《美国文学选读》(第3版)田纳西

第二部分章节题库第1单元本杰明·富兰克林І.Fill in the blanks.1.If we say Jonathan Edwards represents the upper levels of the American mind, _____represents the lower levels.【答案】Benjamin Franklin【解析】美国文学评论家范·威克·布鲁克斯（Van Wyck Brooks）在《美国的成年》(America’s Coming of Age)中指出乔纳森·爱德华兹和本杰明·富兰克林是美国18世纪的两位重要的哲学家，他们是不同层次思想的代表。

2.Franklin’s claim to a place in literature rests chiefly on his_____and_____.【答案】Poor Richard’s Almanac，The Autobiography【解析】富兰克林在文学上的地位主要取决于《穷查理历书》和《自传》。

3.In American literature,the eighteenth century was an Age of_____and Revolution.【答案】Reason【解析】18世纪的美国处于理性与革命时期。

这一时期的美国深受法国启蒙思想的影响，且处于独立革命时期。

4.Franklin was the epitome of the_____,the versatile,practical embodiment of national man in the18th century.【答案】Enlightenment【解析】富兰克林是启蒙思想的缩影，是18世纪理性的代表。

5.Benjamin Franklin’s best writing is found in his masterpiece_____.【答案】The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin【解析】本杰明·富兰克林文学上最大的成就体现在他的作品《本杰明·富兰克林自传》上。

美国文学选读第1单元自传The autobiography Benjamin Franklin我儿：我一向爱好搜集有关祖上的一切珍闻轶事。

你也许还记得当你跟我同住在英国的时候我曾经为了那个缘故跋涉旅途，遍访家族中的老人。

目前我正在乡间休假，预料有整整一个星期的空闲，我想你也许同样地喜欢知道我一生的事迹(其中有许多你还没有听过)，因此我就坐了下来替你把这些事迹写出来。

除此以外，我还有一些别的动机。

我出身贫寒，幼年生长在穷苦卑贱的家庭中，后来居然生活优裕，在世界上稍有声誉，迄今为止我一生一帆风顺，遇事顺利，我的立身之道，得蒙上帝的祝福，获得巨大的成就，我的子孙或许愿意知道这些处世之道，其中一部分或许与他们的情况适合，因此他们可以仿效。

当我回顾我一生中幸运的时候，我有时候不禁这样说：如果有人提议我重新做人的话，我倒乐意把我的一生再从头重演一遍，我仅仅要求像作家那样，在再版时有改正初版某些缺陷的机会。

如若可能，除了改正错误以外，我也同样地要把某些不幸的遭遇变得更顺利些。

但是即使无法避免这些不幸的厄运，我还是愿意接受原议，重演生平。

但是由于这种重演是不可能的，那么最接近重演的似乎就是回忆了。

为了使回忆尽可能地保持久远，似乎就需要把它记下来。

因此我将顺从一种老人中常有的癖好来谈论自己和自己过去的作为。

但是我这样做，将不使听者感到厌倦，他们或是因为敬老，觉得非听我的话不可，但是一经写下来，听与不听就可以悉听自便了。

最后(我还是自己承认了好，因为即使我否认，别人也不会相信)，写自传，或许还会大大地满足我的自负心。

说句老实话，我时常听见或在书上读到别人在刚说完了像“我可以毫不自夸地说……”这种开场白以后，接着就是一大篇自吹自擂的话。

大多数人不喜欢别人的虚夸，不管他们自己是多么自负。

但是无论在什么地方，我对这种自负心总是宽宥的。

因为我相信这种心理对自己和他四周的人都有好处。

所以，在许多情况下，一个人如果把自负心当作生命的慰藉而感谢上帝，这也不能算是怪诞悖理的。

美国⽂学选读-第三版-课后习题答案-陶洁美国⽂学选读-第三版-课后习题答案-陶洁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 andThe 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.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, exhi bits 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 ex istence, 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 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 poe m 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 Prairi e …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 co ntents 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 blockade d me with his chair, and then sat down and reeled off the narrative”. And dur ing the process of telling his stories, he never paid any attention toothers'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 long time of Mr.Wheeler’ s olo 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 differentscenes 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.。

的 复杂 性 。
车 》 的体 现 中
威廉斯在接受媒体采访时曾称 自己作为一位剧 作家 拥 有 一 种 跨 越 雌 雄 两 性 的 理 解 力 和 感 受 力 ， 一 方 面 可 他 以“ 以女 性 的视 角 塑 造 角 色 ” 另 一 方 面 又 可 以 “ ， 以男 性 的 视 角 塑 造 角 色 ” 至 “ 两 性 之 间 的 视 角 来 塑 造 人 甚 从
雌 雄 同体 ” — 田纳 西 ・ 廉 斯 — 威
《 望号街车》 欲 中的两 个 自我
李 一
（ 深圳信息职业技术学院 ， 广东 深圳 摘 ５ ８２ ） １０ ９
要 ： 欲望号街车》 中体现 了美国南方剧作 家纳 西 ・ 《 集 威廉斯 “ 雌雄 同体 ” 的创作 美学 ， 中人物 布 剧
作者简介 ： 李一 ， 硕士 ， 讲师， 深圳信息职业技术学院。
布兰琪体现 了威廉斯作为畸零人 的孤独和脆弱 。威 廉斯 和 布 兰 琪 都 背 负 着 阿 瑟 ・米 勒 所 说 的 “ 零 畸 人 ”４ｍｅ 的人生经历 ， 带有 理性 、 ［ ｐａ ］ ｆ６ ｅ 从 神性 光环 的南方 田 园到破碎 、 怪诞而冷酷的现代都市 ， 这之 间的变换造成 了 他们心理上 的错位 和精神上无法愈合 的创 痛 。对于威廉 斯来说 ， 他最快乐的 时光 是在 “ 自由不 羁、 甜蜜而 半梦幻 般 ” ｌ的南 方 小 镇 密 西 西 比度 过 的 ， 全 家 的 迁 往 北 方 】 而 城 市圣路易斯则 意味着这段美好 时光 的彻底终结 。代 表 着现代 工业 文明的圣 路易斯是 “ 冰冷 的”， 给威廉斯 和 带 姐姐 罗斯 的只有 “ 孤独和寂寞” 而威廉斯姐姐和威廉 ， 斯 本人 的精 神问题 与此也 不无关 系。生存 于这样 的一个 “ 实用主义逻辑” 主宰 的世界 中使 他们缺 乏归属感 、 全 安 感， 只有不 断地在 肉体 和精 神 上逃 离现 实 。在 谈到 《 街 车》 的主 旨时 ， 威廉斯 说 ， 这部 剧表达 的是 “ ｌ ｒｔ ａｐ ａｆ ｅ ｅ ｏ ｈ ｕｄ ｒａ ｄ ｇｏ ｅｄｌ ａ ｅｐｅ ｏ 这里 的 “ ｅ ｃｔ” ｎ ｅ ｔ ｉ ｆ ｈ ｅｉ ｔ ｐｏ ｌ” ｓｎ ｎ ｔ ｃｅ ｄｌａｅ 指 ｉ 的就是像布兰奇和威廉斯一样 具有 “ 心灵之美 、 精神 的丰 富和内心的温柔 ” ｊ ｊ而无法甚至 固执 地对 自己“ 从未 做 出 过 任 何 的 调 整 ” 以适 应 迅 速 变迁 的功 利 社 会 。 ” 此外 ， 布兰琪身 上同时 也体现 了威廉 斯作 为诗人 具 有诗性的浪漫的 自我 ， 体现 了作 家对艺 术与美 的执著 追 求。在 剧中布兰琪在 言语 和行 为中经常流露 出作 家诗 性 的浪漫和智慧 ， 布兰 琪 曾揶 揄地 引用 了美 国浪 漫主义 诗 人埃德加 ・ 艾伦 ・ 坡的诗作《 尤娜姆斯》 １ Ｊ 来评论妹 妹 居所的寒酸 。布兰奇 属于 与斯坦利 完全 不 同世 界 的人 ， 这类人“ 懂得 和珍 视艺 术 ， 诗歌 和音乐 有 着特 别 的喜 对 好”， 他们促进着“ 某些更加 细腻 和温柔 的情 感的 萌芽和 滋 长 ” 如 作 家 本 人 一 样 ， 们 生 活 在 自我 建 构 的 精 。 他 神世界里来对抗现实 的残酷 ， 幻想 的世界 中寻求完 美 在 的 自我实 现。威廉 斯用 语 言 的想象 力建 造 着 自己的 国 度， 用幻想 的羽翼 为他柔弱 的人物披 上华 丽的外 衣 ， 柔 “ 弱 的人就必须 光彩照 人—— 你必须 得披 上柔弱 的亮 彩 ， 就像蝴蝶 的翅 膀 ， 得—— 在灯 泡上 罩上个 纸灯 笼 …… 还 仅仅柔弱是不 够 的。你 必须 既柔弱 ， 迷人 。 这是 又 ” 布 兰琪 的舞 台独 自， 同时也 是威廉 斯 的内心写 照 。布 兰