 30: C C A C CIII. Comment on the following poems. Put your answers on the Answer Sheet. (20%, 10 points for each)1. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Eveningby: Robert FrostWhose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow.My little horse must think it queerTo stop without a farmhouse nearBetween the woods and frozen lakeThe darkest evening of the year.He gives his harness bells a shakeTo ask if there is some mistake.The only other sound’s the sweepOf easy wind and downy flake.The woods are lovely, dark and deep.But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.答案: 1. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" was Frost's favorite of his own poems and Frost in a letter to Louis Untermeyer called it "my best bid for remembrance."This poem illustrates many of the qualities most characteristic of Frost, including the attention to natural detail, the relationship between humans and nature, and the strong theme suggested by individual lines. The speaker in the poem, a traveler by horse on the darkest night of the year, stops to watch a woods filling up with snow. He thinks the owner of the woods is someone who lives in the village and will not see him stopping there. While he is attracted by the beauty of the woods and nature, he is reminded by his little horse and realizes that he has obligations which pull him away from the lure of nature. The speaker describes the beauty and temptation of the woods as “lovely, dark and deep,” but reminds himself th at he must not remain there, because he has “promises to keep,” and a long journey ahead of him. He has to complete his obligations and then make his aspirations to be realized. Through the symbolic woods and horse, we also get to know that the speaker has strong self-awareness and self-discipline.In another way, the poem can be analyzed from the perspective of aspiration and realization. Aspiration is something to be worked at. We enjoy the fruit of our realization only when we reach our destination. But from the spiritual point of view, we notice something else that is the transformation of aspiration and realization. Today's aspiration transforms itself into tomorrow's realization. Again, tomorrow's realization is the pathfinder of a higher and deeper goal. There is no end to our realization, and there is no end of our aspiration as long as you are alive. Our journey is eternal, and the road that we are taking on is also eternal. All aspirations become realization till the end of one’s life.The poem is written in iambic tetrameter in the Rubaiyat stanza created by Edward Fitzgerald. Each verse (save the last) follows an a-a-b-a rhyming scheme, with the following verse's a's rhyming with that verse's b, which is a chain rhyme. Overall, the rhyme scheme is AABA-BBCB-CCDC-DDDD.1. I Heard a Fly Buzz—When I Died—by: Emily DickinsonI heard a Fly buzz — when I died —The Stillness in the RoomWas like the Stillness in the Air —Between the Heaves of Storm —The Eyes around — had wrung them dry —And Breaths were gathering firmFor that last Onset — when the KingBe witnessed — in the Room —I willed my Keepsakes — Signed awayWhat portion of me beAssignable — and then it wasThere interposed a Fly —With Blue — uncertain stumbling Buzz —Between the light — and me —And then the Windows failed — and thenI could not see to see —答案:2. The poetess is watching her own death and recording the process. Instead of seeing God and hearing the songs of angels yearned for by Puritans upon death she heard a fly buzz, which is really ironic.Fly: sets off the stillness in the room;blocks off the light (from heaven);suggests a coming decadence→ the speaker loses the opportunity of gaining immortality afte r deathThe fly plays an important role in the speaker’s experience of death. The poem is, in part, about “the conflict between preconception and perception.” The person on his or her deathbed shifts perspective from “the ritual of dying” to “the fact of death.” The fly, by interrupting the dying speaker with its “Blue — uncertain stumbling Buzz —” obliterates his or her false notions of death. The sound of the fly represents “the last conscious link with reality.” The poem lacks any hint of a life after d eath.IV. Give brief answers to the following and write your answers on the Answer Sheet. (30%, 15 points for each)1. Being a period of the great flowering of American literature, the Romantic Period is called “the American Renaissance”. Briefly discuss w hat the features of American literature in this period are.答案:1.(1) The whole nation had a strong sense of optimism and the mood of “feeling good”, giving birth to the spectacular outburst of romantic feeling.(2) The English counterpart exerted a stimulating impact on the writers of the young nation.(3) Taking foreign influence in consideration, the great works of American writers still carried typically American romantic color.(4) The young nation had brought forth its own philosophy. Transcendentalism stresses man’s capacity of knowing truth intuitively, and of attaining knowledge transcending the reach of the senses.2. How does Sister Carrie embody Dreiser’s naturalistic belief?答案:2.(1) In this novel, Dreiser expressed his naturalistic pursuit by expounding the purposelessness of life and attacking the conventional moral standards.(2) The novel best embodies his naturalistic belief that while men are controlled by heredity, instinct and chance, a few extraordinary and unsophisticated human beings refuse to accept their fate wordlessly and instead strive, unsuccessfully, to find meaning and purpose for their existence.(3) To Sister Carrie, the world is cold and harsh. Alone, helpless, she moves along likea mechanism driven by desire and catches blindly at any opportunities for a better existence, opportunities first offered by Drouet, and then by Hurstwood. A feather in the wind, she was totally at the mercy of forces she cannot comprehend, still less to say control. The famous picture of Carrie sitting in a rocking chair in her room in the evening, rocking back and forth, is a picture of Carrie’s drifting with the tide. She has no control, no freedom of will.。

英美文学导论考试题及答案一、选择题（每题2分，共20分）1. 以下哪部作品是威廉·莎士比亚的悲剧？A.《罗密欧与朱丽叶》B.《威尼斯商人》C.《皆大欢喜》D.《第十二夜》2. 19世纪英国浪漫主义诗人拜伦的全名是什么？A. 乔治·戈登·拜伦B. 威廉·华兹华斯C. 珀西·比希·雪莱D. 约翰·济慈3. 以下哪位作家是现代主义文学的代表人物？A. 查尔斯·狄更斯B. 简·奥斯汀C. 弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫D. 托马斯·哈代4. 美国文学中被称为“黑暗浪漫主义”的时期是？A. 浪漫主义时期B. 现实主义时期C. 现代主义时期D. 后现代主义时期5. 以下哪部作品是马克·吐温的代表作？A.《了不起的盖茨比》B.《汤姆·索亚历险记》C.《白鲸》D.《老人与海》二、填空题（每空2分，共20分）6. 英国文学史上的文艺复兴时期，以_______的戏剧创作最为著名。

7. 19世纪美国文学的“现实主义”运动，以_______的《红字》为代表作。

8. 现代主义文学中，_______的《荒原》被认为是现代主义诗歌的里程碑。

9. 20世纪美国文学中，_______的《了不起的盖茨比》描绘了20年代的“爵士时代”。

10. 英国浪漫主义诗人_______的《夜莺颂》是其代表作之一。

三、简答题（每题10分，共30分）11. 简述英国文学中的“哥特式小说”的特点。

12. 描述美国文学中的“自然主义”运动，并举例说明。

13. 简述现代主义文学与后现代主义文学的主要区别。

四、论述题（每题15分，共30分）14. 论述威廉·华兹华斯的“自然主义”观点及其在《抒情歌谣集》中的体现。

15. 分析弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫的《到灯塔去》中的女性主义视角。

答案一、选择题1. A2. A3. C4. B5. B二、填空题6. 威廉·莎士比亚7. 纳撒尼尔·霍桑8. T.S.艾略特9. F.斯科特·菲茨杰拉德10. 威廉·华兹华斯三、简答题11. 哥特式小说的特点包括恐怖、神秘、超自然元素，以及对古老建筑或废墟的描写。

1.What is Emerson’s attitude towards charity? Why does he holdsuch an attitude?The worst of charity is that the lives you are asked to preserve are not worth preserving.Not all charity mean goodness.One must explore if it be goodness.If malice and vanity wear the coat of philanthropy,that shall not pass,One’s goodness must have some edge to it,else it is none.2.According to the poem “A Psalm of Life”, how should our lives beled to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death? According to these sentences“Be not like dumb, driven cattle!Be a hero in the strife!”“Act, -act in the living Present!Heart within, and God o'er head!”we can see the speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.We should work harder and live happier.Llife is not a dream, but very real, and urges us to live it to the fullest. The purpose of life is to do something. Our own individual time on earth is limited and will pass very quickly, we should try to achieve sth on earth and leave behind something.3.Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect thepresence of the humor of the story in “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”? Why? How do you interpret their interactions?The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor.During the intercourse the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative without a little smiling talking about the animals and the things like while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his stories.It seemed to be kind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go on separately without a intersection.And their interaction was a complete failure according toour common sense about communication.But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adopted by Mark Twain .4.What does the title of the play “A Streetcar Named Desire” standfor?"Desire" is in fact a streetcar's name in America,but in this drama,it alludes the life of Blanche who indulging herself in desire and lies.There is an actual streetcar named “Desire” that Blanche takes on her way to the Kowalskis’. Which brings us nicely into our discussion of the metaphorical meaning of the title .Blanche is literally brought to the Kowalski place by “Desire,” but she is also brought there by desire; her sexual escapeds in Laurel ruined her reputation and drove her out of town.Desire.then Cemeterird , then Elysian Fields.Sex,death,afterlife.It’s like a linear progression.Sec leads to death,or at least some heavy-duty wreckage. Blanche herself seems to recognize some sort of connection here with this line, one that is key to understanding the role that desire plays in Streetcar: “Death, death was as close as you are. The opposite is desire” . Blanche is somehow under the impression that sex is her escape from death. She turned to sex to comfort herself after her husband died, and after her relatives passedaway one by one.5.In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”, the old waiter said to theyounger waiter: “We are of two different kinds.” In what way do you think they are different?The two waiters represent two contrasting attitudes towards life. The young waiter tends to be selfish and confident. He is fully confident of his marriage and work, but he does not know that all these are based on his youth, which is not reliable since it is temporary. He lives in nada, of which he is not aware at all. He lives in a state of ignorance, muddling along. We can say that he is physically alive but spiritually dead. The old waiter tends to be sympathetic and less confident. He wants to help other lonely people who have lost their beliefs, although the only thing he can offer them is a decent place as a refuge from the disorderly, dark, and meaningless world. He is fully aware of the nihilistic life of modern men, therefore, he faces such a meaningless life with courage, endurance, and dignity by seeking order, code, and meaning of life in his heart.6.What is speaker’s reaction to modern America in “ASupermarket in California”?"A Supermarket in California" doesn't use the word "America" until the end of the poem, but that doesn't mean this one's not all about our fair nation. Ginsberg imagines an America that fits a very 1950s ideal: blue automobiles in driveways of suburban homes, whole families shopping together. The speaker feels like an outsider in this America, which is all about the things you can buy; he conjures up Whitman who, he hopes, represents a "lost America of love," which was more about love than about things. But in the last line of the poem, the speaker calls all this into question: was there really ever an "America of love"? Or, like Walt Whitman, is this all a fantasy? 7.How is the egg in “The Triumph of the Egg”used to unify thenarrative elements?In the whole story of the article,the checked destiny of eggs,surly,is the main clue of all the episodes of the whole story,also,eggs reflect changes of father,mother and I.Chicken raising represents father’s starting pursuing his dream.Then chickens become sick and die constantly,making father meet troubles and can not control his own life.Grotesques somewhat equals to distorted concept. The dreadful circle ,shows the abnormal relations between egg and chicken, people and their generation.Egg trick reveals father’s desire to be respected, but the failure finally break his dream .In the end,father lay the egg, close the restaurant and go to bed ,shows that he finally decides to give up.。

美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案陶洁(部分)Unit 1 Benjamin FranklinQuestions1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Street wharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection?It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).Unit 2 Edgar Allen PoeQuestions1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?Montresor.Fortunato,one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine.Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4.Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor and Fortunato as contrasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives.The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato's death sentence.Through the acts, words, and thoughts of Fortunato,we know He is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of Amontillado.This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒）. He lost himself on hearing the wine.At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance.When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant.He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watch out for others. He couldn’t tolerate that others were stronger than him.For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was good at connoisseur（鉴赏）in wine. Under the impulse of vanity, he fell into Montreso r’s terrible trap.In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn’t find that the danger was approaching him.He looked down upon Montresor and others.He didn’t realize his foolishness until the death was coming.Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was a well-educated and “kind” businessman.He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact, he was an evil and awful person.His inner feelings were so cruel that they even made people tremble.Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character.We couldn’t see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead, his heart was cold and dark.It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.unit 4 Nathaniel HawthorneQuestions :1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ?No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized lifeWhat is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities.The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval. Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges.One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester?As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live.While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl.The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy.Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin.In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child.And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather thanresisting them or trying to atone for them.How does this tell us about her character?Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.Unit5 Herman MelvilleQuestions1.What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick?Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale.He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as having an intelligent, even supernatural origin.In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggesting that he can be in more than one place at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarks that even the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth.Whales, for instance, have been known to travel with remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus, it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it. Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, exhibits an “intelligent malignity”（狠毒）in his attacks on men2.Why does Ahab react so violently against the white whale?First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale.Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale，because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil.Ishmael suggests that Ahab is “crazy”and call him “a raving lunatic.” Do you agree with him? Why or why not?Ishmael describes Ahab as mad in his narration, and it does indeed seem mad to try to fight the forces of nature or God.3.What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter?In the selected charpter, Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.Unit 6 Henry David ThoreauQuestions1.Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at a spiritual level?He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emerson’s property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying?No, he hadn’t.He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life. Thoreau didn’t see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of lif e to bean exploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us.He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why?Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States.Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of regeneration at Walden.It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.4.How could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of this selection?Unit 7 19th Century American Poets1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1) I Shot an Arrow…1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song?The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.2. In what circumstances did he find them again?He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a friend.3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poem?The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.(2) A Psalm of Life1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem?The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death?We should work harder and live happier.3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 28).The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.2. Walt Whitman(1)One's Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's self?It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"?He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain!1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?In this poem the word “Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States. 2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem?Life is a journey.3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.3.Emily Dickinson(1) To Make a Prairie …1. What things are needed to "make" a prairie? In what sense can one really do it?Some grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination.2. How can "revery alone" create a prairie?The prairie stays in one's mind.(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"?Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"?The so-called successful people in the world.3. Who is "he" in the last stanza?Anyone who is pursuing his success.(3) I'm Nobody!1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they" in this poem? The "pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poem and the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean?" (line 28).It Implies the vain and empty common people, who are always admiring and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this poem?The real admirable life is a secluded and common one.4. Do you want to be "nobody" or "somebody"? Explain your reasons.Different persons would have different answers to this question. Personally, I prefer to be nobody. Unit 8 Mark TwainQuestions1: Why do you think Mr.Wheeler is so eager to tell these stories?From Mr.Wheeler’s behaviors and contents of his narration we can know he is so eager to tell these stories.First, when "I" asked him to tell "me" something about W.Smiley, he “ backed me into a corner and blockaded me with his chair, and then s at down and reeled off the narrative”. And during the process of telling his stories, he never paid any attention to others'response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted to leave, Mr.Wheeler even didn't notice it and still asked him to sit there listening to him.Question2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories? No. the audience does not show any interest in Mr.Wheeler’ stories. In fact, the narrator was very feveris h about his stories, but ,in the eyes of the listener,the stories were very boring and had nothing to do with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he would never bother himself to understa nd it. So after the long time of Mr.Wheeler’ solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away.Question3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions? The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor.During the intercourse,the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "wihout a little smiling" talking about the animals and the things like ,while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his stories.It seemed to be kind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go on separately without a intersection.And their interaction was a complete failure according toour common sense about communication.But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adopted by Mark Twain .Unit 14 F·Scott Fitzgerald1.Do you think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great”? Why?（1）I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsby deserves to be ―great‖or not.For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back: he did shady business to earn money and social position; he threw luxurious parties just to draw Daisy’s attention; he could take the blame for a death that he did not cause.（2）In this respect, he is much ―greater‖than his contemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasn’t the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy of him. He wasn’t sober enough to be great.2.Does “the green light”Gatsby believed in exist in reality? Why or why not ?（1）I think ―the green light‖does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely vis ible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsby’s unattainable dream. Although the color itself can be seen as hope a nd bright future, Gatsby’s quest for Daisy back is doomed to be impossible. Daisy lived in ―a material world without being real, where poor ghost s, breathing dream like air‖.（2）After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, the miracle Daisy had lost her original glory. Therefore, there is no delaying that Gatsby’s dream would not come true. In the novel, the green light not only represents that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but also means his longing for the history –his happy past with Daisy. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden past and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.3.What does Gatsby’s Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream?（1）The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby’s determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pursuit of his goal—to be an upper-class man.（2）On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his American Dream-- to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive.（3）He tries his best to make money and learns everything required to be an upper-class man so that he can get access to his beloved girl.Money is important，but there are other barriers difficult to penetrate. The girl he loves is as vulgar and superficial as others in her circle, she is unable to meets Gatsby’s romantic fantasy. So his dream is destined to shatter, which indicates the disillusion of American Dream.4.When you read the line “He (the man with owl-eyed glasses) took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in ,” what images does it create in your mind, given the novel’s numerous references to the strikingly strange scene of the spectacled eyes?（1）From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gatsby’s tragedy.（2）After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the Dr.Eckleburg billboard with its huge yellow spectacles in this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes are also dimmed and seem blind. But in fact this is a pair of "all-seeing" eyes. The Owl-Eyed Man is similar to Dr. Eckleburg, sadly looking at the people’s life and idealism of this time. B oth of them symbolize an uninvolved spectator god. They watch all the activities of the humans. Owl-eyes is the avatar of the sightless Dr. Eckleburg.Unit 16 Ernest Hemingway1. How do you interpret the irony of the title after reading the story?（1）The title ―A Clean Well-Lighted Place‖refers to the caféin the text. The caféwas very clean and well- lighted. From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was very warm and comfortable, was a place where people need warmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada. It was the only place he could go and could find some comfort.（2）However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was waiting him on the bed, he wanted to go home early. Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup of wine by the excuse that the business was finished. In fact, there was still an hour from closing time. The younger thought an hour was more important to him than to the old man. The old man needed to leave the only place where he could get far away from nada/ nothing. This café should be warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely and deaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of the title.2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstand the metaphorical dark？Why or why not? （1）I don’t think so.In our opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada，nothing in one’s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. As we can see, he didn’t understand the old man’s suicide and excessive drinking, and failed to see his tomorrow through the old man’s present situation.（2）What’s more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guarantee love and work. From above, there is no denying that he didn’t realize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstanding his metaphorical dark.（3）I think that, nowadays, youth and confidence do can help to withstand the metaphorical dark, for one can bravely face the reality and overcome the nada with youth and confidence. But they only serve as two main factors. In fact, we need some other factors such as courage, dignity and so on if we want to withstand the metaphorical dark successfully.3.The older waiter said to the younger waiter:“We are of two different kinds.”In what way do you think they are different?（1）I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects：In the beginning, they are in different ages.The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger.（2）Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. From the article, we know the older waiter had suffered a lot. He had maintained a clean and well-lighted place in his heart, and he could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He wanted to go home early so that he finished the business one hour earlier and forced the old man to leave. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.（3）Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. The younger one was totally different; he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself and was reluctant to take others into consideration. He even never thought of his future.（4）Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that it is impossible to avoid nada in one’s whole life. The only thing he can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. So he was willing to work late for the lonely old man and was pleased to help those who are suffering nada. But out of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada. On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didn’t realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th -Century American Poets1. Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"?These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain.2. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2. Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1. What does the jar in poem symbolize? Why does the speaker place it on top of a hill? The jar here symbolizes a certain perspective on looking at this world. If the perspective of the viewing is creative and unique, it will change the conventional order of the old world. When a new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attention from the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning that it has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground? Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helps to form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. How did the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? What words or phrases does the poet use to describe it? Tennessee seems to a place full of life and energy. “Slovenly,” “sprawl” and “wild” are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar )4.Robert Frost(1)Fire and Ice1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem? Fire symbolizes natural disaster, human passion, as well as war.2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great for destruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of human beings.3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which one is more destructive? Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful world if they are beyond control of human beings. Therefore we should be open-minded and reduce our prejudice and pride so as to keep this world in peace.(2)Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made the speaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening? The poet was deeply attracted by the natural beauty of the scene at that very moment.2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.3. Why couldn't the speaker stay longer by the woods to appreciate its mysterious beauty? He realized that it was late at night and he would have to hurry home to get some food and sleep, because the next morning he would have a lot of work to do.4. What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines? The refrain-like repetition in the last two lines reminds the reader a simple fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life.(3) The Road Not Taken1. What is the speaker's initial response to the divergence of the two roads? The speaker is at a loss which road he should choose, and he feels sorry that he cannot explore both roads at the same time.2. Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? Two roads are similar except one of them is more “grassy,” which implies that it is less traveled by pe ople. The speaker prefers the less traveled one, because he likes adventure.3. What might the two roads stand for in the speaker's mind? One road stands for the traditional one and the other is unconventional one and full of challenges and difficulties. To follow other people's footsteps or to open a new road for himself is really not an easy decision for us to make in our lives.Unit22 Allen GinsbergAll through the poem, the speaker is addressing to Walt Whitman. Is this poem about Walt Whitman or about modern America?-----from Allen Ginsberg A Supermarket in CaliforniaThe author in this poem wanted to emphasis his theme about showing his respect to the passed age and showing his worry about the corrupt in the part of spirit and society. As we all know, Walt Whitman’s poetry was a revolution in American literature can be seen in the first publication of Leaves of Grass in 1855. His poetry is “free verse” in that the lack of meter and rhyme is known as his major technical innovation. Allen Ginsberg had a highly praise on him. As the movement of Beat Generation, Allen Ginsberg used poetry as weapon to express his own understanding of Beat---beatific and beat down.In this poem, the author wrote the sentence “shopping for images”. What he wanted t o buy is the things which were listed by Walt Whitman many years ago. What is in the supermarket? The fresh fruits on the shelf fit the needs of customers and the families. We across a strange statement: shopping for images. How can we shop for images? What he refers to us is still the pure image---“dreaming of your enumerations”. The things on the shelf are the images of languages in Walt Whitman’s poetry. The language in Walt Whitman’s poetry and the spirit in his poetry are the things which Allen Ginsber g dreamed of. A young America which is full of energy is worth being praised. Allen Ginsberg found the song of himself, the song full of courage and the echo of the real world among Walt Whitman’s work. The meaning of age in this poem is that the nation or the race opens the age which belongs to them and。

美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案陶洁(部分)Unit 1 Benjamin FranklinQuestions1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Streetwharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection? It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).Unit 2 Edgar Allen Poe1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress? Montresor.Fortunato, one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine.Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4.Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor and Fortunato as contrasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives.The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato's death sentence.Through the acts, words, and thoughts of Fortunato,we know He is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults just because a cask of Amontillado.This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒）. He lost himself on hearing the wine.At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance.When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant.He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena and failed to watch out for others. He couldn’t tolerate that others werestronger than him.For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was good at connoisseur（鉴赏）in wine.Under the impulse of vanity, he fell into Montreso r’s terrible trap.In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn’t find that the danger was approaching him.He looked down upon Montresor and others.He didn’t realize his foolishness until the death was coming. Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was a well-educated and “kind” businessman.He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact, he was an evil and awful person.His inner feelings were so cruel that they even made people tremble.Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character.We couldn’t see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead, his heart was cold and dark.It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.unit 4 Nathaniel Hawthorne1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ?No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized lifeWhat is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities.The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval.Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges.One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester?As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live.While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl.The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate? It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin.In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child.And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather than resisting them or trying toatone for them.How does this tell us about her character?Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.Unit5 Herman Melville1.What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick? Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale.He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as having an intelligent, even supernatural origin.In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggesting that he can be in more than one place at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarks that even the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth. Whales, for instance, have been known to travel with remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus, it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it.Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, exhibits an “intelligent malignity”（狠毒）in his attacks on men2.Why does Ahab react so violently against the white whale? First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale. Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale，because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil.Ishmael suggests that Ahab is “crazy”and call him “a raving lunatic.” Do you agree with him? Why or why not?Ishmael describes Ahab as mad in his narration, and it does indeed seem mad to try to fight the forces of nature or God.3. What narrative features can you find in the selected chapter? In the selected charpter, Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.Unit 6 Henry David Thoreau1.Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and ata spiritual level?He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emerson’s property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying?No, he hadn’t.He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life.Thoreau didn’t see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of life to be an exploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us.He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why? Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States.Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginningof regeneration at Walden.It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.4.How could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of this selection?Unit 7 19th Century American Poets1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1) I Shot an Arrow…1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song? The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.2. In what circumstances did he find them again?He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a friend.3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poem?The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.(2) A Psalm of Life1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem?The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death? We should work harder and live happier.3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 28).The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.2. Walt Whitman(1)One's Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's self?It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"? He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain!1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?In this poem the word “Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem? Life is a journey.3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.3.Emily Dickinson(1) To Make a Prairie …1. What things are needed to "make" a prairie? In what sense can one really do it?Some grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination.2. How can "revery alone" create a prairie?The prairie stays in one's mind.(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"?Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"?The so-called successful people in the world.3. Who is "he" in the last stanza?Anyone who is pursuing his success.(3) I'm Nobody!1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they" in this poem? The "pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poem and the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean?" (line 28).It Implies the vain and empty common people, who are always admiring and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this poem?The real admirable life is a secluded and common one.4. Do you want to be "nobody" or "somebody"? Explain your reasons.Different persons would have different answers to this question. Personally, I prefer to be nobody.Unit 8 Mark Twain1: Why do you think Mr.Wheeler is so eager to tell these stories?From Mr.Wheeler’s behaviors and contents of his narration we can know he is so eager to tell these stories.First, when "I" asked him to tell "me" something about W.Smiley, he “ backed me into a corner and blockaded me with his chair, and then sat down a nd reeled off the narrative”. And during the process of telling his stories, he never paid any attention to others'response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted toleave, Mr.Wheeler even didn't notice it and still asked him to sit there listening to him.2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories? No. the audience does not show any interest in Mr.Wheeler’ stories. In fact, the narrator was very feverish about his stories, but ,in the eyes of the listener,the stories were very boring and had nothing to do with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he would never bother himself to understand it. So after the long time of Mr.Wheeler’ solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away.3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions?The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor.During the intercourse,the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "wihout a little smiling" talking about the animals and the things like ,while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his stories.It seemed to bekind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go on separately without a intersection.And their interaction was a complete failure according toour common sense about communication.But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adopted by Mark Twain .Unit 14 F·Scott Fitzgerald1.Do you think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great”? Why?（1）I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsby deserves to be ―great‖or not.For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back: he did shady business to earn money and social position; he threw luxurious parties just to draw Daisy’s attention; he could take the blame for a death that he did not cause.（2）In this respect, he is much ―greater‖than his contemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasn’t the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, not realizingthat his dreams are unworthy of him. He wasn’t sober enough to be great.2.Does “the green light”Gatsby believed in exist in reality? Why or why not ?（1）I think ―the green light‖does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely visible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsby’s unattainable dream. Although the color itself can be seen as hope a nd bright future, Gatsby’s quest for Daisy back is doomed to be impossible. Daisy lived in ―a material world without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dream like air‖.（2）After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, the miracle Daisy had lost her original glory. Therefore, there is no delaying that Gatsby’s dream would not come true. In the novel, the green light not only represents that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but also means his longing for the history –his happy past with Daisy. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden past and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.3.What does Gatsby’s Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream?（1）The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby’s determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pursuit of his goal—to be an upper-class man.（2）On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his American Dream-- to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive.（3）He tries his best to make money and learns everything required to be an upper-class man so that he can get access to his beloved girl.Money is important，but there are other barriers difficult to penetrate. The girl he loves is as vulgar and superficial as others in her circle, she is unable to meets Gatsby’s romantic fantasy. So his dream is destined to shatter, which indicates the disillusion of American Dream.4.When you read the line “He (the man with owl-eyed glasses) took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside and in ,” what images does it create in your mind, given the novel’snumerous references to the strikingly strange scene of the spectacled eyes?（1）From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gatsby’s tragedy.（2）After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the Dr.Eckleburg billboard with its huge yellow spectacles in this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes are also dimmed and seem blind. But in fact this is a pair of "all-seeing" eyes. The Owl-Eyed Man is similar to Dr. Eckleburg, sadly looking at the people’s life and idealism of this time. B oth of them symbolize an uninvolved spectator god. They watch all the activities of the humans. Owl-eyes is the avatar of the sightless Dr. Eckleburg.Unit 16 Ernest Hemingway1. How do you interpret the irony of the title after reading the story?（1）The title ―A Clean Well-Lighted Place‖refers to the caf éin the text. The caféwas very clean and well- lighted. From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was very warm and comfortable, was a place where people need warmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada. It was the only place he could go and could find some comfort.（2）However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was waiting him on the bed, he wanted to go home early. Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup of wine by the excuse that the business was finished. In fact, there was still an hour from closing time. The younger thought an hour was more important to him than to the old man. The old man needed to leave the only place where he could get far away from nada/ nothing. This café should be warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely and deaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of the title.2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstand the metaphorical dark？Why or why not? （1）I don’t thinkso.In our opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada，nothing in one’s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. As we can see, he didn’t understand the old man’s suicide and excessive drinking, and failed to see his tomorrow through the old man’s present situation.（2）What’s more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guarantee love and work. From above, there is no denying that he didn’t realize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstanding his metaphorical dark.（3）I think that, nowadays, youth and confidence do can help to withstand the metaphorical dark, for one can bravely face the reality and overcome the nada with youth and confidence. But they only serve as two main factors. In fact, we need some other factors such as courage, dignity and so on if we want to withstand the metaphorical dark successfully.3.The older waiter said to the younger waiter:“We are of two different kinds.”In what way do you think they are different?（1）I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects：In the beginning, they are in different ages.The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger.（2）Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. From the article, we know the older waiter had suffered a lot. He had maintained a clean and well-lighted place in his heart, and he could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He wanted to go home early so that he finished the business one hour earlier and forced the old man to leave. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.（3）Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. The younger one was totally different; he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself and was reluctant to take others into consideration. He even never thought of his future.（4）Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that it is imp ossible to avoid nada in one’s whole life. The only thing hecan do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. So he was willing to work late for the lonely old man and was pleased to help those who are suffering nada. But out of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada. On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didn’t realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th -Century American Poets1. Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"?These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain.2. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2. Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1. What does the jar in poem symbolize? Why does the speaker place it on top of a hill? The jar here symbolizes a certainperspective on looking at this world. If the perspective of the viewing is creative and unique, it will change the conventional order of the old world. When a new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attention from the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning that it has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground? Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helps to form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. How did the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? What words or phrases does the poet use to describe it? Tennessee seems to a place full of life and energy. “Slovenly,” “sprawl” and “wild” are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar )4.Robert Frost(1)Fire and Ice1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem? Fire symbolizes natural disaster, human passion, as well as war.2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great for destruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of human beings.3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which one is more destructive? Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful world if they are beyond control of human beings. Therefore we should be open-minded and reduce our prejudice and pride so as to keep this world in peace.(2)Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made the speaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening? The poet was deeply attracted by the natural beauty of the scene at that very moment.2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.3. Why couldn't the speaker stay longer by the woods to appreciate its mysterious beauty? He realized that it was lateat night and he would have to hurry home to get some food and sleep, because the next morning he would have a lot of work to do.4. What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines? The refrain-like repetition in the last two lines reminds the reader a simple fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life.(3) The Road Not Taken1. What is the speaker's initial response to the divergence of the two roads? The speaker is at a loss which road he should choose, and he feels sorry that he cannot explore both roads at the same time.2. Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take? Two roads are similar except one of them is more “grassy,” which implies that it is less traveled by people. The speaker prefers the less traveled one, because he likes adventure.3. What might the two roads stand for in the speaker's mind? One road stands for the traditional one and the other is unconventional one and full of challenges and difficulties. Tofollow other people's footsteps or to open a new road for himself is really not an easy decision for us to make in our lives.Unit22 Allen GinsbergAll through the poem, the speaker is addressing to Walt Whitman. Is this poem about Walt Whitman or about modern America?-----from Allen Ginsberg A Supermarket in CaliforniaThe author in this poem wanted to emphasis his theme about showing his respect to the passed age and showing his worry about the corrupt in the part of spirit and society. As we all know, Walt Whitman’s poetry was a revolution in American literature can be seen in the first publication of Leaves of Grass in 1855. His poetry is “free verse” in that the lack of meter and rhyme is known as his major technical innovation. Allen Ginsberg had a highly praise on him. As the movement of Beat Generation, Allen Ginsberg used poetry as weapon to express his own understanding of Beat---beatific and beat down.In this poem, the author wrote the sentence “shopping for images”. What he wanted t o buy is the things which were listed by Walt Whitman many years ago. What is in the supermarket? The fresh fruits on the shelf fit the needs of customers and the families. We across a strange statement: shopping for images. How can we shop for images? What he refers to us is still the pure image---“dreaming of your enumerations”. The things on the shelf are the images of languages in Walt Whitman’s poetry. The language in Walt Whitman’s poetry and the spirit in his poetry are the things which Allen Ginsberg dreamed of. A young America which is full of energy is worth being praised. Allen Ginsberg found the song of himself, the song full of courage and the echo of the real world among Walt Whitman’s work. The meaning of age in this poem is that the nation or the race opens the age which belongs to them and creates the history of them own. To a certain extend, the age singer equals the national singer. The world is the world which has its features of timing and events. This means that the link of combining the world is not the same as the goods on the shelf but the things which contain the world and individual spirits.。

美国⽂学选读课后习题答案Unit 1 Benjamin Franklin1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which w as going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Street wharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection?It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(⾔简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).Unit 2 Edgar Allen Poe1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress?Montresor.Fortunato,one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine. Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.Unit 4 Nathaniel Hawthorne:1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ?No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized life. What is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities. The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he sa ys, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval. Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges. One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate deathfor Hester.3.What has happened to Hester? As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live. While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl. The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin. In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child. And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather than resisting them or trying to atone for them. How does this tell us about her character? Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.Unit 6 Henry David Thoreau1. Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at a spiritual level? He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond,which belonged t o Emerson’s property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying? No, he h adn’t. He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life. Thoreau didn’t see the acquisition of wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of life to be an exploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us. He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3. Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why? Yes, it is. Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day, the birthday of the United States. Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of regeneration at Walden. It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.Unit 7 19th Century American Poets1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1) I Shot an Arrow…1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song?The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.2. In what circumstances did he find them again?He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a friend.3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poem?The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.(2) A Psalm of Life1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem?The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death?We should work harder and live happier.3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 28).The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.2. Walt Whitman(1) One’s Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's self? It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"?He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain!1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?In this poem the word “Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem? Life is a journey.3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.3. Emily Dickinson(1) To Make a Prairie …1. What things are needed to "make" a prairie? In what sense can one really do it?Some grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination. 2. How can "revery alone" create a prairie?The prairie stays in one's mind.(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"?Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"?The so-called successful people in the world.3. Who is "he" in the last stanza? Anyone who is pursuing his success.(3)I'm nobody!1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they?"in this poem? The "pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poem and the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean?" (line 28). It implies the vain and empty common people, who are always admiring and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this poem?The real admirable life is a secluded and common one.4. Do you want to be "nobody" or "somebody"? Explain your reasons. Different persons would have different answers to his question. Personally, I prefer to be nobody.Unit8 mark twainQuestions1: Why do you think Mr. Wheeler is so eager to tell these stories?From Mr. Wheeler’s behaviors and contents of his narration. First, when "I" asked him to tell "me" something about W. Smiley, he “backed me into a corner and blockaded me with his chair, and then sat down and reeled off the narrative”. And during the process of telling his stories, he never paid any attention to others' response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted to leave, Mr. Wheeler even didn't notice it and still asked him to sit there listening to him.Question2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories?No. the audience does not show any interest in Mr. Wheeler’ stories. In fact, the narrator was very feverish about his stories, but, in the eyes of the listener, the stories were very boring and had nothing to do with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he would never bother himself to understand it. So after the longtime of Mr. Wheeler’ solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away. Question3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions?The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor. During the intercourse, the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "without a little smiling" talking about the animals and the things like, while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his stories. It seemed to be kind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go on separately without an intersection. And their interaction was a complete failure according tour common sense about communication. But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adopted by Mark Twain .Unit14 The Great GatsbyDo you think G atsby deserv es to be called “the great”? Why?(1)I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsby deserves to be ―great‖or not.For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back. In this respect, he ismuch ―greater‖ than his contemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasn’t the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy of him. He wasn’t sober enough to be great. 2.Does “the green light” Gatsby believed in exist in reality? Why orwhy not ?(1)I think ―the green light‖does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at th e end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely visible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsby’s unattainable dream. Although the color itself can be seen as hope and bright future, Gatsby’s quest for Daisy back is doomed to be impossible. Daisy livedin ―a materi al world without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dream like air‖. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden past and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.3.What does Gats by’s Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream?(1)The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby’s determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pursuitof his goal—to be an upper-class man.(2)On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his American Dream-- to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and naive. The girl he loves is as vulgar andsuperficial as others in her circle, she is unable to meetsGatsby’s romantic fantasy. So his dream is destined to shatter,which indicates the disillusion of American Dream. 4.Whenyou read the line “He (the man with owl-eyed glasses)took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside andin ,” what images does it create in your mind, given thenovel’s numerous references to the strikingly strangescene of the spectacled eyes?(1)From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gat sby’s tragedy.Unit 16 Ernest Hemingway1.How do you interpret the irony of the title after readingthe story?(1)The title ―A Clean Well-Lighted Place‖ refers to thecaféin the text. The caféwas very clean and well- lighted.From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was verywarm and comfortable, was a place where people needwarmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich butdeaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada.It was the only place he could go and could find somecomfort.(2)However, the younger waiter was very selfish.Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup ofwine by the excuse that the business was finished. This caféshould be warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely anddeaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of thetitle.2.Do you think youth and confidence can help onewithstand the metaphorical dark?Why or why not?(1)I don’t think so.In our opinion, the m etaphorical darkmeans nada,nothing in one’s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. As we can see, he didn’t understand the old man’s suicide and excessive drinking, and failed to see his tomorrow through the old man’s present situation.3.The older wait er said to the younger waiter:“We are of two different kinds.” In what way do you think they are different? (1)I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects:In the beginning, they are in different ages.The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger.(2)Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man. From the article, the older waiter could understand the old manand show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.(3)Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself. He even never thought of his future.(4)Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that it is impossible to avoid nada in one’s whole life. The only thing h e can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. But out of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada. On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didn’t realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth a nd confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th -Century American Poets1.Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1.Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"?These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2.Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1.What does the jar in poem symbolize? Why does the speaker place it on top of a hill?The jar here symbolizes a certain perspective on looking at this world. If the perspective of the viewing iscreative and unique, it will change the conventional order of the old world. When a new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attention from the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning that it has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground? Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helps to form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. How did the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? What words or phrases does the poet use to describe it?Tennessee seems to a place full of life and energy. “Slovenly,” “sprawl” and “wild” are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar ) 3.Robert Frost(1)Fire and Ice 1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem? Fire symbolizes natural disaster, human passion, as well as war. 2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great for destruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of human beings. 3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which one is more destructive? Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful world if they are beyond control of human beings. Therefore we should be open-minded and reduce our prejudice and pride so as to keep this world in peace.(2)Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening 1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made the speaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening? The poet was deeply attracted by the natural beauty of the scene at that very moment. 2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.3. Why couldn't the speaker stay longer by the woods to appreciate its mysterious beauty? He realized that it was late at night and he would have to hurry home to get some food and sleep, because the next morning he would have a lot of work to do.4. What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines? The refrain-like repetition in the last two lines reminds the reader a simple fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life.(3) The Road Not Taken 1. What is the speaker's initial response to the divergence of the two roads? The speaker is at a loss which road he should choose, and he feels sorry that he cannot explore both roads at the same time. 2. Describe the similarities and differences of these two roads. Which one does the speaker take?Two roads are similar except one of them is more “grassy,” which impl ies that it is less traveled by people. The speaker prefers the less traveled one, because he likes adventure. 3. What might the two roads stand for in the speaker's mind? One road stands for the traditional one and the other is unconventional one and full of challenges and difficulties. To follow other people's footsteps or to open a new road for himself is really not an easy decision for us to make in our lives.。

美国⽂学-复习资料+答案1.The American Transcendentalists formed a club called _________ .the Transcendental Club2.______ was regarded as the first great prose stylist of American romanticism. WashingtonIrving3.At nineteen___________ published in his brother’s newspaper, his "Jonathan Oldstyle"satires of New York life.4.In Washington Irving’s work___________ appeared the first modern short stories and thefirst great American juvenile literature. The Sketch Book5.The first important American novelist was____________. James Fenimore Cooper6.James Fenimore Cooper’s novel ___________ was a rousing tale about espionage againstthe British during the Revolutionary War.The Spy7.The best of James Fenimore Cooper's sea romances was_____________.The Pilot8."To a Waterfowl" is perhaps the peak of_______________’s work; it has been called by aneminent English critic “the most perfect brief poem in the language.”William Cullen Bryant9.__________ was the first American to gain the stature of a major poet in the worldliterature.10.Edgar Allan Poe’s poem____________ is perhaps the best example of onomatopoeia in theEnglish language.The Bells11.Edgar Allan Poe's poem____________ was published in 1845 as the title poem of acollection. The Raven12.From Henry David Thoreau’s Concord jail experience, came his famous essay ______.Civil DisobedienceBy the 1830s Washington Irving was judged the nation' s greatest writer, a lofty position he later shared with James Fenimore Cooper and William Cullen Bryant.In the early nineteenth century, the attitude of American writers was shaped by their New World environment and an array of ideas inherited from the romantic tradition of Europe.As a moral philosophy, transcendentalism was neither logical nor systematical.The foundation of American national literature was laid by the early American romanticists.At mid-19th century, a cultural reawakening brought a "flowering of New England". Romantic writers in the 19th century placed increasing value on the free expression of emotion and displayed increasing attention to the psychic states of their characters.With a vast group of supporting characters, virtuous or villainous, James Fenimore Cooper made the America conscious of his past, and made the European conscious of America.No other American poet ever surpassed Edgar Allan Poe’s ability in the use of English as a medium of pure musical and rhythmic beauty.The Fall of the House of Usher is one of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories.Ralph Waldo Emerson was recognized as the leader of transcendentalist movement, but he never applied the term "Transcendentalist" to himself or to his beliefs and ideas.In 1836, Ralph Waldo Emerson published his first book, Nature, which met with a mild reception.Ralph Waldo Emerson's prose style was sometimes as highly individual as his poetry.The harsh rhythms and striking images of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poetry appeal to many modern readers as artful techniques.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s writings belong to the milder aspects of the Romantic Movement.American romanticism was in a way derivative: American romantic writing was some of them modeled on English and European works.Ralph Waldo Emerson’s aesthetics brought about a revolution in American literature in general and in American poetry in particular.Henry David Thoreau was an active Transcendentalist. He was by no means an "escapist" or a recluse, but was intensely involved in the life of his day.The Scarlet Letter is set in the seventeenth century. It is an elaboration of a fact which the author took out of the life of the Puritan past.2. Transcendentalism took their ideas from___________ .A. the romantic literature in EuropeB. neo-PlatonismC. German idealistic philosophyD. the revelations of oriental mysticismABCD8. Transcendentalists recognized__________ as the "highest power of the soul.”A. intuition10. Transcendentalism appealed to those who disdained the harsh God of the Puritan ancestors, and it appealed to those who scorned the pale deity of New EnglandA. TranscendentalismB. HumanismC. NaturalismD. UnitarianismD13. The desire for an escape from society and a return to nature became a permanent convention of American literature, evident in _________ .A. James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking TalesB. Henry David Thoreau’s WaldenC. Mark Twain’s Huckleberry FinnD. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet LetterABC14. A preoccupation with the demonic and the mystery of evil marked the works of_________ , and a host of lesser writers.A. Nathaniel HawthorneB. Edgar Allan PoeC. Herman MelvilleD. Mark TwainABC16. In the nineteenth century America, Romantics often shared certain general characteristics. Choose such characteristics from the following.A. moral enthusiasmB. faith in the value of individualism and intuitive perceptionC. adoration for the natural worldD. presumption about the corrosive effect of human societyABCD17. Choose Washington Irving' s works from the following.A. The Sketch BookB. Bracebridge HallC. Tales of a TravellerD. A History of New YorkABCD18. In James Fenimore Cooper's novels, close after Natty Bumppo in romantic appeal , come the two noble red men. Choose them from the following.A. the Mohican Chief ChingachgookB. UncasC. Tom JonesD. Kubla KhanABIn 1817, the stately poem called Thanatopsis introduced the best poet___________ to appear in America up to that time.A. Edward TaylorB. Philip FreneauC. William Cullen BryantD. Edgar Allan PoeC To a Waterfowl Thanatopsis21. From the following, choose the poems written by Edgar Allan Poe.A. To HelenB. The RavenC. Annabel LeeD. The BellsABCD23. Edgar Allan Poe's first collection of short stories is___________ .D. Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque24. From the following, choose the characteristics of Ralph Waldo Emerson's poetry.A. being highly individualB. harsh rhythmsC. lack of form and polishD. striking imagesABCD25. Which book is not written by Ralph Waldo Emerson?A. Representative MenB. English TraitsC. NatureD. The RhodoraD26. Which essay is not written by Ralph Waldo Emerson?A. Of StudiesB. Self-RelianceC. The American ScholarD. The Divinity School AddressA30. Nathaniel Hawthorne's ability to create vivid and symbolic images that embody great moral questions also appears strongly in his short stories. Choose his short stories from the following.A. Young Goodman BrownB. The Great Stone FaceC. The Ambitious Guest ABCDD. Ethan BrandE. The Pearl32. Herman Melville called his friend Nathaniel Hawthorne_____________ in American literature.A. the largest brain with the largest heart34. __________ was a romanticized account of Herman Melville's stay among the Polynesians. The success of the book soon made Melville well known as the " man who lived among cannibals". Typee37. In the early nineteenth century American moral values were essentially Puritan. Nothing has left a deeper imprint on the character of the people as a whole than did__________ .A. Puritanism"The universe is composed of Nature and the soul... Spirit is present everywhere". This is the voice of the book Nature written by Emerson, which pushed American Romanticism into a new phase, the phase of New England______ Transcendentalism43. Which is generally regarded as the Bible of New England Transcendentalism?A. Nature45. _________ is an appalling fictional version of Nathaniel Hawthorne' s belief that "the wrong doing of one generation lives into the successive ones" and that evil will come out of evil though it may take many generations to happen.A. The Marble FaunB. The House of Seven GablesC. The Blithedale RomanceD. Young Goodman BrownBOnce upon a midnight dreary, while i pondered, weak and weary,Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door."Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door—Only this, and nothing more. "Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.Eagerly I wished the morrow; —vainly I had tried to borrowFrom my books surcease of sorrow-sorrow for the lost.Edgar Allan PoeThe RavenDescribe the mood of this poem: A sense of melancholy over the death of a beloved beautiful young woman pervades the whole poem, the portrayal of a young man grieving for his lost Leno-re, his grief turned to madness under the steady one-word repetition of the talking bird. Work 3: Nuture1.As the leading New England Transcendentalist, Emerson effected a most articulatesynthesis of the Transcendentalist views. One major element of his philosophy if hisfirm belief in the transcendence of the "Oversoul". His emphasis on the spirit runsthrough virtually all his writings. " Philosophically considered," he states in Nature,which is generally regarded as the Bible of New England Transcendentalism, "theuniverse is composed of Nature and the Soul. " He sees the world as phenomenal, and emphasizes the need for idealism, for idealism sees the world in God. "It beholds thewhole circle of persons and things, of actions and events, of country and religion, as one vast picture which God paints on the eternity for the contemplation of the soul. " Heregards nature as the purest, and the most sanctifying moral influence on man, andadvocated a direct intuition of a spiritual and immanent God in nature. In thisconnection, Emerson' s emotional experiences are exemplary in more ways than one.Alone in the woods one day, for instance, he experienced a moment of "ecstasy" which he records thus in his Nature:2.Standing on the bare ground, my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinitespace, all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God.3.Now this is a moment of "conversion" when one feels completely merged with theoutside world, when one has completely sunk into nature and become one with it, and when the soul has gone beyond the physical limits of the body to share the omniscienceof the Oversoul. In a word, the soul has completely transcended the limits ofindividuality and beome part of the Oversoul. Emerson sees spirit pervadingeverywhere, not only in the soul of man, but behind nature, throughout nature. Theworld proceeds, as he observes, from the same source as the body of man. "TheUniversal Being" is in point of fact the Oversoul that he never stopped talking about for the rest of his life. Emerson' s doctrine of the Oversoul is graphically illustrated in such famous statements; "Each mind lives in the Grand mind," "There in one mind common to all individual men," and "Man is conscious of a universal soul within or behind his individual life. " In his opinion, man is made in the image of God and is just a little less than Him. This is as much as to say that the spiritual and immanent God is operative in the soul of man, and that man is divine. The divinity of man became, incidentally, a favorite subject in his lectures and essays.4.This naturally led to another, equally significant, Transcendentalist thesis, that theindividual, not the crowd, is the most important of all. If man depends upon himself, cultivates himself, and brings out the divine in himself, he can hop to become better and even perfect. This is what Emerson means by the "infinitude of the privates man. " He tried to convince people that the possibilities for man to develop and improve himself are infinite. Men should and could be self-reliant. Each man should feel the world as his, and the world exists for him alone. He should determine his own existence. Everyone should understand that he makes himself by making his world, and that he makes the world by making himself. " Know then that the world exists for you " he says. "Build therefore your own world. " "Trust thy self!" and "Make thyself!" Trust your owndiscretion and the world is yours. Thus, as Henry Nash Smith ventures to suggest,"Emerson' s message was eventually (to use a telegraphic abbreviation) self-reliance. "Emerson' s eye was on man as he could be or could become; he was in the mainoptimistic about human perfectibility. The regeneration of the individual leads to the regeneration of society. Hence his famous remark, "I ask for the individuals, not the nation. " Emerson ' s self-reliance was an expression, on a very high level, of thebuoyant spirit of his time, the hope that man can become the best person he could hope to be. Emerson ' s Transcendentalism, with its emphasis on the democraticindividualism, may have provided an ideal explanation for the conduct and activities of an expanding capitalist society. His essays such as "Power", "Wealth", and "Napoleon"(in his The Representative Men) reveal his ambivalence toward aggressiveness andself-seeking.5.To Emerson's Transcendentalist eyes, the physical world was vitalistic and evolutionary.Nature was, to him as to his Puritan forebears, emblematic of God. It mediates between man and God, and its voice leads to higher truth. " Nature is the vehicle of thought,"and " particular natural facts are symbols of particular spiritual facts. " Thus Emerson' s world was one of multiple significance; everything bears a second sense and an ulterior sense. In a word, " Nature is the symbol of spirit." That is probably why he called his first philosophical work Nature rather ihan anything else. The sensual man, Emerson feels, conforms thoughts to things, and man' s power to connect his thought with its proper symbol depends upon the simplicity and purity of his character; "The lover of nature is he who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood. " To him nature is a wholesome moral influence on man and his character. A natural implication of Emerson' s view on nature isthat the world around is symbolic. A lowing river indicates the ceaseless motion of the universe. The seasons correspond to the life span of man. The ant, the little drudge, with a small body and a mighty heart, is the sublime image of man himself.爱⼈者，⼈恒爱之；敬⼈者，⼈恒敬之；宽以济猛，猛以济宽，政是以和。

第一章殖民地时期的美国文学填空题1. Theterm “Puritan”was applied to those settlers who originally were devout membersof the Church of ______.【答案】England查看答案【解析】清教徒（Puritan），是指要求清除英国国教Church of England中天主教残余的改革派。

其字词于16世纪60年代开始使用，源于拉丁文的Purus，意为“清洁”。

2. Themost enduring shaping influence in American thought and American literature was______.【答案】American Puritanism查看答案【解析】美国文化源于清教文化，由清教徒移民时传入北美。

美国主流价值观都可以追溯到殖民地时期一统天下的清教主义，并且清教思想对美国文学有着根深蒂固的影响。

3. Hard work, thrift,piety and sobriety, these were the ______ values that dominated much of theearly American writing.【答案】Puritan查看答案【解析】清教主义，起源于英国，在北美殖民地得以实践与发展。

清教徒强调艰苦奋斗、勤俭节约、虔诚和淡泊。

这些价值观也影响了早期的美国文学。

4. Many Puritans wroteverse, but the works of two writers, Anne Bradstreet and ______, rose to thelevel of real poetry.【答案】EdwardTaylor查看答案【解析】美国殖民时期最著名的诗人是安·布莱德斯特和爱德华·泰勒。

5. TheTenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America is a collection of poems composed by______.【答案】AnneBradstreet查看答案【解析】安·布莱德斯特律是美国殖民时期著名的诗人。

大学课程《美国文学史》期末试卷1.Darwinism2.Lost generation3.Imagism4.Free VerseⅡ. Matching （本大题共10小题，每小题1分，共10分） 1. John Steinbeck 2. T.S. Eliot 3. Carl Sandburg 4. F. Scott Fitzgerald 5. Harriet Beecher Stowe 6. O ’ Henry 7. Thomas Paine 8. Ernest Hemingway 9. Ralph Waldo Emerson 10. Nathaniel Hawthorne a. A Farewell to Arms b. Common Sense c. Uncle Tom’s Cabind. The Cop and the Antheme. The Grapes of Wrathf. Fogg. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock h. Naturei. The Great Gatsby j. The Scarlet Letter.Ⅲ. Multiple choice.（本大题共 35 小题，每小题 1 分，共 35 分）1.In the early nineteenth century American moral values were essentially Puritan. Nothi ng has left a deeper imprint on the character of the people as a whole than did_______. A.Puritanism B Romanticism C Rationalism D Sentimentalism2. Franklin wrote and published his famous__________, an annul collection of proverbs.A. The AutobiographyB. Poor Richard‘s AlmanackC. Common SenseD. The Genera l Magazine3. In American literature, the eighteenth century was the age of the Enlightenment. _______was the dominant spirit.A. Humanism B Rationalism C Revolution D Evolution 4.________ usually was regarded as the first American writer.A.William BradfordB. Anne BradstreetC.Emily DickinsonD. Captain John Smith 5..Which is not Irving‘s works in the following.A. The Sketch BookB. Tales of a Traveller C .A History of New York D To A Waterfowl 6. Choose Freneau‘s poem from the following.A. The RavenB. To a WaterfowlC. To HellenD. The wild Honey Suckle7. In 1817, the stately poem called Thanatopsis introduced the best poet___to appear in America up to that time.A. Edward TaylorB. Philip FreneauC. William Cullen BryantD. Edgar Allan Poe pared with his contemporaries, _________was no doubt the best in exploring the wildness and frontier in fiction.A. Washington IrvingB. James Fenimore CooperC. William Cullen Bryant D Philip Freaneau9. Washington Irving‘s ‘Rip Van Winkle‘ is famous for_________. A.Rip‘s escape into a mysterious valleyB.The story‘s German legendary source materialC. Rip‘s seeking for happinessD. Rip‘s 20-years sleep 10. Choose Poe‘s work from the followingA. The Day of DoomB.The Last of the MohicansC. The Indian Burying Ground D The Fall of the House of Usher 11.Choose Irving‘s work from the following .A. The Sketch BookB. ThanatopsisC. The SpyD.The British Prison Ship 12._______ is the most commonly used in English poetry, in which an unstressed syllabl e comes first followed by a stressed.A. the trochaic footB. an anapestic footC. a quatrainD. a iambic foot 13. The Indian Burying Ground by___________ is the earliest poem which romanticizes the Indian as a child of nature.A. Washington IrvingB. Adgar Alan PoeC.Philip FreneauD.Nathaniel Hawthorne 14._______ is a poetic device used to increase the musical quality and link the lines and stanzas of a poem.A. meterB. repetitionC. rhymeD.foot15.Poetry is aimed at conveying and enriching human experience which is formed throu gh sense impressions. _____ is the representation of sense experience through language. A . meter B. image C. theme D. assonance16. In American literature, the 18th century was the age of Enlightenment. ______ was the dominant.院系： 专业班级： 姓名： 学号：装 订 线A. humanismB. rationalismC. romanticismD. evolution17. The short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is taken from Irving’s work named ______.A. The Leatherstocking TalesB. The Sketch BookC. The AutobiographyD. The History of New York18. Which of the following is not the characteristic of American Romanticism?A. RationalismB. inner selfC. personal feelingsD. individualism19.The short story “Rip Van Winkle” reveals the ____ attitude of its author.A. optimisticB. pessimisticC. conservativeD. ironic20. Transcendentalist doctrines found their greatest literary advocates in___and ThoreauA. JeffersonB. EmersonC. FreneauD. Mark Twain21. Which is r egarded as the “Declaration of Intellectual Independence”?A. The American ScholarB. English TraitsC. OversoulD. Self-reliance22. ______ is the father of American Literature.A. Benjamin FranklinB. Philip FreneauC. PaineD. Washington Irving23. _____ was the most leading spirit of the Transcendental Club.A. ThoreauB. EmersonC. HawthorneD. Whitman24. Most of the poems in Whitman’s Leaves of Grass sing of the “en-mass” and the ____ as well.A. natureB. self-relianceC. selfD. life25. For Melville, as well as for the reader and ____, the narrator, Moby Dick is still a mystery, an ultimate mystery of the universe.A. AhabB. StubbC. IshmaelD. Starbuck26. The poem is written in free verse in 52 cantos with the theme of the universality and equality in value of all people and all things.a.Cantosb. The Ravenc. Song of Myselfd. Chicago27. The novel is about how a group of people on a whaling ship kill a great whale but themselves are killed by the whale, with the conflict between man and his fate.a.The Octopusb. Moby-Dickc. The Rise of Silas Laphamd. Leaves of Grass28. An English ship brought 102 people from Plymouth, England on September 16, 1620 and arrived in the present Provincetown harbor on November 21 in the same year. This ship was named ____________.a. The Pilgrimsb. Mayflowerc. Americad. Titanic29._______was the greatest woman poet in American literature and she wrote about 1,700 short lyric poems in her life time.a. Pearl S. Buckb. Harriet Bicher Stowec. Emily Dickensond. Walter Whitman30. ._________ is father of the detective story and of psychoanalytic criticism.a. Washington Irvingb. Ralph Waldo Emersonc. Walt Whitmand. Edgar Allan Poe31. In American literature, the eighteen century was the age of the Enlightenment. ——was the dominant spirit.A. HumanismB. RationalismC. RevolutionD. Evolution 32.——Which statement about Franklin is not true?A. He instructed his countrymen as a printer.B. He was a scientist.C. He was a master of diplomacy.D. He was a Puritan.33.Who is regarded as the first American prose epic.A. NatureB. The Scarlet LetterC. WaldenD. Moby-Dick34.The Romanic Period of American literature started with the publication of Washington Irving's ——and ended with Whiteman's Leaves of Grass.A. The Sketch BookB. Tales of a TravelerC. The AlhambraD.A history of New York35.The period before the American Civil War is generally referred to asA. the Naturalist PeriodB. the Modern PeriodC. the Romantic PeriodD. the Realistic PeriodIV. Identification of Fragments（本大题共有7个诗歌或小说选段，请选5个选段并回答其后的问题，答题时请先注明选段, 再回答问题。

Part I Each of the following statements below is followed by four alternative answers. Choose the one that would best complete the statement.1. In American literature, the eighteen century was the age of the Enlightenment. __C_______ was the dominant spirit.A. HumanismB. RationalismC. RevolutionD. Evolution2. Which statement about Franklin is not true? AA. He instructed his countrymen as a printer.B. He was a scientist.C. He was a master of diplomacy.D. He was a Puritan.3. What is regarded as the first American prose epic? AA. NatureB. The Scarlet LetterC. WaldenD. Moby-Dick4. The Romanic Period of American literature started with the publication of Washington Irving's __A______ and ended with Whiteman's Leaves of Grass.A. The Sketch BookB. Tales of a TravelerC. The AlhambraD. A history of New York5. In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, "A" may stand for__D______.A. AdulteryB. AngelC. AmiableD. All the above6. In the middle of 19th century, America witnessed a cultural flowering which is called “_B____”。

绪论单元测试1【判断题】(50分) Wecandefineliteratureaslanguageartisticallyusedtoachieveidentifiableliteraryqualitiesan dtoconveymeaningfulmessages.（）A.错B.对2【多选题】(50分)Hopefully,therearethreeveryhelpfulapproachestothestudyofit:namely(),(),().A.NoneoftheotherchoicesB.analyticalapproachC.thematicapproachD.historicalapproach第一章测试1【单选题】(10分) ThemostenduringshapinginfluenceinAmericanthoughtandAmericanliteraturewas().A.IdealismB.TranscendentalismC.AmericanPuritanismD.Enlightenment2【单选题】(10分) ThecommonthreadthroughoutAmericanliteraturehasbeentheemphasisonthe().A.revolutionismB.individualismC.reasonD.rationalism3【单选题】(10分)DuringtheReasonandRevolutionPeriod,AmericanswereinfluencedbytheEuropeanmove mentcalledthe().A.EnlightenmentMovementB.ModernistMovementC.ChartistMovementD.RomanticistMovement4【单选题】(10分)ThomasJefferson’sattitude,thatis,afirmbeliefinprogress,andthepursuitofhappiness,istypi caloftheperiodwenowcall().A.AgeofEvolutionB.AgeofReasonC.AgeofRomanticismD.AgeofRegionalism5【判断题】(10分) ThesettlementoftheNorthAmericancontinentbytheEnglishbeganintheearlypartofthe16th century.()A.对B.错6【判断题】(10分) BenjaminFranklinseemedtorepresenttheageofreasonandrevolutioninhisparadoxicalfaith inbothsocialorderandinnaturalrights,inloveofstabilityanddevotiontorevolutionarychange.（）A.错B.对7【判断题】(10分) CommonSenseboldlyadvocatedaDeclarationofIndependence.（）A.错B.对8【判断题】(10分) PhilipFreneauwasthemostimportantwriterinAmericanpoetryofthe18thcentury.（）A.对B.错9【多选题】(10分) WhichofthefollowingstirredtheworldandhelpedformtheAmericanRepublic?()A.TheAmericanCrisisB.TheAutobiographyC.TheFederalistD.DeclarationofIndependence10【多选题】(10分)Whoarenotconsideredasthe“PoetofAmericanRevolution”?()A.PhilipFreneauB.WaltWhitmanC.AnneBradstreetD.EdwardTaylor第二章测试1【单选题】(10分)In（）,Hawthornesetsouttoprovethateveryonepossessessomeevilsecrets.A.TheMinister’sBlackVeilB.YoungGoodmanBrownC.TheBirthmarkD.Earth’sHolocaust2Thedesireforanescapefromsocietyandareturntonaturebecameapermanentconventionof Americanliterature,evidentin().A.HenryDavidThoreau’sWaldenB.NathanielHawthorne’sTheScarletLetterC.HermanMelville’sMobyDickD.RalphWaldoEmerson’sTheAmericanScholar3【单选题】(10分)ThemasterpieceofWaltWhitmanis().A.LeavesofGrassB.Drum-TapsC.O,Captain,MyCaptainD.SongofMyself4EdgarAllanPoewasthefirstAmericanartistintheAmericanLiterature,whoinfluencedtheEur opean,especiallythe()writersofthefollowinggenerations.A.EnglishB.FrenchC.ItalianD.German5【判断题】(10分) DemocracyandpoliticalequalitybecametheidealsoftheromanticperiodinAmerica.()A.错B.对6【判断题】(10分) EmilyDickinsonisgoodatthecharmofsomethingbutdroppingthethingitself.()A.对B.错7【判断题】(10分)RomanticvalueswereprominentinAmericanpolitics,art,andphilosophyuntiltheCivilWar.（）A.错B.对8【判断题】(10分)Asamoralphilosophy,transcendentalismwasneitherlogicalnorsystematical.()A.对B.错9【多选题】(10分)Ledby()and(),therearoseakindofteachingsoftranscendentalismintheearlynineteenthcent ury.A.WaltWhitmanB.RalphWaldoEmersonC.HenryDavidThoreauD.HermanMelville10【多选题】(10分) ChoosetheauthorswhobelongtotheromanticgroupinAmericanliterature.()A.NathanielHawthorneB.BenjaminFranklinC.HenryDavidThoreauD.RalphWaldoEmerson第三章测试1【单选题】(10分)Theappearanceof()’sTheLuckofRoaringCampin1868markedasignificantdevelopmentint hebriefhistoryoflocalcolorfiction.A.HarrietBeecherStoweB.BretHarteC.KateChopinD.HamlinGarland2【单选题】(10分)WithWilliamDeanHowells,HenryJamesandMarkTwainactiveonthescene,()becamethem ajortrendinthe1870sand1980s.A.SentimentalismB.NaturalismC.RealismD.Romanticism3MarkTwaincreated,in(),amasterpieceofAmericanrealismthatisalsooneofthegreatbookso fworldliterature.A.TheAdventuresofTomSawyerB.TheGildedAgeC.TheManthatCorruptedHadleyburgD.TheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn4【单选题】(10分)(),oneofthegreatestwarnovelscomesfromStephenCrane.A.TheBlueHotelB.Maggie:AGirloftheStreetsC.TheRedBadgeofCourageD.OpenBoat5Generallyspeaking,LondonwasmuchmoreinterestedinideasthanCraneandlesssentiment althanNorris.()A.对B.错6【判断题】(10分) Theultimateaimofthelocalcoloristsistocreatetheillusionofanindigenouslittleworldwithqual itiesthattellitapartfromtheworldoutside.()A.对B.错7【判断题】(10分) JackLondonwasusuallyconsideredasanaturalistbyliteraryhistorians.()A.对B.错8【判断题】(10分)AftertheCivilWar,theFrontierwasclosing.Disillusionmentandfrustrationwerewidelyfelt.W hathadbeenexpectedtobea“GoldenAge”turnedtobea“Gilded”one.()A.对B.错9【多选题】(10分) TherearesomeimportantinfluencesofAmericanliteratureofRealismincluding().A.industrializationB.theCivilWarC.mechanizationD.capitalism10【多选题】(10分)Choosethethreestaunchadvocatesofnineteenth-centuryAmericanrealism().A.MarkTwainB.HenryJamesC.JackLondonD.WilliamDeanHowells第四章测试1【单选题】(10分)“Theapparitionofthesefacesinthecrowd;Petalsonawet,blackbough.”Thisistheshortestpoemwri ttenby().A.EzraPoundB.E.E.CummingsC.RobertFrostD.ThomasStearnsEliot2【单选题】(10分) TheAmericansocialupheavalsandtheliteraryconcernsoftheGreatDepressionyearsended withtheprosperityandturmoilbroughtbythe().A.SecondWorldWarB.FirstWorldWarC.WarofIndependenceD.CivilWar3【单选题】(10分)WhichofthefollowingwasnotwrittenbyRobertFrost?()A.SteepleBushB.IntheClearingC.AWitnessTreeD.TilburyTown4【单选题】(10分) ThefirstAmericantowintheNobelPrizeforLiteraturewasasharpsocialcritic,whosenamewa s().A.SinclairLewisB.WilliamFaulknerC.ErnestHemingwayD.ThomasStearnsEliot5【判断题】(10分) TheformanddirectionofmodernAmericanliteraturehadclearlybeguntoemergeinthefirstde cadeofthe20thcentury.()A.对B.错6【判断题】(10分) ThreeAmericanwriterswontheNobelPrizeforLiteratureduringtheyearsbetweenthetwowor ldwars.()A.对B.错7【判断题】(10分)Althoughshore-lived,theImagistmovementhadatremendousinfluenceonmodernpoetry.()A.错B.对8【判断题】(10分)RobertFrostwonfourNobelPrizesinhislife.()A.错B.对9【多选题】(10分)Earlyinthe20thcentury,()and()publishedworksthatwouldchangethenatureofAmericanpoe try.A.T.S.EliotB.RobertFrostC.WaltWhitmanD.EzraPound10【多选题】(10分)TheImagistwritersfollowedthreeprinciples,theyrespectivelyare().A.economyofexpressionB.NoneoftheotherchoicesC.directtreatmentD.clearrhythm第五章测试1【单选题】(10分)WhatwasRalphEllison'snovelthatwasthestoryofanunnamedAfricanmanwhocouldnotbes eenbecausepeoplechosenottoseehim?()A.FlyingHomeB.ShadowandActC.ThreeDaysBeforetheShootingD.InvisibleMan2【单选题】(10分) Thisladywasarecordbreakerfortheliteratureandwomenwriters!Shewasaslavethatlearned toreadandwritefromhermasters,whoalsoencouragedhertowritepoetry.Herworkwasprais edbytheBritishandAmericansalikeduringtheAmericanRevolutionaryWar.Whowasthefirst AfricanAmericanladypoettopublishabookintheUnitedStates?()A.MayaAngelouB.PhillisWheatleyC.SojournerTruthD.AliceWalker3【单选题】(10分)WhereisMorrison's1992novelJazzset?()A.Chicagointhe1940sB.NewOrleansattheturnofthe20thcenturyC.Harleminthe1920sD.Sohointhe1950s4【单选题】(10分)Alphonso(Celie'sstepfather)neverrevealedthatCelieandNettiewerenothisbiologicalchildr enbecause().A.hepromisedtheirmotherhewouldneverrevealthetruth.B.hewantedtheirinheritancerights.C.hethoughthewasindeedtheirfather.D.hedidnotwanttohurtthem.5【判断题】(10分) SeveralAfricanAmericansbecamefamousfortheirautobiographiesabouttheirlivesasslave s,includingFrederickDouglass,whobecamealeadingfigureintheabolitionistmovement.()A.对B.错6【判断题】(10分)AftertheendofslaveryandtheAmericancivilwar,anumberofAfrican-Americanauthorswrote nonfictionworksabouttheconditionofAfricanAmericansintheUnitedStates.()A.对B.错7【判断题】(10分)Morrison'snovelsaremostlysetinablackcommunityinthethirtiesorforties,buttheydonotmer elytellstoriesaboutaparticularcommunityduringaparticularperiod.()A.错B.对8【判断题】(10分)MisterisCelie'shusbandwhooriginallytriestoseekarelationshipwithNettiebutsettlesforCeli e.()A.错B.对9【多选题】(10分) AboutthefourthdevelopmentstageofAmericanJewishliterature,whichareright?()A.Duringthisperiod,theeconomyoftheUnitedStatesdevelopedrapidly.B. AmericanJewishwritersdominatedtheAmericanliteraryworldandbecameoutstandingwritersinthisperiod.C.Inpolitics,inthe1950s,theUnitedStateswasfullofclosedandconservativeideas.D.Thefourthperiodwasfrom1945to1973.10【多选题】(10分) ChoosetheChinsesAmericanwriters.()A.SuiSinFarB.MaxineHongKingstonC.FrankChinD.AmyTan第六章测试1【单选题】(10分)WhendidEugeneO'NeillgetNobelPrizeforliterature?()A.1952B.1948C.1955D.19362【单选题】(10分)“AmericanShakespeare”refersto().A.EugeneO’NeillB.EdwardAlbeeC.ElmerRiceD.TennesseeWilliams3【单选题】(10分) DeathofaSalesmaniswrittenby().A.ElmerRiceB.TennesseeWilliamsC.CliffordOdetsD.ArthurMiller4【单选题】(10分)WaitingforLefty,writtenby()ashortplayaboutaNewYorktaxi-drivers'strike,withitsfamousag itpropendinganditsinfluentialuseofEuropeanexpressionistmethodsprovedtobeaverybrilli antandimpressiveperformanceonBroadway.A.EugeneO’NeillB.TennesseeWilliamsC.CliffordOdetsD.ElmerRice5【判断题】(10分)LongDay'sJourneyintoNightissetinthesummerhomeoftheTyronefamily,August1912.()A.对B.错6【判断题】(10分) TheAmericandramatictraditionbeganwithYeBareandYeCubb(1665)byWilliamDarbyand othertwoauthor-performers.()A.错B.对7【判断题】(10分) ThefirstAmericantragedytobestagedwasTheContrastwrittenbyRoyallTyler(1757-1826),a ndfirstplayedinNewYorkCityin1787.()A.错B.对8【判断题】(10分)Poeticplayswereverypopularinthefirsthalfofthe19thcentury.()A.对B.错9【多选题】(10分) Choosetheplaywrightswhobelongtothe1940s?()A.WilliamIngeB.TennesseeWilliamsC.ArthurMillerD.DavidMamet10【多选题】(10分) Choosetheplaywrightswhobelongtothe1960s?()A.SamShepardB.DavidMametC.EdwardAlbeeD.AugustWilson。

1．第1题The poem “Thanatopsis” was written by__________.A.Emily DickinsonB.William Cullen BryantC.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.02．第2题The Fall of the House of Usher was a horror story by ______.A.Nathaniel HawthorneB.Edgar Allan PoeC.MelvilleD.Longfellow答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.03．第3题_____was the only American of his generation who could chide the British with humor.A.CooperB.Washington IrvingC.ThoreauD.Edgar Allan Poe答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.04．第4题It is on his______ that Washington Irving’s fame mainly rested.A.childhood recollectionsB.sketches about his European toursC.early poetryD.tales about America答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.05．第6题_______ does not belong to the school of naturalism in history.A.Stephen CraneB.Frank NorrisC.Jack LondonD.Walt Whitman答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.06．第8题“ i am monarch of all i survey,/ my right there is none to dispute.” this line is ｆrom ____.A.NatureB.Civil DisobedienceC.WaldenD.Representative Men答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.07．第9题The Waste Land was dedicated to another poet whowas __________.A.Ernest HemingwayB.Ezra PoundC.T. S. EliotD.William Carlos Williams答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.08．第10题Emily Grierson, the protagonist in Faulkner’s story A Rose for Emily, can be regarded as a symbol for all the following qualities except______.A.old valuesB.rigid ideas of social statusC.bigotry ａnd eccentricityD.harmony ａnd integrity答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.09．第12题Among the following fictions, only one is not written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is___________.A.The Scarlet LetterB.The Blithedale RomanceC.The Marble FaunD.The Fall of the House of Usher答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.010．第14题Among the following novels, only one was not written by Herman Melville. It is_____________.A.The Confidence-ManB.The PIlotC.Moby Dick答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.011．第16题Among the following novels, only one is not written by William Faulkner. It is _____________.A.Light in AugustsB.As I Lay DyingC.The Golden BowlD.Go Down, Moses答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.012．第18题the lines “to the glory that was greece, ／ａnd the grａndeur that was rome” were quotedｆrom poe’s poem __________.A.The RavenB.To HelenC.Annabel Lee答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.013．第20题The most famous sea story written by Jack London is _______.A.Martin EdenB.The Iron HeelC.The Sea WolfD.The Call of the Wild答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.014．第21题_______, the ruthless, amoral protagonist of the The Sea Wolf, best realizes the ideal of the “Superman.”A.HurstwoodB.Wolf LarsenC.PrufrockD.Santiago答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.015．第22题The most popular novel to do with the abolition movement written by Harriet Beecher Stowe is________.A.Martin EdenB.Uncle Tom’s CabinC.White FangD.The Call of the Wild答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.0the village near boston in which both emersonａnd thoreau lived was called _________.A.BostonB.ConcordC.Jamestown答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.017．第24题The salesman whom Sister Carrie met with on her way to Chicago was named _____________.A.Charles DrouetB.HurstwoodC.Stephen CraneD.Frank Norris答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.018．第26题The Iceberg style is most thoroughly reflected in the writings of the American novelist_____________.A.Jack LondonB.Ernest HemingwayC.Mark Twain答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.0Twice-told Tales is a collection of stories written by ___.A.Nathaniel HowthorneB.Edgar Ellan PoeC.Washington Irving答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.020．第30题The Blithedale Romance is a novel about the Brook Farm experiment written by __________.A.Henry JamesB.Nathaniel HawthorneC.James Fenimore Cooper答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.021．第31题The famous pamphlet Common Sense appearing in 1776 was written by _____________.A.Thomas JeffersonB.Thomas PaineC.Benjamine Franklin答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.022．第33题william faulkner once declared that ___ was the first truly american writer ｆrom whom we aredescended.A.Washington IrvingB.CooperC.HawthorneD.Mark Twain答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.023．第34题The sentence “whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist” is quoted ｆrom Emerson’s essay _________.A.NatureB.The Over-SoulC.Self-Reliance答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.024．第36题robert frost once said that a poem should begin with delight ａnd end in__________.A.pleasureB.uglinessC.deathD.wisdom答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.025．第37题Among the following, only one can not be a possible theme of the novel The Adventures ofHuckleberry Finn. It is _________.A.equality between menB.escapismC.conflict between nature ａnd civilizationD.spiritual emptiness答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.026．第38题___ is not written by Ralph Waldo Emerson.A.Self-relianceB.NatureC.The American ScholarD. The Bells答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.027．第40题“by nature’s self in white arrayed\ she bade thee shun the vulgar eye,\ ａnd planted here the guarding shade,\ ａnd sent soft waters murmuring by; \ thus quietly thy summer goes,\ thy days declining to repose.” the rhyme scheme of the lines above is ______________.A.abababB.ababccC.aabbcc答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.028．第41题Among the following sentences, only one is uttered by Henry David Thoreau. It is__________.A.I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberatelyB. I went to the city because I wished to live deliberatelyC. I went to the woods because I wanted to escapeD. I went to the woods because I wished to shoot some birds答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.029．第42题Jack London did not write ______.A.The Sea WolfB.The Call of the WildC.The AmbassadorsD.White Fang答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.030．第43题____ Bryant’s best-known poem, was written when he was only sixteen years old.A.To a WaterfowlB.ThanatopsisC.To HelenD.Annabel Lee答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.031．第44题Nathaniel Hawthorne gave a definition to the term "romance" in his Preface to the novel ---.A.The House of the Seven GablesB.The Scarlet LetterC.The Marble Faun答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.032．第45题Among the following writers, only one does not belong to the naturalistic school. He is___.A.Henry JamesB.Stephen CraneC.Theodore Dreiser答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.033．第46题William Sidney Porter was the real name of________.A.Mark TwainB.O’ HenryC.Jack LondonD.William Dean Howells答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.034．第47题Tales of a Traveller was written by the American author__________.A.James Fenimore CooperB.Washington IrvingC.Nathaniel Hawthorne答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.035．第49题"The Spectre Bridegroom" was written by the American author ---.A.Washington IrvingB.Nathaniel HawthorneC.James Feminore Cooper答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.036．第50题Among the following authors the one who received 4 pulitzer prizes was ---.A.Robert FrostB.Jack LondonC.Mark Twain答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.037．第52题"Lost Generation" is a term first coined by ---.A.Ernest HemingwayB.FitzgeraldC. Gertrude Stein答案:C您的答案：C题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.038．第53题Ernest Hemingway's Last important literary work is ---.A.the old man ａnd the seaB.The Sun Also RisesC. For Whom the Bell Tolls答案:A您的答案：A题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.039．第55题“all sappy as maples ａnd flat as the prairie” is a comment made by james russell lowell on the female characters in novels written by______.A.Washington IrvingB.James Fenimore CooperC.Philip FreneauD.George Washington答案:B您的答案：B题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.040．第58题Among the following, only one is not a representative feature of O Henry’s short stories. It is _________.A. conversational openingB.improbable coincidenceC.Surprise endingD.multiple points of view答案:D您的答案：D题目分数：2.0此题得分：2.041．第5题benjamin franklin was a prose stylist whose writing reflected the romantic ideals of clarity, restraint, simplicity ａnd balance.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.042．第7题The Great Gatsby was a novel written by Fitzgerald partially based on his own life experience.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.043．第11题The foundation of American national literature was laid by the early American romanticists.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.044．第13题Cooper’s claim to greatness in American literature lies in the fact that he created a myth about the formative period of the Americannation.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.045．第15题Hemingway's novel For Whom the Bell Tolls was about the Spanish Civil War.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.046．第17题Emerson’s prose style was sometimes as highly individualistic as his dramas.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.047．第19题"Declaration of Independence" was drafted by Benjamin Franklin alone.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.048．第25题Longfellow’s poems belong to the darker aspect of the Romantic Movement.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.049．第27题american naturalism, like romanticism, had come ｆrom germany.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.050．第28题The House of the Seven Gables is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne based on his experience in the Brook Farm.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.051．第32题Leatherstocking Tales is a novel of the series The Last of Mohicans written by James Fenimore Cooper.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.052．第35题Though Emily Dickinson married twice in her life, love had never been a major theme in her poetry.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.053．第39题An Italian Sonnet is a short poem with fourteen iambic pentameter lines rhymed abbaabbacdecde.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.054．第48题"Tell me not, in mournful numbers" is a line in Longfellow's poem "A Psalm of Life".答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.055．第51题Jack London was usually considered as a romanticist for his portrayal of superman heroes.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.056．第54题Immediately after their arrival in america, the american puritans became more preoccupied with business ａnd profits, as they had to be in the grim struggle for survival.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.057．第56题By the end of the nineteenth century, the realists rejected the portrayal of idealized characters ａnd events.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.058．第57题Many of Poe’s Gothic tales bear the theme of claustrophobia.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.059．第59题Poe was a predecessor of the later British detective writer Conan Doyle.答案:正确您的答案：正确题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.060．第60题The most important Southern writer is Robert Penn Warren who was the author of the poem “All the King’s Men”.答案:错误您的答案：错误题目分数：1.0此题得分：1.0作业总得分：100.0作业总批注：。

美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案陶洁(部分)Unit 1 Benjamin FranklinQuestions1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know abouthis life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he hasenjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whomhe had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him throughhis whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin lefthis brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped himoff about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eightor nine o’clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Street wharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection?It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, andconcision(言简意赅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(朴素的).Unit 2 Edgar Allen Poe1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want to redress? Montresor.Fortunato, one of wine experts insulted him, so he wantedto murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what hebelieves to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuablesherry wine.Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.4.Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor andFortunato as contrasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Montresor face is covered in a black silk mask, In contrast, Fortunatodresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, whogets literally and tragically fooled by Montresor's masked motives.The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato'sdeath sentence.Through the acts, words, and thoughts of??Fortunato,weknow He is greedy, he was lured into the dark and sombervaults just because a cask of Amontillado.This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity(酗酒）. He lost himself on hearing the wine.At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance.When he heard the pretended compliment from Montresor, he became very boastful and arrogant.He was easily confused by the superficial phenomena andfailed to watch out for others. He couldn’t tolerate that others were stronger than him.For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresi who was good at connoisseur（鉴赏） in wine.Under the i mpulse of vanity, he fell into Montresor’s terrible trap.In fact, he was careless and foolish and didn’t find that the danger was approaching him.He looked down upon Montresor and others.He didn’t realize his foolishness until the death wascoming.Talking from the appearance, Monstresor was a well-educated and “kind” businessman.He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact,he was an evil and awful person.His inner feelings were so cruel that they even made p eople tremble.Under his rich appearance was the dirty soul and despicable character.We c ouldn’t see any glorious virtues in his mind. Instead, his heart was cold and dark.It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.unit 4 Nathaniel Hawthorne1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ?No matter how optimistic the founders of new colonies maybe, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,”　for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, whichputs heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin—the notion that all people are born sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. heis therefore using the prison building to represent thecrime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized life What is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities.The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.Describe the appearance of Hester Prynne and the attitudeof the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men a nd women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval.Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, andthey soon vow that Hester would not have received such alight sentence for her crime if they had been the judges.One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as toadvocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester?As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live.While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritanminister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth toPearl.The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and hersecrecy.Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin.In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin”　and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts herchild.And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,”　she takes them as they are rather than resisting them or trying to atone for them.How does this tell us about her character?Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an importantfigure.Unit5 Herman Melville1.What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick?Ishmael compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale.He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recentlyand that superstitious sailors have come to regard theseattacks as having an intelligent, even supernatural origin.In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whalemen, suggesting that he can be in more than one place at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarksthat even the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth.Whales, for instance, have been known to travel with remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus,it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Greenland ship in it.Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, exhibits an “intelligent malignity”（狠毒） in his attacks on men2.Why does Ahab react so violently against the white whale? First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale. Second,He considers Moby Dick the embodiment of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale，because he believes it his inescapable fate to destroy this evil.Ishmael suggests that Ahab is “crazy”and call him “a raving lunatic.” Do you agree with him? Why or why not? Ishmael describes Ahab as mad i n his narration, and it does indeed seem mad t o try to fight the forces of nature or God.3. What narrative features can you find in the selectedchapter?In the selected charpter, Melville employed the technique of multiple view of his narrative to portray Moby Dick toachieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the meaning.Unit 6 Henry David Thoreau1.Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical leveland at a spiritual level?He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emerson’s property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying?No, he hadn’t.He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitablytie him down financially and complicate his life.Thoreau didn’t see the acquisition of wealth as the goalfor human existence, he saw the goal of life to be anexploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us.He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3.Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth ofJuly as the day on which he began to stay in the woods? Why? Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the United States.Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of??regeneration at Walden.It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.4.How could you answer the question Thoreau asked at theend of this selection?Unit 7 19th Century American Poets1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1) I Shot an Arrow…　1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song?The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen bythe speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible.2. In what circumstances did he find them again?He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk ofa tree and the heart of a friend.3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poem?The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship. (2) A Psalm of Life1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem?The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much a s possible in the short span of life.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led toovercome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death? We should work harder and live happier.3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand oftime" (line 28).The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.2. Walt Whitman(1)One's Self I Sing1. What is the significance of singing about one's self?It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which istypical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?Physiology is a science that deals with the functions andlife process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refersto an art of judging character from contours of face itselfor the appearance of a person.3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"? He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain!1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout thepoem?In this poem the word “Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem? Life is a journey.3. Why d o people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails toreceive his own honor.3.Emily Dickinson(1) To Make a Prairie …　1. What things are needed to "make" a prairie? In whatsense can one really do it?Some grass and insects and small animals. People can makea prairie with their imagination.2. How can "revery alone" create a prairie?The prairie stays in one's mind.(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"?Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would havea keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"?The so-called successful people in the world.3. Who is "he" in the last stanza?Anyone who is pursuing his success.(3) I'm Nobody!1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they" in this poem? The"pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poem a nd the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean?" (line 28).It Implies the vain and empty common people, who a re always admiring and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this poem?The real admirable life is a secluded and common one.4. Do you want to be "nobody" or "somebody"? Explain your reasons.Different persons would have different answers to thisquestion. Personally, I prefer to be nobody.Unit 8 Mark Twain1: Why do you think Mr.Wheeler is so eager to tell thesestories?From Mr.Wheeler’s behaviors and contents of his narration we can know he is so eager to tell these stories.First, when "I" asked him to tell "me" something about W.Smiley, he“　backed me i nto a corner and blockaded me w ith his chair, and then sat down and reeled off the narrative”. And during the process of telling his stories, he never paid anyattention to others'response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener feltboring and wanted to leave, Mr.Wheeler even didn't noticeit and still asked him to sit there listening to him.2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling thestories? No. the audience does not show any interest inMr.Wheeler’　stories. In fact, the narrator was very feverish about his stories, but ,in the eyes of the listener,the stories were very boring and had nothing todo with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and hewould never bother himself to understand it. So after thelong time of Mr.Wheeler’　solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away.3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions?The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspectedthe presence of humor.During the intercourse,the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "wihout a little smiling" talking about the animals and the thingslike ,while the listener felt rather puzzled or botheredby his stories.It seemed to be kind of coarse things. Sothe two different scenes go on separately without a intersection.And their interaction was a complete failure accordingtoour common sense about communication.But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by ourreaders due to the skills adopted by Mark Twain .Unit 14 F·Scott Fitzgerald1.Do you think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great”? Why?（1）I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsbydeserves to be ―great‖ or not.For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could doanything to get Daisy back: he did shady business to earnmoney a nd social position; he threw luxurious parties just to draw Daisy’s attention; he could take the blame for adeath that he did not cause.（2）In this respect, he is much ―greater‖ than his contemporaries. For another thing, Gatsby never realizedthat Daisy wasn’t the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby wasso innocent that he staked everything on his dreams, notrealizing that his dreams are unworthy of him. He wasn’t sober enough to be great.2.Does “the green light” Gatsby believed in exist in reality? Why or why not ?（1）I think ―the green light‖ does not exist in reality. Because the green light which situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely visible from West Egg lawn represents Gatsby’s unattainable dream. Although the color itself can be seen as hope and bright future, Gatsby’s quest for Daisy back is doomed t o be impossible. Daisy lived in ―a material world without being real, where poor ghosts, breathing dream like air‖.（2）After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, themiracle Daisy had lost her original glory. Therefore, there is no delaying that Gatsby’s dream would not come true.In the novel, the green light not only represents thatinnocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but alsomeans his longing for the history –his happy past with Daisy. The distinction between ideal and reality was huge. As if American dream between golden past and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.3.What does Gatsby’s Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the American Dream?（1）The schedule is a reflection of Gatsby’s determination and ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself inpursuit of his goal—to be an upper-class man.（2）On one hand, we can know that he is persistent inpursuing his American Dream-- to attain wealth and happiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he istoo idealistic and naive.（3）He tries his best to make money and learns everything required to be an upper-class man s o that he can get access to his beloved girl.Money is important，but there are other barriers difficult to penetrate. The girl he loves is asvulgar and superficial as others in her circle, she isunable to meets Gatsby’s romantic fantasy. So his dreamis destined to shatter, which indicates the disillusion of American Dream.4.When you read the line “He (the man w ith owl-eyed glasses) took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside andin ,” what image s does it create in your mind, given thenovel’s numerous references to the strikingly strangescene of the spectacled eyes?（1）From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a personwith thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly allthe things in the world. However, we know he is actuallyan owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than anyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He f eels sympathy for Gatsby’s tragedy. （2）After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the Dr.Eckleburg billboard with its huge yellow spectacles in this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes are also dimmed and seem blind. But in fact this is a pair of"all-seeing" eyes. The Owl-Eyed Man is similar to Dr. Eckleburg, sadly looking at the people’s life and idealism of this time. Both of them symbolize an uninvolvedspectator god. They watch all the activities of the humans. Owl-eyes is the avatar of the sightless Dr. Eckleburg.Unit 16 Ernest Hemingway1. How d o you interpret the irony of the title after reading the story?（1）The title ―A Clean Well-Lighted Place‖ refers to the café in the text. The café was very clean and well- lighted. From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was very warm a nd comfortable, was a place where people need warmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and lonely came here to find warmth and avoided nada. Itwas the only place he could go and could find some comfort.（2）However, the younger waiter was very selfish. As hiswife was waiting him on the bed, he wanted to go home e arly. Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup ofwine by the excuse that the business was finished. In fact, there was still an hour from closing time. The youngerthought an hour was more important to him than to the oldman. The old man needed to leave the only place where hecould get far away from nada/ nothing. This café should be warm but the younger waiter forced the lonely and deafto leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of thetitle.2. Do you think youth and confidence can help one withstand the metaphorical darkWhy or why not? （1）I don’t think so.In our opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada，nothing in one’s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and confidence; however, he nevermade f ull use of them. As we can see, he didn’t understand the old man’s suicide and excessive drinking, and failedto see his tomorrow through the old man’s present situation.（2）What’s more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guarantee love and work. From above, there is no denying that he didn’t realize his nada. Therefore, his youth and confidence never contributed to withstandinghis metaphorical dark.（3）I think that, nowadays, youth and confidence do canhelp to withstand the metaphorical dark, for one can bravely face the reality and overcome the nada with youthand confidence. But they only serve as two main factors.In fact, we need some o ther factors such as courage, dignityand so on if we want to withstand the metaphorical dark successfully.3.The older waiter said to the younger waiter:“We are of two different kinds.” In what way do you think they are different?（1）I think they are different from each other in thefollowing four aspects：In the beginning, they are in different ages.The older waiter was in his middle age;while the other was much younger.（2）Then, they have different attitudes towards the oldman. From the article, we k now the older waiter had suffered a lot. He had maintained a clean and well-lighted place in his heart, and he could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish.He wanted to go home e arly so that he finished the business one hour earlier and forced the old man t o leave. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.（3）Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave andwanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others.The younger one was totally different; he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present loveand work, he only care about himself and was reluctant totake others into consideration. He even never thought ofhis future.（4）Finally, they have different attitudestowards nada. The older waiter had realized that it isimpossible to avoid nada in one’s whole life. The onlything he can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his ownmind. So he was willing to work late for the lonely old man and was pleased to help those who are suffering nada. Butout of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada.On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didn’t realize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th -Century American Poets1. Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1. Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"?These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst thedrizzling rain.2. What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petals referto the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2. Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1. What does the jar in poem s ymbolize? Why d oes the speaker place it on top of a hill? The jar here symbolizes acertain perspective on looking at this world. If the perspective of the viewing is creative and unique, it will change the conventional order of the old world. When a new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attentionfrom the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning thatit has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground? Maybe the roundjar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helpsto form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. How d id the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? What words or phrases does the poet use to describe it? Tennessee seems to a place full of life and energy.“Slovenly,”　“sprawl”　and “wild”　are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar )4.Robert Frost(1)Fire and Ice1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem? F ire symbolizes natural disaster, human p assion, as well as war.2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great fordestruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of human b eings.3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which one ismore destructive? Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful world if they are beyond control of human b eings. Therefore we s hould be open-minded and reduce our prejudice and pride so as to keep this world in peace.(2)Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made thespeaker stop by the woods on a snowy evening? The poet wasdeeply attracted by the natural beauty of the scene at that very moment.2. Why did the horse give the harness bell a shake? Thehorse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, cold woods at midnight. It was eager to go home.3. Why couldn't the speaker stay longer by the woods toappreciate its mysterious beauty? He realized that it was late at night and he would have to hurry home to get somefood and sleep, because the next morning he would have alot of work to do.4. What is the effect of repetition in the last two lines? The refrain-like repetition in the last two lines remindsthe reader a simple fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward in the journey of his or her life.(3) The Road Not Taken1. What is the speaker's initial response to the divergence of the two roads? The speaker is at a loss which road heshould choose, and he feels sorry that he cannot exploreboth roads at the same time.2. Describe the similarities and differences of these tworoads. Which one does the speaker take? Two roads aresimilar except one of them is more “grassy,”　which implies that it is less traveled by people. The speakerprefers the less traveled one, because he likes adventure. 3. What might the two roads stand for in the speaker's mind? One road stands for the traditional one and the other is unconventional one and full of challenges and difficulties.To follow other people's footsteps or to open a new roadfor himself is really not an easy decision for us to makein our lives.Unit22 Allen GinsbergAll through the poem, the speaker is addressing to WaltWhitman. Is this poem about Walt Whitman or about modern America?-----from Allen Ginsberg A Supermarket in CaliforniaThe author in this poem w anted to emphasis his theme about showing his respect to the passed age and showing his worry about the corrupt in the part of spirit and society. As we all know, Walt Whitman’s poetry was a revolution inAmerican literature can be seen in the first publicationof Leaves of Grass in 1855. His po etry is “free verse”　in that the lack of meter and rhyme is known as his majortechnical innovation. Allen Ginsberg had a highly praiseon him. As the movement of Beat Generation, Allen Ginsberg used poetry as weapon to express his own understanding ofBeat---beatific and beat down.In this poem, the author wrote the sentence “shopping for images”. What he wanted to buy is the things which werelisted by Walt Whitman many years ago. What is in the supermarket? The fresh fruits on the shelf fit the needsof customers and the families. We across a strange statement: shopping for images. How c an we shop for images? What he refers to us is still the pure image---“dreaming of your enumerations”. The things on the shelf are theimages of languages in Walt Whitman’s poetry. The language in Walt Whitman’s poetry and the spirit in his poetry are the things which Allen Ginsberg dreamed of. A young America which is full of energy is worth being praised. Allen Ginsberg found the song of himself, the song full of courage and the echo of the real world among Walt Whitman’s work. The meaning of age in this poem is that the nation or the。

美国文学选读第三版课后习题答案陶洁（部分）Unit 1 Benjamin FranklinQuestions1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reachedBurlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine o ' clock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market Streetwharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selecti on?It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, andconcision（言简意赅）. The narrative is lucid（易懂的），thestructure is simpie, the imagery is homely（朴素的）.Unit 2 Edgar Alle n Poe1.Who is the n arrator? What wrong does he want to redress?Mon tresor.Fort un ato, one of wine exp erts in sulted him, so he wan ted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amon tillado a rare and valuable sherry wine.Fortunato is anxious to determine whether or not it is trulyAmon tillado, so he goes to the vault with Mon tresor.3. What happens to Fort un ato in the end?He was walled up alive beh ind bricks in a wi ne cellar.4. Describe briefly how Poe characterizes Montresor andFort un ato as con trasts?Poe uses color imagery to characterize them. Mon tresor face is covered in a black silk mask, I n con trast, Fort un ato dresses the motley-colored costume of the court fool, who getsliterally and tragically fooled by Mon tresor's masked motives.The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortunato's death sentence.Through the acts, words, and thoughts of Fort un ato,we knowHe is greedy, he was lured into the dark and somber vaults justbecause a cask of Amon tillado.This is also due to his bad habit of bibulosity( himself onheari ng the wine. At the same time, he was cheated by his enemy, which reflected his ignorance.Whe n he heard the p rete nded comp lime nt from Mon tresor, he became very boastful and arroga nt.He was easily con fused by the sup erficial phenomena and failed't tolerate that others were酗酒).He lostto watch out for others. He could nstron ger tha n him.For example, Montresor always stimulated him with Luchresitrap.dan ger was app roach ing him.He looked dow n upon Mon tresor and others.He didn ' t realize his foolishness until the death was coming.Talki ng from the app eara nee, Mon stresor was a well-educated and “ kind ” bus in essma n.He enjoyed the honor and respect in the city. But in fact, he was an evil and awful person.His inner feeli ngs were so cruel thatthey eve n made peopletremble. Under his rich appearanee was the dirty soul and despicable character.We could n ' t see any glorious virtues in his mind. In stead, his heart was cold and dark.It was the revenge that threw Montresor into the deep evil valley.who was good at conno isseur （鉴赏） in wine.Under the impuIse of vanity,he fell into Montreso r ' terribleIn fact, he was careless andfoolish and didn ‘fin d that theunit 4 Natha niel Hawtho rneI.Why is the prison the sett ing of Chap ter 1 ?No matter how op timistic the foun ders of new colonies may be, they are quick toestablish a prison and a cemetery in their“ Utopia, ” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are un avoidable.This belief fits into the larger Pu rita n doctri ne, which p uts heavyemp hasis on the idea of orig inal sin —the no ti on that all people areborn sinners because of the in itial tran sgressi ons of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Ede n. he is therefore using the prison buildi ng to rep rese nt the crime andthe puni shme nt which are aspect of civilized lifeWhat is the imp licati on of the descri pti on of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man'sactivities.The n arrator suggests that roses offer a remin der of Nature'skindn ess to the condemn ed; for his tale, he says, it will p rovide un rele ntingsorrow and gloom.either a “ sweet moral blossom ” or else some relief in the face of 2.Describe the app eara nee of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towardsher.The sec ond p aragra ph on p age 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and wome n, all mai ntai ning severe looks of disa pp roval.Several of the wome n beg in to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had bee n the judges.One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester?As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar,Chilli ngworth, who sent her ahead to America to live.While wait ing for him, she had an affair with a Pu rita n mini ster n amed Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to P earl.The scarlet letter is her puni shme nt for her sin and her secrecy.Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is pro ud, rather tha n ashamed, of her sin.In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “ sin a”d symbol as part of herself, just as she acce pts her child.And although she can hardly believe her p rese nt takes them as they are rather tha n resisti ng them or tryi ng to its“ realities,atone for them.How does this tell us about her character?Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an in tellige nt, cap able. It is the extraord inary circumsta nces sha ping her that make her such an imp orta nt figure.Unit5 Herman Melville1.What are the stories Ismael tells about Moby Dick?Ishmael comp ares the lege nd of Moby Dick to his exp erie nee of the whale.He no tes that sperm whale attacks have in creased rece ntly and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as hav ing an in tellige nt, eve n supern atural orig in.In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whaleme n, suggesti ng that he can be in more tha n one p lace at the same time and that he is immortal. Ishmael remarks thateve n the wildest of rumors usually contains some truth.Whales, for in sta nee, have bee n known to travel with remarkable speed from the Atlantic to the Pacific; thus, it is possible for a whale to be caught in the Pacific with the harpoons of a Gree niand ship in it.Moby Dick, who has defied cap ture nu merous times, exhibitsan “ intelligent malignity （狠毒）怡his attacks on men2.Why does Ahab react so viole ntly aga inst the white whale?First, he lost one of his legs because of the white whale.Secon d,He con siders Moby Dick the embodime nt of evil in the world, and he pursues the White Whale , because he believes it his in esca pable fate to destroy this evil.Ishmael suggests that Ahab is “ crazy ” cold him “ aravinglun atic. ” Do you agree with him? Why or why not?Ishmael describes Ahab as mad in his narration, and it does in deed seem mad to try to fight the forces of n ature or God.3.What n arrative features can you find in the selected cha pter?In the selected charpter, Melville empioyed the technique of mult iple view of his n arrative to p ortray Moby Dick to achieve the effect of ambiguity and let readers judge the mea ning.Unit 6 Henry David Thoreau1.Where in deed did Thoreau live, both at a p hysical level and ata sp iritual level?He lived in a cab in on Walde n Pond, which bel on ged toEmers on s prop erty.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the actof buying?No, he had n t.He avoided pu rchas ing a farm because it would in evitably tie him dow n finan cially and comp licate his life.Thoreau didn ‘se e the acquisition of wealth as the goal for huma n existe nee, he saw the goal of life to be an expIo rati on of the mind and of the mag ni fice nt world around us.He regarded the p laces as an existe nee free of obligati ons and full of leisure.3.1s it sig nifica nt that Thoreau men ti oned the Fourth of July as the day on which he bega n to stay in the woods? Why?Yes, it is.Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day,the birthday ot the Un ited States.Here Thoreau uses the day to exp ress his beg inning of rege nerati on at Walde n.It also mea ns a symbol of his conq uest of being.4.How could you answer the question Thoreau asked at the end of this selecti on?Unit 7 19th Cen tury American Poets1.Henry Wadsworth Lon gfellow(1) I Shot an Arrow1.Why did the sp eaker lose sight of his arrow and song?The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be see n by the sp eaker; whereas the song is n aturally in visible.2.In what circumsta nces did he find them aga in?He finds them unexpectedly years later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a frie nd.3.What do arrow and song sta nd for in this p oem?The images of arrow and song here may sta nd for frie ndsh ip.⑵ A P salm of Life1.What kind of person is the sp eaker of this p oem?The sp eaker is a man of acti on, always op timistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as p ossible in the short span of life.2.According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us n earer to death?We should work harder and live happ ier.3.I nterpret the meta phor of "Foot prin ts on the sand of time" (li ne 28).The meta phor refers to huma n deeds in real life.2.Walt Whitman (1) On e's Self I Si ng1.What is the sig nifica nee of singing about on e's self?It is an exaltati on of the in dividual sp irit, which is typ ical ofAmerica n people.2.What is the differe nee betwee n p hysiology pandhysiog nomy?Physiology is a scienee that deals with the functions and lifeP rocess of huma n bein gs, whereas p hysiog nomy refers to an art of judg ing character from con tours of face itself or the app eara nee of a person.3.What does Whitman mea n by the term of "the Modern Man"?He mea ns that a man should be free from any p rejudice and p ride, totally differe nt from the traditi onal one, that is full of bias.(3) O Ca ptai n! My Ca pta in!1.Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the p oem?In this p oem the word“ Captain ” specially refers to AbrahamLincoln, p reside nt of the Un ited States.2.What overall meta phor does the poet emp loy in this p oem?Life is a journey.3.Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the sp eaker rema ins so sad?They welcome the ship returni ng from its hard trip, whereas the sp eaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.3.Emily Dick inson(1)To Make a P rairie1. What things are n eeded to "make" a p rairie? In what sense can one really do it?Some grass and in sects and small ani mals. People can make a p rairie with their imagi natio n.2. How can "revery alone" create a p rairie?The p rairie stays in on e's mind.(2) Success Is Coun ted Sweetest1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"?Those who have tasted the bitter ness of failure would have a kee ner desire for success.2. Who are "the p urple host"?The so-called successful people in the world.3.Who is "he" in the last sta nza?Anyone who is pursuing his success.⑶ I'm Nobody!1. Who are the "p air of us" and "they" in this p oem?The "pairof us" refers to the sp eaker in the p oem and the reader, and "they" refers to the p ublic, esp ecially those in po wer.2. What does "an admiri ng bog" really mea n?" (li ne 28).It Im plies the vai n and empty com mon peop le, who arealways admiri ng and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this p oem?The real admirable life is a secluded and com mon one.4. Do you want to be "n obody" or "somebody"? Explain yourreas ons.Different persons would have different answers to thisquestio n. Person ally, I prefer to be no body.Unit 8 Mark Twain1: Why do you think Mr.Wheeler is so eager to tell thesestories?From Mr.Wheeler 's behaviors and contents of his narration wecan know he is so eager to tell these stories.First, when "I"asked him to tell "me" someth ing about W.Smiley, he “ ba me into a corner and blockaded me with his chair, and the n satdown a nd reeled off the narrative ” .And during the process oftelli ng his stories, he n ever p aid any atte nti on to others'response to his story and justwent on telling what amused him. At last whe n the liste ner felt bori ng and wan ted to leave,Mr.Wheeler eve n did n't no tice it and still asked him to sit there liste ning to him.2: Does his audie nee share his en thusiasm in telli ng the stories?No. the audienee does not show any interest in Mr.Wheeler stories. In fact, the n arrator was very feverish about his stories, but ,i n the eyes of the liste ner,the stories were very bori ng and had nothing to do with his p reocc up ati on. As an educated man, the liste ner couldn't un dersta nd the way of laborers for joy, and he would n ever bother himself to un dersta nd it. So after thesolo n arrati on and whe n the audie neelong time of Mr.Wheelergot a cha nee, he fled away.3: Do you think the n arrator and his liste ner ever sus pect the presenee of humor? Why? How do you interpret their in teracti ons?The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected thepresenee of humor.During the intercourse,the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous n arrative "wihout a little smili ng" talk ing about the an imals and the thingslike ,while the liste ner felt rather pu zzled or bothered by his stories.It seemed to becontempo raries. For ano ther thing, Gatsby n ever realized thatDaisy wasn ' t the girl he loved anymore. Gatsby was innocent that he staked everyth ing on his dreams, not realizi ngkind of coarse things. So the two different seenes go onsep arately without a in terseeti on. And their interaetion was a complete failure according toourcom mon sense about com muni cati on .But it in thissenseproduced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills adop ted by Mark Twain Unit 14 F Scott Fitzgerald 1.Do you think Gatsby deserves to be called “the great ” ? Why? (1 )1 think it is too comp licated to simply say Gatsby deserves to be —great or no t.For one thing, Gatsby was ambitious, hardwork ing, gen erous and p assi on ate. He was so extremely loyal to his love and Daisy that he could do anything to get Daisy back: he did shady bus in ess to earn money and socialposition; he threw luxurious parties just to draw Daisy 's atte ntio n; he could take the blame for a death that he did not cause. (2) In this respect, he is much — greatertha n hissobe impossible. Daisy lived in — a being real, where poor ghosts, breath ing dream like air(2)After five years when Gatsby met Daisy again, the miracleDaisy had lost her orig inal glory. Therefore, there is no delay ing that Gatsby ' s dream would not come true. In the novel, the green light not only represents that innocent Gatsby looked forward to the future, but also means his longing for the history -his happy p ast with Daisy. The dist in cti on betwee n ideal and reality was huge. As if America n dream betwee n golde n p ast and golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayal and crush.that his dreams are un worthy of him. He was n ' t sober eno ughto be great.2.Does “ the green light ” Gatsby believed in exist in reality? Why or why not ?(1) I think — the green lightdoes not exist in reality.Because the gree n light which situated at the end of Daisy East Egg dock and barely visible from West Egglawn rep rese nts Gatsby ' usatta in able dream. Although the coloritself can be see n as hope and bright future, Gatsby's quest forDaisy back is doomed to material world without3.What does Gatsby ' s Schedule reveal about him and how does it relate to the America n Dream?(1)The schedule is a reflecti on of Gatsby ' s determ in ati on and ambiti on. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pu rsuit of his goal —to be an upp er-class man.(2)On one hand, we can know that he is persistent in pursuing his America n Dream-- to atta in wealth and happin ess through his struggle. On the other hand, he is too idealistic and n aive.(3)He tries his best to make money and learns everything required to be an upper-class man so that he can get access tohis beloved girl.Money is important , but there are other barriersdifficult to penetrate. The girl he loves is as vulgar and superficial as others in her circle, she is unable to meetsGatsby ' s romantic fantasy. So his dream is destined to shatter,which in dicates the disillusi on of America n Dream.4.Whe n you read the line “ He (the man wiyed)w l asses)took off his glasses and wiped them aga in, outside and in , what images does it create in your mind, give n the novelnumerous references to the strikingly strange seene of thesp ectacled eyes?(1) From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person withthick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things inthe world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wiseobserver and sees more clearly tha n anyone else in the no vel.Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gatsby ' s tragedy.(2) After reading this line, I cannot help thinking of the Dr.Eckleburg billboard with its huge yellow spectacles in this novel. In many rainy days, Dr. Eckleburg ' s eyes are also dimmed and seem bli nd. But in fact this is a p air of "all-see ing"eyes. The Owl-Eyed Man is similar to Dr. Eckleburg, sadlylook ing at the people 's life and idealism of this timothBbfthem symbolize an uninvolved spectator god. They watch all the activities of the humans. Owl-eyes is the avatar of thesightless Dr. Eckleburg.Unit 16 Ern est Hemin gway1.How do you interpret the irony of the title after read ing thestory?(1)The title — A Clean Well-Lighted Place e in the text.refers to the caf The caf e was very clean and well- lighted. From the literarymeaning, we may feel this p lace was very warm and comfortable, was a p lace where people n eed warmth wan ted to go. So the old man, who was rich but deaf and Ion ely came here to find warmth and avoided n ada. It was the only p lace he could go and could find some comfort. (2) However, the youn ger waiter was very selfish. As his wife was wait ing him on the bed, he wan ted to go home early. Therefore, he refused to offer the old man ano ther cup of wine by the excuse that the bus in ess was fini shed. In fact, there was still an hour from clos ing time. The youn ger thought an hour was more imp orta nt to him tha n to the old man. The old man n eeded to leave the only p lace where he could get far away from n ada/ nothing.This caf e should be warm but the younger waiter forced theIon ely and deaf to leave without any symp athy. This is the irony of the title.2.Do you think youth and con fide nee can help one withsta nd the metaphorical dark ? Why or why not? (1) I don ' t thinkso.ln our opinion, the metaphorical dark means nada , nothing in one ' s inner heart. In the article, the younger waiter had both youth and con fide nee; however, he n ever made full useofthem. As we can see, he didn ' t understand the old man suicide and excessive drinking, and failed to see his tomorrow through the old man ' s present situation.(2)What' s more, he had no idea that youth is not permanent, which cannot guara ntee love and work. From above, there is nodenying that he didn ' t realize his nada. Therefore, his youthand con fide nee n ever con tributed to withsta nding his meta phorical dark.(3)I think that, no wadays, youth and con fide nee do can help to withsta nd the meta phorical dark, for one can bravely face the reality and overcome the n ada with youth and con fide nee.But they only serve as two mai n factors. I n fact, we n eed some other factors such as courage, dig nity and so on if we want towithsta nd the meta phorical dark successfully.“We are of two3.The older waiter said to the youn ger waiter: differe ntkin ds. ” In what way do you think they are differe nt?(1) I think they are different from each other in the following four asp ects : In the beg inning, they are in differe nt ages.The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much youn ger.(2) Then, they have different attitudes towards the old man.From the article, we know the older waiter had suffered a lot.He had maintained a clea n and well-lighted p lace in his heart, and he could un dersta nd the old man and show symp athy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He wan ted to go home early so that he fini shed the bus in ess one hour earlier and forced the old man to leave. He showed hatred rather tha n symp athy to the old man.(3)Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a dee p sense of life. He was brave and wan ted to fight aga in n ada. Besides, he cared about others. Theyounger one was totally differe nt; he has a shadow un dersta nding of life.He satisfied with his p rese nt love and work, he only care about himself and was relucta nt to take others into con siderati on. He even never thought of his future. (4) Finally, they have different attitudes towards n ada. The older waiter had realized that it isimpo ssible to avoid n ada in one's whole life. The only thing hecan do is to kee p a ki nd of clear ness in his own mi nd. So he wasWilli ng to work late for the Ion ely old man and was p leased to help those who are suffering nada. But out of youth and con fide nee, he failed to overcome n ada. On the con trary, theyounger waiter had the two most important factors for withsta nding n ada; however, he did n heart at all. Then his youth and con fide nee became useless. Unit 17 20th -Ce ntury American Poets1. Ezra Pou nd In A Station of the Metro1. Why does the p oet call the faces of p edestria ns "app aritio n"?These p edestria ns are all walk ing in a hurry amidst the drizzli ng rain.2. What do "p etals" a nd "bough" sta nd for?faces while the bough sta nds for the floati ng crowd.2. Wallace Steve ns An ecdote of the Jar1. What does the jar in p oem symbolize? Why does the sp eaker place it on top of a hill? The jar here symbolizes a certain't realize the nada in hisPetals refer to thepersp ective on look ing at this world. If the persp ective of the view ing is creative and uniq ue, it will cha nge the conven ti onal order of the old world. Whe n a new persp ective comes out, it will certai niy hold atte nti on from the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning that it has a stately imp orta nee. What effect does it have on surr oundings when placed on the ground?Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domin eeri ng figure, which helps to form a certa in order out of the disordered surr ounding.3. How did the wilder ness of Tenn essee characterized? What words or p hrases does the p oet use to describe it? seems to a p lace full of life and en ergy.and “ wild ” are some of the words used to describe the place. (See An ecdote of the Jar )4. Robert Frost(1)Fire and Ice 1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this p oem? Fire symbolizes n atural disaster, huma n p assi on, as well as war.Tennessee“ SlovenIy, ”2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great fordestructio n? Explain what ice sta nds for here. Ice, opp ose to fire, is also a dreadful n atural disaster in this world, and ice isalways related to in differe nee, cold ness, hatred, and the othern egative sen time nts of huma n beings.3. What is your opinion about fire and ice? Which one is moredestructive? Both fire and ice can destroy this beautiful worldif they are beyond control of human beings. Therefore weshould be open-min ded and reduce our p rejudice and p ride soas to kee p this world in p eace.(2)St opping By Woods On a Snowy Eve ning1. In your opinion, what was the reason that made thesp eaker stop by the woods on a snowy eve ning? The p oet wasdee ply attracted by the n atural beauty of the sce ne at that verymome nt.2. Why did the horse give the harn ess bell a shake? The horse grew impatient by stopping in the middle of the dark, cold woods at mid ni ght. It was eager to go home.3. Why could n't the sp eaker stay Ion ger by the woods to app reciate its mysterious beauty? He realized that it was lateat ni ght and he would have to hurry home to get some foodand slee p, because the n ext morning he would have a lot ofwork to do.4. What is the effect of rep etiti on in the last two lin es? Therefrai n-like rep etiti on in the last two lines reminds the reader asim pie fact of life: whatever happens, one must go forward inthe journey of his or her life.⑶ The Road Not Taken1. What is the sp eaker's in itial response to the diverge nee ofthe two roads? The sp eaker is at a loss which road he shouldchoose, and he feels sorry that he cannot explore both roads atthe same time.2. Describe the similarities and differe nces of these two roads.Which one does the speaker take? Two roads are similarexce pt one of them is more “ grassy, ” which imp lies that it is less traveled by peop le. The sp eaker prefers the less traveledone, because he likes adve nture.3. What might the two roads sta nd for in the sp eaker's mind?One road stands for the traditional one and the other isunconven ti onal one and full of challe nges and difficulties. Tofollow other people's footsteps or to open a new road for himself is really not an easy decisi on for us to make in our lives.Un it22 Alle n Gin sbergAll through the poem, the speaker is addressing to WaltWhitma n. Is this p oem about Walt Whitma n or about moder nAmerica?from Alle n Gin sberg A Sup ermarket in CaliforniaThe author in this p oem wan ted to emp hasis his theme about show ing his respect to the p assed age and show ing his worry about the corrupt in the part of spirit and society. As we all know, Walt Whitman ' poetry was a revolution in American literature can be see n in the first p ublicati on of Leaves of Grassin 1855. His p oetry is“ free verse ” in that the lack of meter andrhyme is known as his major technical innovation. AllenGin sberg had a highly p raise on him. As the moveme nt of BeatGen erati on, Alle n Gin sberg used p oetry as wea pon to exp ress his own un dersta nding of Beat---beatific and beat dow n.。

2012-2013学年 第二学期 《美国文学》期末考试试卷（A 卷）专业：英语 年级：2010级 考试方式：闭卷 学分：2 考试时间：110分钟I ．Multiple Choices (每小题 1分，共20分)Directions: Select from the four choices of each item the one thatbest answers the question.1. Naturalism is evolved from realism when the author’s tone in writing becomes less serious and less sympathetic but more ironic and more_____________. A . rational B . humorous C. optimisticD . pessimistic2. Which of the following is not written by Ernest Hemingway, one of the best-known American authors of the 20th century? A. The Sun Also Rises B. The Old Man and the Sea C. Mosses from the Old ManseD. Hills Like White Elephant3. The Romantic writers would focus on all the following issues Except the __________ in the American history. A. individual feeling B. survival of the fittest C. strong imaginationD. return to nature4. Almost all Faulkner ’s heroes turned out to be tragic because__________. A. all enjoyed living in the declining American South.B. none of them was conditioned by the civilization and Social institutions.C. most of them were prisoners of the past.D. none were successful in their attempt to explain the inexplicable.5. As an autobiograp hical play, O’Neill’s ________ (1955) has gained its status as a world classic and simultaneously marks the climax of his literary career and the coming of age of American drama._.A. The Iceman ComethB. Long Day’s Journey into NightC. Beyond the HorizonD. Bound East for Cardiff6. Which of the following statements is right about Robert Frost’s poetry?A. He combined traditional verse forms with the difficult and highly ornamental language.B. He combined traditional verse forms with the pastoral language of the Southern area.C. He combined traditional verse forms with a simple spoken language, the speech of New England farmers.D. He combined traditional verse forms with the experimental.7. Edgar Allen Poe was characterized by his __________.A. psycho-analysisB. novels set in the WestC. free verseD. political pamphlets8. Which of the following is depicted as the mythical county in William Faulkner’s novels?A. CambridgeB. OxfordC. MississippiD. Yoknapatawpha9. ____________ was the first great American writer to write for pleasure rather than utility. He is considered to be founder of American literature by some critics.A. James Fenimore CooperB. Washington IrvingC. Ezra PoundD. Mark Twain10. We can perhaps summarize that Walt Whitman’s poems are characterized by all the following features except that they are _______________.A. lyrical and well-structuredB. conversational and crudeC. simple and rather crudeD. free-flowing11. The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck reveals the miserable lives of __________ .A. factory workersB. sailorsC. landless farm laborersD. veterans12. Among the American realistic writers, _________ focused his attention on the rising middle class and the way they lived.A. Herman MelvilleB. Henry JamesC. Mark TwainD. William Dean Howells13. Which of the following is a representative novel of naturalism by an American writer? 2A. Innocents AbroadB. McTeagueC. Daisy MillerD. The Grapes of Wrath14. The first symbol of self-made American man is _________.A. Benjamin FranklinB. Washington IrvingC. George WashingtonD. Mark Twain15. The Imagist writers followed three principles. They respectively are direct treatment, economy of expression and ________.A. local colorB. ironyC. clear rhythmD. blank verse16. Robert Frost is famous for his lyric poems. Which of the following lyric poems wasnot written by Robert Frost?A. “The Raven”B. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”C. “After Apple-picking”D. “The Road Not Taken”17. “The lost generation”refers to the writers who relocated to Paris in the post WWⅠyears to reject to values of American materialism. All the following but ________are involved in this group.A. F. S. FitzgeraldB. Ernest HemingwayC. Theodore DreiserD. John Dos Passos18. The first settlers who became the founding fathers of the American nation were quite a few of them _________.A. AnglicansB. CatholicsC. NormansD. Puritans19. Which one of the following statements is applicable to the understanding of Transcendentalism?A. It is strongly influenced by social Darwinism.B. Belief in individualism, independence of mind, and self-reliance.C. Man has no free-will.D. It holds that determinism governs everything.20. In __________, Captain Ahab is obsessed with the revenge on a whale which shearedoff his leg on a previous voyage, and his crazy chasing of it eventually brings death to allon board the whaler except Ishmael, who survives to tell the tale.《美国文学》A卷第3页共18页4A. TypeeB. White JacketC. Moby DickD. Billy BuddII ．Explain the Following Literary Terms Briefly (每小题7分，共14分)Directions : Please write down the answers on the Answer Sheet.21. Local Colorism 22. Stream of ConsciousnessIII ．Identification of Fragments (每小题7分，共21分)Directions : Please give the name of the author and the title of the literary work from which it is taken and then briefly comment on itin English. Please write down the answers on the Answer Sheet.23. “‘That ’s right.’ He said; ‘I ’m no good now. I was all right. I had money. I ’m going to quit this,’ and, with death in his heart, he started down toward the Bowery. People had turned on the gas before and died; why shouldn ’t he? He remembered a lodging house where there were little, close rooms, with gas-jet in them, almost pre-arranged, he thought, for what he wanted to do, which rented for fifteen cents. Then he remembered that he had no fifteen cents.”24. “All day Buck brooded by the pool or roamed restlessly above the camp. Death, as a cessation of movement, as a passing out and away from the lives of the living, he knew, and he knew John Thornton was dead. It left a great void in him, somewhat akin to hunger, but a void which ached and ached, and which food could not fill.25. “Her skeleton was small and spare; perhaps that was why that would have been merely plumpness in another was obesity in her. She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue.IV . Short Essay Questions (每小题10分，共 30 分)Directions : Please write down the answers on the Answer Sheet.《美国文学》A 卷 第5页 共18页26. The relationship between man and nature is a recurrent theme, perhaps one of the most important themes, in American literature. Write a short essay on it by contrasting tow or three American literary works, or two or three American literary movements, to tell what you know about their different views of nature. 27. Please make a comment on Eugene O ’Neil.28. Please briefly comment on Theodore Dreiser ’s novel Sister Carrie.V ．Appreciating a Literary Work (计 15 分)Directions:In this part, you are required to write a commentary paper in no less than 100 words. Please write it on the AnswerSheet .A Clean, Well-Lighted PlaceErnest HemingwayIt was very late and everyone had left the cafe except an old man who sat in the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light. In the day time the street was dusty, but at night the dew settled the dust and the old man liked to sit late because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet and he felt the difference. The two waiters inside the cafe knew that the old man was a little drunk, and while he was a good client they knew that if he became too drunk he would leave without paying, so they kept watch on him."Last week he tried to commit suicide," one waiter said. "Why?""He was in despair." "What about?" "Nothing.""How do you know it was nothing?" "He has plenty of money."They sat together at a table that was close against the wall near the door of the cafe and looked at the terrace where the tables were all empty except where the old man sat in the shadow of the leaves of the tree that moved slightly in the wind. A girl and a soldier went by in the street. The street light shone on the brass number on his collar. The girl wore no head covering and hurried beside him."The guard will pick him up," one waiter said. "What does it matter if he gets what he's after?""He had better get off the street now. The guard will get him. They went by five minutes ago."The old man sitting in the shadow rapped on his saucer with his glass. The youngerwaiter went over to him."What do you want?"The old man looked at him. "Another brandy," he said."You'll be drunk," the waiter said. The old man looked at him. The waiter went away."He'll stay all night," he said to his colleague. "I'm sleepy now. I never get into bed before three o'clock. He should have killed himself last week."The waiter took the brandy bottle and another saucer from the counter inside the cafe and marched out to the old man's table. He put down the saucer and poured the glass full of brandy."You should have killed yourself last week," he said to the deaf man. The old man motioned with his finger. "A little more," he said. The waiter poured on into the glass so that the brandy slopped over and ran down the stem into the top saucer of the pile. "Thank you," the old man said. The waiter took the bottle back inside the cafe. He sat down at the table with his colleague again."He's drunk now," he said."He's drunk every night.""What did he want to kill himself for?""How should I know.""How did he do it?""He hung himself with a rope.""Who cut him down?""His niece.""Why did they do it?""Fear for his soul.""How much money has he got?" "He's got plenty.""He must be eighty years old.""Anyway I should say he was eighty.""I wish he would go home. I never get to bed before three o'clock. What kind of hour is that to go to bed?""He stays up because he likes it.""He's lonely. I'm not lonely. I have a wife waiting in bed for me.""He had a wife once too.""A wife would be no good to him now.""You can't tell. He might be better with a wife.""His niece looks after him. You said she cut him down.""I know." "I wouldn't want to be that old. An old man is a nasty thing.""Not always. This old man is clean. He drinks without spilling. Even now, drunk. Look at him.""I don't want to look at him. I wish he would go home. He has no regard for those 6《美国文学》A 卷 第7页 共18页who must work."The old man looked from his glass across the square, then over at the waiters."Another brandy," he said, pointing to his glass. The waiter who was in a hurry came over."Finished," he said, speaking with that omission of syntax stupid people employ when talking to drunken people or foreigners. "No more tonight. Close now.""Another," said the old man."No. Finished." The waiter wiped the edge of the table with a towel and shook his head.The old man stood up, slowly counted the saucers, took a leather coin purse from his pocket and paid for the drinks, leaving half a peseta(西班牙货币单位) tip. The waiter watched him go down the street, a very old man walking unsteadily but with dignity."Why didn't you let him stay and drink?" the unhurried waiter asked. They were putting up the shutters. "It is not half-past two.""I want to go home to bed." "What is an hour?""More to me than to him." "An hour is the same.""You talk like an old man yourself. He can buy a bottle and drink at home." "It's not the same.""No, it is not," agreed the waiter with a wife. He did not wish to be unjust. He was only in a hurry."And you? You have no fear of going home before your usual hour?" "Are you trying to insult me?""No, hombre （老兄）, only to make a joke.""No," the waiter who was in a hurry said, rising from pulling down the metal shutters. "I have confidence. I am all confidence.""You have youth, confidence, and a job," the older waiter said. "You have everything.""And what do you lack?" "Everything but work.""You have everything I have.""No. I have never had confidence and I am not young." "Come on. Stop talking nonsense and lock up.""I am of those who like to stay late at the cafe," the older waiter said."With all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night.""I want to go home and into bed.""We are of two different kinds," the older waiter said. He was now dressed to go home. "It is not only a question of youth and confidence although those things are very beautiful. Each night I am reluctant to close up because there may be some one who needs the cafe.""Hombre, there are bodegas open all night long.""You do not understand. This is a clean and pleasant cafe. It is well lighted. The light is very good and also, now, there are shadows of the leaves.""Good night," said the younger waiter."Good night," the other said. Turning off the electric light he continued the conversation with himself, It was the light of course but it is necessary that the place be clean and pleasant. You do not want music. Certainly you do not want music. Nor can you stand before a bar with dignity although that is all that is provided for these hours. What did he fear? It was not a fear or dread, It was a nothing that he knew too well. It was all a nothing and a man was a nothing too. It was only that and light was all it needed and a certain cleanness and order. Some lived in it and never felt it but he knew it all was nada （没有，虚无）y（所以）pues（既然，那么）nada y nada y pues nada. Our nada who art in nada, nada be thy name thy kingdom nada thy will be nada in nada as it is in nada. Give us this nada our daily nada and nada us our nada as we nada our nadas and nada us not into nada but deliver us from nada; pues nada. Hail nothing full of nothing, nothing is with thee. （这是一段模仿祷告词，其中的名词和动词都被虚无所取代，表明一切事物和行为都是虚无。

浙江省2018年4月自学考试美国文学选读试题课程代码：10055Part I: Choose the relevant match from Column B for each item in Column A. (10 points in all, 1 point for each)Group 1Column A Column B( ) 1. Nathaniel Hawthorne a. Nature( ) 2. Washington Irving b. Rip Van Winkle( ) 3. Ralph Waldo Emerson c. The House of Seven Gales( ) 4. Mark Twain d. The Great Gatsby( ) 5. Scott Fitzgerald e. The Gilded AgeGroup 2Column A Column B( ) 1. Charles Drouet a. The Great Gatsby( ) 2. Ishmael b. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn( ) 3. Jim c. Sister Carrie( ) 4. George Wilson d. A Rose for Emily( ) 5. Emily Grierson e. Moby DickPart Ⅱ: Each of the following statements below is followed by four alternatives. Choose the one that would best complete the statement. (50 points in all, 2 points for each)1. The period of ______ started with the publication of Washington Irving’s The Sketch Book and ended with Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. ( )A. American RomanticismB. American RealismC. American TranscendentalismD. American Classicism2. The desire for an escape from society and a return to nature became a permanent convention of American literature. Such a desire is particularly evident in ______ Leather-Stocking Tales.( )A. Washington Irving’sB. Waldo Emerson’s1C. James Fennimore Cooper’sD. Walt Whitman’s3. New England Transcendentalism was started by a group of people who were members of an informal club, i.e. the Transcendental Club in New England in the ______.( )A. 1850sB. 1840sC. 1830sD. 1860s4. The American ______ as a cultural heritage exerted great influences over American moral values.( )A. PuritanismB. UnitarianismC. DeismD. Protestantism5. In his famous poem Song of Myself, Walt Whitman sets forth two principal beliefs: the belief in the singularity and equality of all beings in value, and the theory of ______, which is illustrated by lengthy catalogues of people and things. ( )A. nationalityB. universalityC. natureD. community6. Which of the following is NOT what Emerson put forward in his essays? ( )A. the Over-SoulB. the formal religion of the churches and the Deistic philosophyC. NatureD. the importance of individual7. Moby-Dick is a mixture of fantasy and ______ based upon the South Pacific whaling industry.( )A. romanticismB. naturalismC. realismD. surrealism8. Which of the following statements about Hawthorne is NOT right? ( )A. The ambiguity is one of the salient characteristics of his art.B. He is a master of realism.C. He is a great allegorist.D. He is a master of symbolism.9. Which of the following is NOT regarded as the characteristics of Whitman’s poetic style?( )2A. The use of “free verse”B. His strong tendency to use of formal languageC. The use of parallelism and phonetic recurrence at the beginning of the linesD. The use of the poetic “I”10. ______ and Emersonian Transcendentalism produced some positive effect on Melville’s writing.( )A. Washington Irving’s conservativeB. Hawthorne’s moral courageC. Thoreau’s RomanticismD. Shakespearian tragic vision11. The period ranging from 1865 to 1914 has been referred to as ______ in the literary history of the United States.( )A. the Age of RomanticismB. the Age of EnlightenmentC. New England TranscendentalismD. the Age of Realism12. The three dominant figures of the period of Realism in American literature are ______.( )A. Mark Twain, Henry James, and Jack LondonB. Mark Twain, Henry James, and Theodore DreiserC. William Dean Howells, Mark Twain, and Jack LondonD. William Dean Howells, Mark Twain, and Henry James13. ______ once described the novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the one book from which “all modern American literature comes.”( )A. Ernest HemingwayB. Henry JamesC. Mark TwainD. Theodore Dreiser14. ______ was the first American writer to conceive his career in international themes.( )A. Washington IrvingB. Henry JamesC. Ralph Waldo EmersonD. Mark Twain15. Within her little lyrics Dickinson addresses those issues that concern the whole human beings EXCEPT______.( )A. religion and deathB. immortality3C. man and womanD. love and nature16. ______ proves to be his greatest work and by entitling this book with such a name, Dreiser intended to tell us that it is the social pressure that makes Clyde’s downfall inevitable.( ) A. The Titan B. Sister CarrieC. The FinancierD. An American Tragedy17. Ezra Pound is a leading spokesman of the famous ______ Movement in the history of American literature.( )A. SymbolistB. ImpressionistC. ExistentialistD. Imagist18. Allen Ginsburg’s Howl became the manifesto of ______.( )A. PostmodernismB. ImagismC. the Beat GenerationD. the Lost Generation19. ______ is a school of modern painting, whose emphasis is on the formal structure of a work of art and especially on the multiple-perspective viewpoints. ( )A. ExpressionismB. ImagismC. CubismD. Impressionism20. ______ is often acclaimed literary spokesman of the Jazz Age. ( )A. F. Scott FitzgeraldB. Ezra PoundC. Robert Lee FrostD. Ernest Hemingway21. ______, Hemingway’s first novel, casts light on a whole generation after the First World War and the effects of the war by way of a vivid portrait of “The Lost Generation.”( )A. The Old Man and the SeaB. The Sun Also RisesC. In Our TimeD. A Farewell to Arms22. Which of the following is depicted as the mythical county in William Faulkner’s novels?( )A. Cambridge.B. Oxford.C. Yoknapatawpha.D. Mississippi.23. Robert Frost rejected ______ choosing ______ instead.( )A. the conventional poetic principles... the revolutionary wayB. the romantic way... the revolutionary principles4C. the revolutionary principles... the romantic wayD. the revolutionary poetic principles of his contemporaries... the old-fashioned way to be new24. Which of the following is right about American fiction from 1945 onwards?( )A. Black fiction began to attract critical attention during the 1950s.B. There appeared a significant group of Jewish-American writers whose works were set against the Jewish experience and tradition.C. A group of new writers who survived the war wrote about their ideals within the artistic field.D. American fiction in the 1950s and 1960s proves to be a harvest which derived from its predecessors.25. Which of the following can NOT be included in the thematic concerns of Robert Frost’s Poems?( )A. The contradiction and misunderstanding between man and woman.B. The loneliness and poverty of the isolated human being.C. His love of life and his belief in a serenity coming from working.D. The terror and tragedy in nature as well as its beauty.Part Ⅲ: Interpretation (20 points in all, 5 points for each)Read the following selections and then answer the questions briefly.Passage 1Because I could not stop for Death——He kindly stopped for me——The Carriage held but just Ourselves——And Immortality.....Questions:1. Who is the Author of this poem?2. What do “He”and “Carriage”refer to?Passage 2There was, as usual, a crowd of folk about the door, but none that Rip recollected. The very character of the people seemed changed. There was a busy, bustling, disputatious tone about it, instead of the accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquility. He looked in vain for the sage Nicholas5Vedder, with his broad face, double chin, and fair long pipe, uttering clouds of tobacco smoke instead of idle speeches; or Van Bummel, the schoolmaster, doling forth the contents of an ancient newspaper. In place of these, a lean bilious looking fellow, with his pockets full of handbills, was haranguing vehemently about rights of citizens-election-members of congress-liberty-Bunker’s hill-heroes of seventy-six-and other words, that were a perfect Babylonish jargon to the bewildered Van Winkle.Questions:1. Who is the author and where is this passage taken from?2. What do you know about the protagonist?Passage 3Once I said to myself it would be a thousand times better for Jim to be a slave at home where his family was, as long as he’d got to be a slave, and so I’d better write a letter to Tom Sawyer and tell him to tell Miss Waston where he was. But I soon give up that notion, for two things: she’d be mad and disgusted at his rascality and ungratefulness for leaving her, and so she’d sell him straight down the river again; and if she didn’t, everybody naturally despises an ungrateful nigger, and they’d make Jim feel it all the time, and so he’d feel ornery and disgraced. And then think of me! It would get all round, that Huck Finn helped a nigger to get his freedom; and if I was to ever see anybody from that town again, I’d be ready to get down and lick his boots for shame. Questions:1. Please identify the author and the novel.2. Please give a brief comment on this part.Passage 4...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.....Questions:61. Who wrote this poem? What’s the title of it?2. What can we know from the verse?Part Ⅳ: Give brief answers to the following questions. (20 points in all,10 points for each)1. What is “Leaves of Grass”mainly concerned about?2. What is the most famous theme in Henry James’ fiction? And what is his favorite approach in characterization, which makes him different from Mark Twain as a realist?7。