美国文学试题(2)

美国文学（本科）试题5I. Complete each of the following statements with proper words or phrases and put 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 muchof the early American writing. 4. In American literature, the 18th century was an age of and Revolution. 5. Franklins best writing is found in his masterpiece . 6. On January 10, 1776, Thomas Paines 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 Irvings became the first work by an American writer to win international fame. 10. is the summit of American Romanticism. 11. With the publication of Emersons in 1836, American Romanticism reached its summit.12. Hester Prynne is the heroine in Hawthornes 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 Dreisers first novel is . 19. The leader of the literary movement Imagism is .20. is the spokesman for Lost Generation. II. Each of the following statements below is followed by four alternative answers or 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 Harte B. Mark Twain C. Henry James D. William Dean Howells2. Which of the following is the masterpiece of Mark Twain? A. The Gilded Age B. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer C. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn D. Jumping Frog3. Which writer has no naturalist tendency? A. Mark Twain B. Jack London C. Theodore Dreiser D. Frank Norris4. Transcendentalist doctrines found their greatest literary advocates in and Thoreau.A. Jefferson B. Emerson C. Freneau D. Oversoul5. Which of the following doesnt belong to Dreisers “Trilogy of Desire”?A. The Financier B. The TitanC. The Stoic D. An American Tragedy6. Which is the character who appears in the novel Moby Dick? A. Hester Prynne B. Mr. Hooper C. Ahab D. Pearl7. written by Henry James brought him first international fame. A. The Golden Bowl B. The American C. The Tragic Muse D. Daisy Miller8. “ ”was a term created by the French novelist, Emile Zola. A. realism B. naturalism C. transcendentalism D. veritism 9. Jack London was at his height of his powers when he wrote , which is deeply influenced by Darwinism. A. The Sea Wolf B. To Build a Fire C. The Call of the Wild D. Martin Eden10. The Cop and the Anthem is written by . A. O. Henry B. Henry James C. Jack London D. Mark Twain11. “Two small people, without dislike or suspicion.” is a line in the poem The River-Merchants Wife: A Letter written by . A. T. S. Eliot B. Robert Frost C. Ezra Pound D. Carl Sandburg12. The imagist poets followed three principles, they are , direct treatment and economy of expression. A. blank verse B. rhythm C. free verse D. common speech13. Of the following American writers, who has NOT been an expatriate in Paris? A. Ernest Hemingway B. Ezra PoundC. F. S. Fitzgerald D. Emily Dickinson14. Who was the foremost novelist of the American Depression of the 1930s? A. Ernest Hemingway B. Ezra PoundC. John Steinbeck D. F. S. Fitzgerald 15. The first writings that we call American were the narratives and of the early settlements. A. journals B. poetry C. drama D. folklores16. An American Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1828 by . A. Samuel Johnson B. Noah Webster C. Daniel Webster D. Daniel Defoe17. Walden is written by . A. Emerson B. Thoreau C. Poe D. Hawthorne18. is famous for psychological realism. A. Mark Twain B. William Dean Howells C. Henry James D. Walt Whitman19. Which is generally regarded as the Bible of New England Transcendentalism? A. Nature B. WaldenC. On Beauty D. Self-Reliance20. Which is regarded as the “Declaration of Intellectual Independence”? A. The American Scholar B. English Traits C. The Conduct of Life D. Nature21. Santiago is the character in Hemingways novel . A. In Our Time B. The Old Man and the Sea C. For Whom the Bell Tolls D. The Sun Also Rises22. Which of the following is a much harsher realism? A. local colorism B. naturalism C. romanticism D. imagism23. Who is the arbiter of 19th century literary realism in America? A. Mark Twain B. Bret Harte C. William Dean Howells D. Henry James24. F. S. Fitzgerald is NOT the author of . A. The Great Gatsby B. Tender is the Night C. A Farewell to the Arms D. This Side of Paradise25. The pessimism and deterministic ideas of naturalism pervaded the works of such American writers as . A. Mark Twain B. F. S. Fitzgerald C. Walt Whitman D. Stephen Crane26. Charles Drouet is a character in the novel of _. A. The American B. The Portrait of a Lady C. Sister Carrie D. The Gift of the Magi27. American literature produced only one female poet during the 19th century. She was . A. Anne Bradstreet B. Jane AustenC. Emily Dickinson D. Harriet Beecher28. read his poetry at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. A. Robert Frost B. T. S. Eliot C. Carl Sandburg D. Ezra Pound 29. With Howells, James and Mark Twain active on the scene, became the major trend in the 70s and 80s of the 19th century. A. sentimentalism B. romanticismC. realism D. 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. Eliot B. Robert Frost C. Ezra Pound D. Wallace StevensIII. Comment on the following poems. Put your answers on the Answer Sheet. (20%, 10 points for each)1. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by: Robert Frost Whose 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 sounds 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.1. I Heard a Fly BuzzWhen I Diedby: Emily DickinsonIheardaFlybuzz whenIdied TheStillnessintheRoomWasliketheStillnessintheAir BetweentheHeavesofStorm TheEyesaround hadwrungthemdry AndBreathsweregatheringfirmForthatlastOnset whentheKingBewitnessed intheRoom IwilledmyKeepsakes SignedawayWhatportionofmebeAssignable andthenitwasThereinterposedaFly WithBlue uncertainstumblingBuzz Betweenthelight andme AndthentheWindowsfailed andthenIcouldnotseetosee 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 what the features of American literature in this period are.2. How does Sister Carrie embody Dreiser I. Complete each of the following statements with proper words or phrases and put your answers on the Answer Sheet. (20%, 1 point for each) 1. 1607 2. John Smith 3. Puritan 4. Reason 5. The Autobiography 6. Common Sense 7. The Declaration of Independence 8. Philip Freneau 9. Sketch Book 10. Transcendentalism 11. Nature 12. The Scarlet Letter 13. international theme 14. The civil war 15. free verse 16. Emily Dickinson 17. Mark Twain18. Sister Carrie 19. Ezra Pound 20. Ernest Hemingway II. Each of the following statements below is followed by four alternative answers or 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 - 5: A C A B D 6 - 10: C D B C A 11 -15:C B D C A 16 - 20: B B C A A 21 -25: B B C C D 26 - 30: C C A C C III. Comment on the following poems. Put your answers on the Answer Sheet. (20%, 10 points for each)1. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening was Frosts 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 that 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. Todays aspiration transforms itself into tomorrows realization. Again, tomorrows 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 ones 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 verses as rhyming with that verses b, which is a chain rhyme. Overall, the rhyme scheme is AABA-BBCB-CCDC-DDDD. 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 after death The fly plays an important role in the speakers 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 death. IV. Give brief answers to the following and write your answers on the Answer Sheet. (30%, 15 points for each)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 mans capacity of knowing truth intuitively, and of attaining knowledge transcending the reach of the senses. 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 like a 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 Carries drifting with the tide. She has no control, no freedom of will. 20072008学年度第二期 美国文学史及作品选读考试A卷 参 考 答 案 命题人： 王琪、丁华良I: Complete each of the following statements with proper words or phrases. (20%, 1 point for each)1. Bryant 2. frontier saga 3. transcendentalist 4. Moby Dick 5. Sketch Book6. Walden 7. Longfellow 8. Civil War 9. Howells 10. free verse11. Henry James 12. Martin Eden 13. The Gift of Magi 14. Pound 15. The Great Gatsby 16. A Farewell to Arms 17. Steinbeck 18. Mark Twain 19. Environment 20. American CrisisII: Each of the following statements below is followed by four alternative answers or completions. Choose the one that is the best in each case. (30%, 1 point for each)1 - 5: B B D A B 6 - 10: D D A C D 11 -15: A D B C D 16 - 20: B D B D C 21 - 25: C B B A C 26 - 30: C B B D A III. Read the poems and answer the questions that follow. (20%)Poem 11.1 Who wrote this poem? (1%)Emily Dickinson.1.2 What is the poet or the speaker in the poem watching and recording? (1%)Apparently the woman tells the story of how she is busily going about her day when a polite gentleman by the name of Death arrives in his carriage to take her out for a ride, but, in reality, the speaker is watching and recording her own funeral.1.3 What is death compared to in the poem? (1%)Death is compared to a polite gentleman or polite wooer. 1.4 What is depicted in the 3rd stanza? How is it related to the whole poem? (2%)Death takes the woman on a leisurely ride to the grave and beyond, passing playing children, wheat fields, and the setting sun, which indicate the three pe