Question

【題目】The writings of Shakespeare are today little read by young people in Britain. His young readership is limited to those who choose to study literature at university.

Shakespeare’s work, together with most other classics, is seen as remote, and written in a 400yearold version of English that is about as inviting as toothache.

Still, in Britain schools, it is compulsory to study the bard(詩人), and when something is made compulsory, usually the result is boredom, resentment(憎恨) or both.

This was my experience of the classics at school. But when I reached my late teenage years, I had a change of heart. Like every other young person since the dawn of time, the world confused me. I wanted answers, so I turned to books to find them.

I went on to take a PhD in literature and have taught it in Britain and China. I have never regretted it. There is something in literature that people want, even if they don’t read books. You see this in the popularity of TV and movie adaptations of great works, the recent film version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice being a case in point. These popular adaptations may help increase people’s interest in the classics.

Reading a simplified Romeo and Juliet may perhaps lead to a reading of Shakespeare’s actual play. If that is the case, then I welcome the trend. But do not make the mistake of thinking that it is the same thing. Shakespeare is a poet. His greatness is in his language. Reading someone else’s rewriting of his work is like peeling a banana, throwing away the fruit, and eating the skin. Take on the original. It really is worth the effort.

【1】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The language used in classics is no longer in use today.

B. British students usually find compulsory reading dull.

C. Only those studying literature read Shakespeare’s works.

D. For British people, Shakespeare’s works are no longer classics.

【2】According to the passage, the writer .

A. has liked literary classics since an early age

B. was forced to read the classics for a PhD

C. turned to literature to seek answers in his teens

D. thinks only people who read books like literature

【3】The underlined phrase ＂a case in point＂ in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to ＂ ＂.

A. a great hit

B. a good example

C. a movie adaptation

D. a popular phenomenon

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】C

【3】B

【解析】莎士比亞是偉大的詩人、劇作家，但是現(xiàn)在除了那些要學文學的學生，很少有學生閱讀他的作品。我認為莎士比亞的偉大在于他所用的語言，讀原文是很值得的。

【1】推理判斷題。根據(jù)第三段內(nèi)容可推測出英國的學生通常認為強制閱讀是枯燥的，故B合適。

【2】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第四段最后一句話＂I wanted answers, so I turned to books to find them.＂可知作者年輕時從書本中尋找答案。故答案C合適。

【3】詞義猜測題。上文提到不讀書的人看改編、節(jié)選的電視或電影，所以此處以Pride and Prejudice為舉例說明節(jié)選的、改編的電影，故答案B合適。