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Ⅱ. Reading Comprehension ( 16 points in all, 4 for each)
Read the quoted parts carefully and answer the questions in English. Write your answers in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.
41. “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?
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 this world or to die is a question. It reflects hamlet’s dilemma and has become the eternal questioning of human action.
42. “Beside a pumice isle in Baiae’s bay,
And saw in sleep old palaces and towers
Quivering within the wave’s intenser day,
All overgrown with azure moss and flowers
So sweet, the sense faints picturing them! Thou
For whose path the Atlantic’s level powers”
(From Shelley’s“ Ode to the West Wind”)
Questions:
A. In what form is the poem written?
The terza rima form Shelley derived from his reading of Dante.
B. What does the quotation“ the sense faints picturing them” mean?
Seeing the images so beautiful one feel faint to describe them
C. What idea does Shelley express in this poem?
He eulogized the powerful west wind and expresses his eagerness to enjoy the boundless freedom from reality.
43. “ We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess- in the Ring-
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain -
We Passed the Setting Sun- ”
( From Emily Dickinson’s poem Because I could not stop for Death)
Questions:
A. What does the phrase “Fields of Gazing Grain” symbolize?
It symbolizes the mature period.
B. What figure of speech is used in the poem?
Personification
C. What are Dickinson’s unique writing features?
Her poems have no titles; dashes are used as a musical device; capital letters are used as a means of emphasis; irregular and inverted sentence structure is used; her poetic idiom is noted for its brevity, directness, and plainness; her poems are usually short, personal
44. (A lot of common objects have been enumerated in the previous lines, and here are the last two lines of the poem. )
“The horizon’s edge, the flying sea - crow,
the fragrance of salt marsh and shore mud.
These became part of that child who went forth every day,
and who now goes, and will always go forth every day. ”
Questions:
A. Who is the author of this poem? What is the title of the poem?
Whitman; There was a child went forth
B. What does the child stand for in the poem?
The young, growing America.
C. How do you understand “ These became part of the child” ?
The common objects in the poem reflect the natural process of a boy’s growth.
Read the quoted parts carefully and answer the questions in English. Write your answers in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.
41. “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?
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 this world or to die is a question. It reflects hamlet’s dilemma and has become the eternal questioning of human action.
42. “Beside a pumice isle in Baiae’s bay,
And saw in sleep old palaces and towers
Quivering within the wave’s intenser day,
All overgrown with azure moss and flowers
So sweet, the sense faints picturing them! Thou
For whose path the Atlantic’s level powers”
(From Shelley’s“ Ode to the West Wind”)
Questions:
A. In what form is the poem written?
The terza rima form Shelley derived from his reading of Dante.
B. What does the quotation“ the sense faints picturing them” mean?
Seeing the images so beautiful one feel faint to describe them
C. What idea does Shelley express in this poem?
He eulogized the powerful west wind and expresses his eagerness to enjoy the boundless freedom from reality.
43. “ We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess- in the Ring-
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain -
We Passed the Setting Sun- ”
( From Emily Dickinson’s poem Because I could not stop for Death)
Questions:
A. What does the phrase “Fields of Gazing Grain” symbolize?
It symbolizes the mature period.
B. What figure of speech is used in the poem?
Personification
C. What are Dickinson’s unique writing features?
Her poems have no titles; dashes are used as a musical device; capital letters are used as a means of emphasis; irregular and inverted sentence structure is used; her poetic idiom is noted for its brevity, directness, and plainness; her poems are usually short, personal
44. (A lot of common objects have been enumerated in the previous lines, and here are the last two lines of the poem. )
“The horizon’s edge, the flying sea - crow,
the fragrance of salt marsh and shore mud.
These became part of that child who went forth every day,
and who now goes, and will always go forth every day. ”
Questions:
A. Who is the author of this poem? What is the title of the poem?
Whitman; There was a child went forth
B. What does the child stand for in the poem?
The young, growing America.
C. How do you understand “ These became part of the child” ?
The common objects in the poem reflect the natural process of a boy’s growth.