期末复习题 美国文学简史

Part A

From morning suns and evening dews At first thy little being came: If nothing once, you nothing lose, For when you die you are the same; The space between, is but an hour, The frail duration of a flower.

1. Who is the poet of the poem and what is the title of the poem? (2 points)

2. Tell the metrical structure and rhyme scheme of the poem. (1 point)

3. What does the “little being” refer to? What meaning is suggested by the phrase “but an hour”? (2 points)

Part B

The opinions of this junto were completely controlled by Nicholas Vedder, a patriarch of the village, and landlord of the inn, at the door of which he took his seat from morning till night, just moving sufficiently to avoid the sun and keep in the shade of a large tree; so that the neighbors could tell the hour by his movements as accurately as by a sundial. It is true he was rarely heard to speak, but smoked his pipe incessantly. His adherents, however (for every great man has his adherents), perfectly understood him, and knew how to gather his opinions. When anything that was read or related displeased him, he was observed to smoke his pipe vehemently, and to send forth short, frequent and angry puffs; but when pleased, he would inhale the smoke slowly and tranquilly, and emit it in light and placid clouds; and sometimes, taking the pipe from his mouth, and letting the fragrant vapor curl about his nose, would gravely nod his head in token of perfect approbation.

From even this stronghold the unlucky Rip was at length routed by his termagant wife, who would suddenly break in upon the tranquility of the assemblage and call the members all to naught; nor was that august personage, Nicholas Vedder himself, sacred from the daring tongue of this terrible virago, who charged him outright with encouraging her husband in habits of idleness.

1. Who was the writer of this story? What is the title of this story? (2 points)

2. Who was Nicholas Vedder? (1 point)

3. How did he express his opinions on public matters? (2 points)

VI. Comment. (20 points, 10 points for each)

Directions: In this part of the test, you are given five topics. Choose TWO of them and give a comment on the Answer Sheet. Scores will be given according to the content, grammar and the completeness of the related knowledge.

1. What are the features of literature in Colonial America? 2. Comment on Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography.

3. Comment on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing techniques.

4. What philosophical meaning is implied in Philip Freneau’s “The Wild Honey Suckle”?

5. What are the artistic achievements of Edgar Allan Poe?

答案

I. Blanks: (10%)

(每题1分，共10分，答错不给分)

1. American literature 2. English 3. Puritans4. short story 5. Autobiography6. Philip Freneau7. Washington Irving 8. Edgar Allan Poe9. The Scarlet Letter

II. Multiple Choice: ( 20%)

(每题1分，共20分，答错不给分)

1. A 2. B 3. C 4. A 5. A 6. C 7. B 8. C 9. B 10. D 11. A 12. B 13. B 14. B 15. C 16.C 17. B 18. A 19. C 20. D

III. Identification (20%)

（每题1分，共20分，答错不给分） 1. James Fenimore Cooper 2. Washington Irving 3. Anne Bradstreet

4. Michael Wigglesworth 5. Washington Irving

6. James Fenimore Cooper 7. Philip Freneau

8. William Cullen Bryant 9. Edgar Allan Poe 10. Edgar Allan Poe

11. Nathaniel Hawthorne 12. Edgar Allan Poe 13. Anne Bradstreet 14. Washington Irving

15. James Fenimore Cooper 16. Philip Freneau

17. William Cullen Bryant 18. Edgar Allan Poe

19. Nathaniel Hawthorne 20. Philip Freneau

IV. Terms (20%)

（每题4分，共20分。答案中给出多个知识点，答对其中四个知识点即得满分，多于四个不加分，少则扣分。超出所给出答案部分的，评卷人可根据相关内容和知识酌情给分。）

1. Transcendentalism

Key words: Emerson, Thoreau, nature, intuition, oversoul, individualism, spirit, idealism, Romanticism, etc. 2. Free Verse

Key words: without fixed beat, regular rhyme scheme, Whitman, Leaves of Grass, etc. 3. Leatherstocking Tales

Key words: Cooper, five novels, Natty Bumppo, frontier, frontiersman, life from youth to old age, The Pioneer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Prairie, The Pathfinder, The Deerslayer, etc. 4. Puritanism

key words: Calvin, purify, hard work, thrift, predestination, salvation, sin, God, from England to America, immigration, etc. 5. Benjamin Franklin

key words: statesman, scientist and writer, Autobiography, Poor Richard’s Almanac, puritan, hard work and thrift, successful,

contributions, printer, etc.

V. Appreciation (10%)

（每题5分，共10分。评卷人可以按照问题及内容酌情给分）

Part A

a) Philip Freneau’s（1分） The Wild Honey Suckle （1分） b) It is written in iambic tetrameter, the rhyme scheme is ababcc.

（1分）

c) “Little being” refers to the wild honey suckle. （1分）“But an

hour” means the lifespan of a flower is very short. （1分）

Part B

1. Washington Irving’s（1分） Rip Van Wingkle（1分）

2. Nicholas Vedder is the owner of the inn/ a patriarch of the village/ and landlord of the inn,（1分）

3. He expressed his opinion by the way of smoking. / When anything that was read or related displeased him, he was observed to smoke his pipe vehemently, and to send forth short, frequent and angry puffs; but when pleased, he would inhale the smoke slowly and tranquilly, and emit it in light and placid clouds; and sometimes, taking the pipe from his mouth, and letting the fragrant vapor curl about his nose, would gravely nod his head in token of perfect approbation.（2分）

VI. Comment. (20%)

(每题10分，此题共20分) 一等（9-10分）：内容基本正确并且语法准确，表达完整清晰，理解透彻； 二等（6-8分）：有少量知识点或语法错误，表达比较清晰完整，有比较透彻的理解； 三等（3-5分）：知识点表达错误较多，内容不完整，知识略显混乱，思路不太清晰； 四等（1-2分）：内容基本不太正确，思维混乱，内容贫乏，对问题没有理解。

答案：（略）