美国文学复习题2012

美国文学复习题Exercise One: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. Ezra Pounda. The Sun Also Rises ( ) 2. F. Scott Fitzgerald b. This Side of Paradise( ) 3. William Faulkner c. The Sound and the Fury( ) 4. Mark Twaind. Innocents Abroad( ) 5. Ernest Hemingway e. The CantosGroup 2Column A Column B( ) 1. Daisy a. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ( ) 2. Huck Finn b. Indian Camp( ) 3. Faith c. The Great Gatsby( ) 4. Charles Drouet d. Sister Carrie( ) 5. Nick e. Young Goodman BrownII: Each of the following statements below is followed by four alternative answers. Choose the one that would best complete the statement. (50 points in all, 2 points for each)( ) 1. About Washington Irving, Father of American short stories, which of the following statement is right?A. As a writer, he remained a democratic and always exalted a disappearing past. B. He preferred the Old World to the New.C. Many of his writings are focused on American subjects, landscapes, particularly the legends of the Hudson River region of the fresh young land.D. He is well-known for his international theme across the Atlantic. ( ) 2. Despite strong foreign influences, American romantic writings are typically American which can be revealed in the following _.A. a desire for an escape from civilized society and a return to the ennobling nature B. the American national experience of “pioneering into the west” C. American type of characters speaking local dialects appeared in the fictionD. all of the above ( ) 3. In the well-known story Rip Van Winkle, Rip is asleep for 20 years during which _ takes place.A. World War I B. the Civil War C. World War IID. the Revolutionary War ( ) 4. According to Emerson, which of the following is not mentioned as the special terms in his Nature ?A. “unity of Nature” B. “Over-Soul”C. “supernature” D. “a transparent eyeball”( ) 5. Ralph Waldo Emerson hates _.A. Unitarianism B. PuritanismC. Protestantism D. Transcendentalism( ) 6. Which of the following statements is said about most of the poems in Whitmans Leaves of Grass?A. They identify his ego with the conservative America.B. They sing of the “en-masse” and the self as well.C. They celebrate the self and ignore sexuality.D. They reject the pursuit of love and happiness of individuals.( ) 7. Realism was a reaction against Romanticism and paved the way to _. A. Puritanism B. ModernismC. Postmodernism D. Materialism( ) 8. _ is considered “the true father of American national literature.”A. Mark Twain B. Washington IrvingC. Ralph Emerson D. Walt Whitman( ) 9. Henry James most distinguished literary technique is his _. A. narrative point of viewB. authors participation in narratingC. first person narrative D. technique of stream of consciousness ( ) 10. The subjects of Emily Dickinsons poems are mainly about the following except_.A. religionB. death and immortality C. man and morality D. love and nature( ) 11. Mark Twain created in _, a masterpiece of American realism that is also one of the great books of world literature.A. The Man That Corrupted Hadleybury B. Tom SawyerC. Huckleberry Finn D. The Gilded Age( ) 12. Henry James, the great American realist, treated with great care _ in the first period.A. ancient European civilization which is satirized severely in his writingsB. the emotional and moral problems of Americans in Europe, or Europeans in AmericaC. the clashes between two different cultures, European and American D. both B and C( ) 13. Which of the following statements can be said about the novel Sister Carrie ?A. Its heroine is a Southern aristocratic woman, who refuses to come to terms with the present.B. Its heroine is a country girl, who strives to gain her material rise in big cities but soon gets tired of her success.C. The heroine is a young vain girl, who indulges herself in grand parties and luxurious trips but soon becomes penniless.D. It tells about a young sailor, who struggles to reach the upper society but soon gets disillusioned.( ) 14. The finest example of Nathaniel Hawthornes symbolism is the recreation of Puritan Boston in _.A. The Scarlet Letter B. Young Goodman BrownC. The Marble Faun D. The Ambitious Guest( ) 15. During the first part of the 20th century, with a series of wars the whole world had undergone a dramatic social change, a transformation _.A. from order to disorderB. from disorder to order C. from disorder to chaosD. from chaos to disorder( ) 16. The American social upheavals and the literary concerns of the Great Depression years ended with the prosperity and turmoil brought by _.A. World War I B. World War IIC. the Civil War D. the War of Independence( ) 17. As to the American realists, which of the following statements is right?A. They tried to explore the harsh realities of life as well as the illusion of heroism.B. Their attention was directed to the great events of the contemporary time.C. They aimed at the interpretation of the actualities of any aspect of life, free from subjective prejudice, idealism, or romantic color. D. all of the above.( ) 18. In the 1960s and 1970s, there appeared the writers of the “new fiction” in America, who shared almost the same belief that _.A. human beings are living in a prosperous and lively worldB. human beings are trapped in a meaningless worldC. neither God nor man can make sense of the human conditionD. both B and C( ) 19. In the 1920s, ONeill established an international reputation with the plays_.A. The Emperor Jones B. Anna ChristleC. The Hairy Ape D. all of the above( ) 20. In 1954, _ was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature for his “mastery of the art of modern narration.”A. T. S. Eliot B. John SteinbeckC. Ernest Hemingway D. William Faulkner( ) 21. Which of following is not right about the thematic concerns of Robert Frost ?A. His sense of failure and meaninglessness about human life.B. The terror and tragedy in nature, as well as its beauty.C. The loneliness and poverty of the isolated human being.D. His love of life and his belief in a serenity coming from working. ( ) 22. Typical of the “iceberg” analogy is _ writing style.A. Eugene O Neills B. Ernest HemingwaysC. William Faulkners D. Scott Fitzgeralds( ) 23. The Jazz Age of the 1920s characterized by frivolity and carelessness is brought vividly to life in _ works.A. Eugene O Neills B. Ernest HemingwaysC. William Faulkners D. Scott Fitzgeralds( ) 24. The modern stream-of-consciousness technique was frequently and skillfully exploited by _ to emphasize the reactions and inner musings of the narrator. He captured the dialects of the Mississippi characters, including Negroes and the redneck, as well as more refined and educated narrators like Quentin.A. Faulkner B. Fitzgerald C. Hemingway D. Steinbeck( ) 25. _ won the Pulitzer Prize four times and was the only dramatist ever to win a Nobel Prize. He is widely acclaimed “founder of the American drama,” and recognized even more as a major figure in world literature. A. Miller B. William C. Heller D. ONeill III: Interpretation (20%)Read the following selections and then answer the questions. Passage 1There was a child went forth every day, And the first object he lookd upon, that object he became,And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day,Or for many years or stretching cycles of years. The early lilacs became part of this child, And grass and white and red morning-glories, and white andred clover, and the song of the phoebe-bird,And the Third-month lambs and the sows pink-faintlitter, and the mares foal and the cows calf, And the noisy brood of the barnyard or by the mire of the pondside,And the fish suspending themselves so curiously below there,and the beautiful curious liquid,And the water-plants with their graceful flat heads, all became part of him.Questions:1. What is the title of this poem? Who wrote it?2. What is written about in this poem?Passage 2I celebrate myself, and sing myself,And what I assume you shall assume,For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.I loafe and invite my soul,I learn and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.My tongue, every atom of my blood, formd from this soil, this air,Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and there parents the same,I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,Hoping to cease not till death.Creeds and schools in abeyance,Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never forgotten,I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,Nature without check with original energy.Questions:1.Who is the poet celebrating? Whom do lines 2-3 also include in the celebration?2.What beliefs of the poet are set forth in this poem?Passage 3There was music from my neighbors house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his two motor-boats slit the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam. On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before.Questions:1. Who is the author and where is this passage taken from?2. What does the author most likely indicate in the quoted passage?Passage 4With this excellent resolve for the future, Goodman Brown felt himself justified in making more haste on his present evil purpose. He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind. It was all as lonely as could be; and there is this peculiarity in such a solitude, that the traveler knows not who may be concealed by the innumerable trunks and the thick boughs overhead; so that with lonely footsteps, he may yet be passing through an unseen multitude.Questions:1. Identify the author and the title of the story from which this excerpt is taken.2. Whats Browns purpose to go to the woods?IV: Give brief answers to the following questions. (20 points in all, 10 points for each)1. Please state the major principles of Imagism.2. What is the theme of Dickinsons poem?Exercises Two:I. Fill in the blanks:1. In the early nineteenth century，Washington Irving wrote which became the first work by an American writer to win financial Success on both sides of the Atlantic2. In 1828， published his American Dictionary of the English Language3. In 1 755， published his remarkable dictionary named Dictionary of the English Language4. The American Transcendentalists formed a club called 5. The Transcendental Club often met at s Concord home6. was regarded as the first great prose stylist of American romanticism7. In Washington Irvings work appeared the first modern short stories and the first great American juvenile literature8. The short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is taken from Washington Irvings work named 9. was the first American to achieve an international literary reputation after the Revolutionary War10. Washington Irving also wrote two biographies，one is The Life of Oliver Goldsmith，and the other is 11. The first important American novelist was 12. The best of James Fenimore Coopers sea romances was The hero of the novel represents John Paul Jones，the great naval fighter of the Revo1utionary War13. The central figure in the Leather stocking Tales is ，who goes by the various names of Leather stocking，Deer slayer，Pathfinder and Hawkeye13.Published in 1823， was the first of the Leather stocking Tales，in their order of publication time，and probably the first true romance of the frontier in American literatureII. Identify the fragments1.From the listless repose of the place，and the peculiar character of its inhabitants，who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers，this sequestered glen has long been known by the name of SLEEPY HOLLOW，and its rustic lads are called the Sleepy Hollow Boys throughout all the neighboring countryDrowsy and dreamy influence seems to hang over the land，and to pervade the very atmosphereSome say that the place was bewitched by a high German doctor，during the early days of the settlement；others，that an old Indian chief，the prophet or wizard of his tribeheld his powwows there before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick HudsonQuestions：1）Who is the writer of this short story from which the passage is taken?2）What is the title of this short story?3）Give a definition of“short story”2.“Arms and the clarion for the battle，but the song of thanksgiving to the victory!”answered the liberated David“Friend，”he added，thrusting forth his lean,delicate hand forwards Hawkeye，in kindness，while his eyes twinkled and grew moist，“I thank thee the hairs of my head still grow where they were first rooted by Providence for，though those of other men may be more glossy and curling，I have ever found mine own well suited to the brain they shelterThat I did not join myself to the battle，was less owing to disinclination，than to the bonds of the heathenValiant and skilful hast thou proved thyself in the conflict，and I hereby thank thee，before proceeding to discharge other and more important duties，because thou hast proved thyself well worthy of a Christians praiseQuestions:1）This novel was written by the first American novelistWhat is his name?2）What is the name of the novel?3）The central figure in this novel appeared in this passageIt is III. Answer the questions:1. How to define the Romantic Period in American literary history?2. What is the historical and socio-cultural background of the Romantic Period in America?3. What are the literary characteristics of American Romantic Period?4. What is the relationship between American Romanticism and European Romanticism?5. What is the theme of Rip Van Winkle? List the major works of Washington Irving and discuss the artistic characteristics of his works.Exercises Three: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 Age Group 2Column A Column B （ ）1. Charles Drouet a. The Great Gatsby ( ) 2. Ishmael b. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ( ) 3. Jim c. Sister Carrie ( ) 4. George Wilson d. A Rose for Emily ( ) 5. Emily Grierson e. Moby DickII: 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 Irvings The Sketch Book and ended with Walt Whitmans Leaves of Grass. A. American Romanticism B. American RealismC. American Transcendentalism D. American Classicism ( ) 2. The desire for an escape from society and a return to nature became a permanent convention of American literature. Such a desire is particularly evidence in _ Leather-Stocking Tales.A. Washington Irvings B. Waldo EmersonsC. James Fennimore Coopers D. Walt Whitmans( ) 3. 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. 1850s B. 1840s C. 1830s D. 1860s( ) 4. The American _ as a cultural heritage exerted great influences over American moral values. A. Puritanism B. Unitarianism C. Deism D. Protestantism( ) 5. 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. nationality B. universalityC. nature D. community( ) 6. Whic