英美文学选读-英国-文艺复兴时期-练习题汇总

英美文学选读选择题

1. _______, a typical example of Old English poetry, is regarded as the national epic of the Anglo-Saxons.

A. The Canterbury Tales B. Exodus

C. Beowulf D. The Legend of Good Women

2. The work that presented, for the first time in English literature, a comprehensive realistic picture of the medieval English society and created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life is most likely ______________.

A．William Langland’ s Piers Plowman B．Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales

C．John Gower’s Confession Amantis D．Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

3. With classical culture and the（ ）humanistic ideas coming into England, the English Renaissance began flourishing. A. French B. German C. Italian D. Greek

4. During the reign of_______, England started its Religious Reformation and broke away from Rome.

A. Henry VII B. Henry VIII C. Edward VI D. Queen Elizabeth

5. The Protestant movement, which was seen as a means to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption and superstition of the Middle Ages, was initiated by _______.

A. Francis Bacon B. Martin Luther

C. Thomas More Utopia D. William Shakespeare

6．The Renaissance is actually a movement stimulated by a series of historical events EXCEPT_________.

A．the rediscovery of ancient Roman and Greek culture B．the vast expansion of British colonies in North America C．the new discoveries in geography and astrology

D．the religious reformation and the economic expansion

7. In Renaissance, the European humanist thinkers and scholars made attempts to do the following EXCEPT ______. A. getting rid of those old feudalist ideas

B. getting control of the parliament and government

C. introducing new ideas that expressed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie

D. recovering the purity of the early church, from the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church

8. Which of the following is NOT regarded as one of the characteristics of Renaissance humanism?

A. Cultivation of the art of this world and this life.

..

.

B. Tolerance of human foibles.

C. Search for the genuine flavor of ancient culture. D. Glorification of religious faith.

9. The Renaissance marks a transition from ______ to the modern world. A. the old English B. the medieval C. the feudalist D. the capitalist

10. The English Renaissance period was an age of ________ A. poetry and drama B. drama and novel C. novel and poetry D. romance and poetry

11. The most significant idea of the Renaissance is（ ）. A. humanism B. realism C. naturalism D. skepticism

12．______ is the essence of the Renaissance. A．Poetry B．Drama C．Humanism D．Reason

13. About the Renaissance humanists which of the following statements is true? A. They thought money and social status was the measure of all things.

B. They thought people were largely subordinated to the ruling class without any freedom and independence.

C. They couldn’t see the human values in their works.

D. They emphasized the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life.

14. One of the distinct features of the Elizabethan time is_______ A. the flourishing of the drama

B. the popularity of the realistic novel C. the domination of the classical poetry D. the close-down of all the theatres

15.Marlowe’s greatest achievement lies in that he perfected the __________and made it the principal medium of English drama. A. blank verse B. free verse C. sonnet D. alliteration

..

.

16. Marlowe gave new vigor to the blank verse with his “______”. A. lyrical lines B. soft lines C. mighty lines D. religious lines

17._______ introduced the Petrarchan sonnet into England, while _______ brought in blank verse, i.e. the unrhymed iambic pentameter line.

A. Wyatt...Surrey B. Wyatt...Sidney C. Surrey...Sidney D. Sidney...Spenser

18. It was ________ who first introduced the Petrarchan sonnet into England. A. Caxton B. Wyatt C. Surrey D. Marlowe

19. The Petrarchan sonnet was first introduced into England by ______. A. Surrey B. Wyatt C. Sidney D. Shakespeare

20. In English poetry, a four-line stanza is called ______. A. heroic couplet B. quatrain C. Spenserian stanza D. terza rima 21．The most famous dramatists in the Renaissance England are Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare and ______________.

A．John Milton B．John Bunyan C．Ben Jonson D．Edmund Spenser

22. The most famous dramatists in the Renaissance England are all the following

EXCEPT ______. A. Francis Bacon B. Christopher Marlowe C. William Shakespeare D. Ben Jonson

23. “Metaphysical Poetry” refers to the works of the 17th - century writers who wrote under the influence of _____.

A. John Donne B. Alexander Pope C. Christopher Marlowe D. John Milton

24. Which of the following is NOT typical of metaphysical poetry best represented by

John Donne’s works? A. Common speech. B. Conceit. 奇思妙想 C. Argument. 修辞 D. Refined language.用词严谨

25. All the following poets except ________ belong to the metaphysical school. A. Donne B. Herbert C. Marvell D. Milton

26. Spenser’s masterpiece is ______, which is a great poem of the age. A. The Shepheardes Calender B. The Faierie Queene C. The Rape of Lucrece D. The Canterbury Tales

..

.

27. Edmund Spenser’s masterpiece is _____. A. The Shepheared’s Calender B. The Faerie Queen C. Epithalamion D. The Canterbury Tales

28.____ is the first important English essayist and the founder of modern science in England. A.Francis Bacon B.Edmund Spenser C.William Carxton D.Sidney

29. Francis Bacon is not only the first important essayist but also the founder of modern ______ in England. A. poetry B. novel C. prose D. science

30. ______, the first important English essayist, was also the founder of modern science in England and one of the representatives of the English Renaissance.

A．Christopher Marlowe B．Thomas More C．Francis Bacon D．William Shakespeare

31. _____,the first important English essayist, is best known for his essays which greatly influenced the development of this literary form. A. Charles Lamb B. Ben Jonson C. Francis Bacon D. John Lyly

32．Francis Bacon’s essays are famous for their brevity, compactness and ______________.

A．complicity B．complexity C．powerfulness D．mildness

33. Shakespeare is known to have used _ different words. His coinage of new words and distortion of the meaning of the old ones also create striking effects on the reader. A. 16,000 B. 1600 C.20,000 D. 2000

34. As a Renaissance humanist, Shakespeare ( )

A. is against religious persecution and racial discrimination, against social inequality and the corrupting influence of gold and money.

B. holds that literature should be a combination of beauty, kindness and truth, and should reflect nature and reality.

C. gives faithful reflection of the social realities of his time through his works. D. all of the above.

35．Shakespeare’s four greatest tragedies are ________. A．Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, Hamlet

..

.

B．Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice C．Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth

D．Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Hamlet

36. Shakespeare’s four great tragedies are: Hamlet, Othello, ______and ______. A. King Lear...Romeo and Juliet B. King Lear…Macbeth C. King John...Julius Caesar D. King John…The Merchant of Venice

37.Shakespeare’s tragedies include all the following except（ ）. A. Hamlet and King Lear

B. Antony and Cleopatra and Macbeth C. Julius Caesar and Othello

D. The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night’s Dream

38. In Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, which of the following is the typical characteristic the heroes share in common? ( ) A. They have a strong lust for power and finally go into incessant crimes. B. They are perfect heroes without any weakness.

C. They face the injustice of human life but are never caught in a difficult situation. D. They have a fate which is closely connected with the fate of the whole nation.

39. As to the great tragedy Hamlet, which of the following is not true?

A. The timeless appeal of this mighty drama lies in its combination of intrigue, emotional conflict and searching philosophic melancholy.

B. The bare outline of the play is based on a widespread legend in northern Europe. C. The whole story of the play is created by Shakespeare himself.

D. In it, Shakespeare condemns the hypocrisy and treachery and general corruption at the royal court.

40. ______, the melancholic scholar, prince, faces the dilemma between action and mind.

A. Othello B. Macbeth C. Hamlet D. Antonio

41. In Hamlet, the hero’s trouble mainly lies in ( ) A. his pride in refusing to acknowledge his mother’s second marriage B. his hesitation in carrying out his plan of revenge

C. his suspicion that his father was murdered by his uncle D. his ambition to gain quick access to the throne

42. ________ is a natural means of writing in revealing the prince’s inner conflict and psychological predicament in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

A．Dialogue B．Soliloquy C．Dramatic monologue D．Satire

..

.

43. “To be, or not to be - that is the question;/Whether’ tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,/Or to take arms against a sea of troubles ,/And by opposing end then?” These lines are taken from _____. A. King Lear B. Romeo and Juliet C. Othello D. Hamlet

44. _____ lust for power stirs up his ambition and leads him to incessant crimes. A. Othello’s B. Hamlet’s C. Shylock’s D. Macbeth’s

45. _____ inner weakness is made use of by the outside evil force. A. Hamlet’s B. Othello’s C. King Lear’s D. Macbeth’s

46. About Shakespeare’s romantic comedies, which of the following is true? A. He takes an optimistic attitude toward love and truth. B. The romantic elements are not brought into full play at all.

C. He presents the patriotic spirit when engaging intellectual excitement and emotion. D. There is a wonderful balance of characters.

47. About Shakespeare’s romantic comedies, which of the following is not true? A. He takes an optimistic attitude toward love and truth. B. The romantic elements are brought into full play.

C. He praises the patriotic spirit when engaging intellectual excitement and emotion. D. His youthful Renaissance spirit of jollity is fully reflected.

48. The most important play among Shakespeare’s comedies is _____. A. A Midsummer Night’s Dream B. The Merchant of Venice C. As You Like It D. Twelfth Night

49.Here are two lines taken from The Merchant of Venice: “Not on thy sole, but on thy soul, harsh Jew/Thou mak’st thy knife keen.” What kind of figurative device is used in the above lines?（ ） A. Simile. 直喻、明喻 B. Metonymy.隐喻 C. Pun.双关语 D. Synecdoche.

50.“Bassanio:Antonio,I am married to a wife Which is as dear to me as life itself;

But life itself, My wife, and all the world. Are not with me esteem'd above thy life; I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them all, Here to the devil, to deliver you.

Portia: Your wife would give you little thanks for that, If she were by to hear you make the offer.”

The above is a quotation taken from Shakespeare's comedy The Merchant of Venice. The quoted part can be regarded as a good example to illustrate ____. A.dramatic irony戏剧反讽 B.personification拟人

..

.

C.allegory 寓言 D.symbolism象征

52.In Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, Antonio could not pay back the money he borrowed from Shylock, because ______. A. his money was all invested in the newly-emerging textile industry B. his enterprise went bankrupt

C. Bassanio was able to pay his own debt D. his ships had all been lost

53. The Tempest is a typical example of Shakespeare’s__________view of life towards human life and society in his late years. A. pessimistic B. optimistic C. satirical D. none of the above

. As the best of Shakespeare's final romances, ______ is a typical example of his pessimistic view towards human life and society in his late years. A. The Tempest B. The Winter's Tale C. Cymbeline D. The Rape of Lucrece

55. Shakespeare’ s ______, an elaborate and fantastic story, is known as the best of his final romances. A. The Winter’s Tale B. The Tempest

C. The Taming of the Shrew D. Love’ s Labour’ s Lost

56. Shakespeare’s ______ are mainly written under the principle that national unity under a mighty and just sovereign is a necessity. A. comedies B. tragedies C. history plays D. dark comedies

57. Which of the following is William Shakespeare’s history play? A. Macbeth B. Henry IV C. Romeo and Juliet D. King Lear

58. Which of the following statements best illustrates the theme of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18? A. The speaker eulogizes the power of Nature. B. The speaker satirizes human vanity.

C. The speaker praises the power of artistic creation. D. The speaker meditates on man’s salvation.

59．The sentence “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” is the beginning line of one of Shakespeare’s ______________. A．comedies B．tragedies C．sonnets D．histories

..

.

60.“So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 includes three stanzas according to the content with these last two lines as a（ ）, which completes the sense of the above lines. (057)

A. prelude序 B. couplet双韵 C. epigraph题词 D. exposition说明

61. In his tragedy Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare eulogizes _____. A. the faithfulness of love

B. the spirit of pursuing happiness

C. the heroine's great beauty , wit and loyalty D. both A and B

John Milton

62．Paradise Lost is actually a story taken from ______________. A．the Renaissance B．the Old Testament C．Greek Mythology D．the New Testament

63. The story of Paradise Lost is taken from____. It tells about___. A. the Old Testament … …Satan’s rebellion against God.

B. the Bible… …the expulsion of Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden. C. Greek Mythology … …a young prince’s revenge on his father’s murderer. D. both A and B

. Paradise Lost tells the story of _____. A. a young prince's revenge on his father's murderer

B. the expulsion of Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden C. Satan's rebellion against God D. both B and C

65 Which of the following statements about Paradise Lost is true?

A. Adam and Eve were driven out of Paradise for their conspiracy with Satan.

B. The writer intended to expose the ways of Satan and to justify the ways of God to men.

C. Satan, as a rebel to God, was finally defeated and surrendered. D. Satan was finally reconciled with God.

66. In heaven, _____ led a rebellion against God. Defeated, he and his rebel angels were cast into Hell. A. Adam B. Eve C. Satan D. Samson

..

.

67. John Milton’s ______ is the only generally acknowledged epic in English literature since Beowulf. A. Paradise Lost B. Paradise Regained C. Samson Agonistes D. Areopagitica

68.John Milton wrote ______ to expose the way of Satan and to “justify the ways of God to men”. A. Paradise Lost B. Paradise Regained C. Lycidas D. Samson Agonistes

69. “To wage by force or guile eternal war,

Irreconcilable to our grand Foe.”（John Milton, Paradise lost)

By what means were Satan and his followers to wage this war against God? A. By planting a tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden. B. By turning into poisonous snakes to threaten man’s life. C. By removing God from His throne.

D. By corrupting man and woman created by God.

70. John Milton’ s most powerful dramatic poem on the Greek model is ______. A. Paradise Lost B. Paradise Regained C. Samson Agonistes D. Lycidas

71. The most perfect example of the verse drama after Greek style in English is Milton’s _____.

A. Paradise Lost B. Paradise Regained C. Samson Agonistes D. Areopagitica

72. Samson Agonistes by ______ is the most perfect example of the verse drama after the Greek style in English. A. John Milton B. William Blake

C. Henry Fielding D. William Wordsworth

73. The hero of one his main works is an Israel’s mighty champion, blind, alone and fighting against his thoughtless enemies. This hero’s experience is in close resemblance to the poet himself. This poet’s name is ________. A．John Milton B．John Bunyan

C．Edmund Spenser D．Christopher Marlowe

74. Which of the following is not John Milton’s works? A. Paradise Lost B. Paradise Regained C. Samson Agonistes D. Othello

75. Which of the following works does not belong to John Milton?

..

.

A. Paradise Lost B. Paradise Regained C. Adonais D. Llycidas

II. Reading Comprehension (16 points in all, 4 for each) 77 Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May， And summer’s lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,

Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st, So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this ,and this gives life to thee.

1. What kind of poem is this, blank verse, sonnet, pastoral poem, or ode? Who is the author?

SONNET, William Shakespeare

2. What is the central idea of this poem?

A nice summer’s day is usually transient, but the beauty in poetry can last forever.

78. “Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st; Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”

Questions: A. Identify the author and the title of the poem from which this part is taken. William Shakespeare; SONNET 18

B. What does the word “this” in the last line refer to? “this” refers the poem C. What idea do the quoted lines express?

When you are in my eternal poetry, you are even with time. A nice summer’s day is usually

transient, but the beauty in poetry can last forever.

79．“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:” Questions:

..

.

A.Identify the poet and the poem from which the quoted lines are taken.

William Shakespeare; Sonnet 18

B. Name the figure of speech employed in the poem. ----Personification C．What is the theme of the poem?

A nice summer’s day is usually transient, but the beauty in poetry can last forever.

80. “To be, or not to be —— that is the question; Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?” Questions:

A. Who is the writer of this work? What’s the title of the work? William Shakespeare, HAMLET

B. What does the phrase “to take arms against a sea of troubles” mean? To take up arms against troubles that sweep upon us like a sea.

C. How do you understand the quotation “To be, or not to be -that is the question”? Whether to live on in this world or to die is a question. It reflects Hamlet’s dilemma and has become the eternal questioning of human action. 81. “Not on thy sole, but on thy soul, harsh Jew, Thou mak’st thy knife keen; but no metal can, No, not the hangman’s axe, bear half the keenness Of thy sharp envy.”

Questions: A. Identify the author and the title of the play from which this part is taken. William Shakespeare; The Merchant of Venice

B. What figure of speech is used in this quoted passage? PUN 双关 C. What idea does the passage express?

The Jew makes his knife keen on his soul and even an axe is not as keen as his envy.

This

Indicates that the Jew (Shylock) is a cruel man.

III. Questions and Answers (24 points in all, 6 for each)

82．William Shakespeare is one of the most remarkable playwrights the world has ever known. (1)Name his four greatest tragedies.

(2)What are the characteristics of the four tragedies in common? (3)Briefly summarize each hero’s weakness of nature.

82 A. Shakespeare’s four greatest tragedies are: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and

Macbeth.

B. They some characteristics in common. Each portrays some noble hero, who faces the injustice of human life and is caught in a difficult situation and whose fate is closely connected with the fate of the whole nation. C. Each hero has his weakness of nature:

..

.

Hamlet, the melancholic scholar-prince, faces the dilemma between action and mind;

Othello’s inner weakness is made use of by the outside evil force;

the old king Lear who is unwilling to totally give up his power makes himself suffer from

treachery and infidelity;

Macbeth’s lust for power stirs up his ambition and leads him to incessant crimes.

83. Working through the tradition of a Christian humanism, Milton wrote Paradise Lost, intending to expose the ways of Satan and to “justify the ways of God to men.” What is Milton’s fundamental concern in Paradise Lost?

83. A. At the center of the conflict between human love and spiritual duty lies

Milton’s fundamental concern with freedom and choice;

B. The freedom to submit to God’s prohibition on eating the apple C. and the choice of disobedience made for love.

84. The following passage is taken from The Merchant of Venice. Read it carefully and find the dramatic irony it contains. Use it as an example to illustrate what

dramatic irony is. (034)

“Bassanio: Antonio, I am married to a wife

Which is as dear to me as life itself; But life itself, my wife, and all world, Are not with me esteem’d above thy life; I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them all Here to this devil, to deliver you.

Portia: Your wife would give you little thanks for that, If she were by to hear you make the offer.” Answer:

84. A. When the audience is aware of a discrepancy between a character's perception

of his or her own situation and the true nature of that situation, that is dramatic irony.

B. In the given example, Portia, Bassanio's newly-married wife, disguised herself as the lawyer to take charge of the case. Portia herself and the audience know all this, but Bassanio is ignorant of it. So when Bassanio offers in front of his disguised wife to sacrifice her in order to deliver Antonio, he makes himself behave in a ridiculous way in the eyes of the audience. Thus an effect of dramatic irony is achieved.

IV. Topic Discussion(20 points in all, 10 for each)

85. Briefly discuss William Shakespeare's artistic achievements in characterization, plot construction and language.

85. A. Shakespeare’s major characters are neither merely individual ones nor type

ones; they represent certain types; they are individuals representing certain types. By employing a psycho-analytical approach, Shakespeare succeeds in

..

.

exploring the characters’ inner world. Shakespeare also portrays his characters in pairs. Contrasts are frequently used to bring vividness to his characters.

B. Shakespeare seldom invents his own plot; instead, he borrows them from old plays or story-books, from ancient Greek or Roman sources. In order to make the play more lively and compact, he would shorten the time and intensify the story. There are usually several clues running through the play, thus providing the story with suspense and apprehension.

C. Shakespeare can write skillfully in different poetic forms, such as the sonnet, the blank verse and the rhymed couplet. He has an amazing wealth of vocabulary and idiom. His coinage of new words and distortion of the meaning of the old works also creates striking effects on the reader.

1. Please state Shakespeare's views on the Renaissance literature.

..