Question

JANE AUSTEN(1775—1817)is often regarded as the greatest of English women novelists on the strength of her six completed novels．Known particularly for their social comedy and accurate description of human relationships，they are still as widely read today as they have ever been．

The seventh child of a country priest(牧师)，Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 at Steventon in Hampshire．Her father ,the Reverend George Austen，was an intelligent and sensitive man who encouraged Jane in her love of reading．From an early age she was familiar with the works of Henry Fielding，Sir Walter Scott，Richardson，Frances Burney and the poet George Crabbe．Her early attempts at writing include burlesques(滑稽作品)of popular romances．When her father retired in 1801 the family moved to Bath，which was later to feature in her novel Northanger Abbey(published in 1818)．After his death in 1805 the family moved first to Southampton and then in 1809 to Chawton in Hampshire．where Jane Austen is known to have written her last three novels：Mansfield Park(1814)，Emma(1816)and Persuasion(also published in 1818)．Although her other novels were written much earlier ,it was not until 1811 that Sense and Sensibility was first published．Pride and Prejudice，which followed in1813,features Jane Austen’own favourite hero，Elizabeth Bennet．

Surrounded by her lively and warm family and wholly buried herself in her writing and housework，Jane Austen led a life often known for its lack of events．She did，however ,attract several admirers and even accepted a proposal of marriage from one admirer-only to change her mind the following morning．Jane Austen’s independent life often seems reflected in her novels，which seem to display the world in miniature(缩影)．Sir Walter Scott praised Jane Austen for‘that unique touch which makes ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting’，while Somerset Maugham claimed that she had at her command ‘the most precious gift a novelist can possess’s that of keeping the reader’s interest．Jane Austen died in 1817．

1.The underlined word“touch” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to

A．styleB．contactC．tasteD．attitude

2.Which of Jane Austen’s novels were published after her death?

A．Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park．

B．Northanger Abbey and Persuasion．

C．Pride and Prejudice and Emma．

D．Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion．

3.We can infer from the passage that Jane Austen had a gift for

A．attracting admirers

B．reflecting her own life in all her novels

C．making dull things and characters interesting

D．holding the readers’ interest

4.This passage is most probably a

A．collection of women novelists and their works

B．comment on Jane Austen and her works

C．brief introduction of Jane Austen

D．description of Jane Austen’s road to success

 

Answer 1

1.A

2.B

3.D

4.C

【解析】

试题分析: 简.奥斯丁因为她的六本小说被人们称为英国最伟大的女作家。文章主要介绍了简.奥斯丁的生平事迹。

1.A．Style风格B．Contact联系C．Taste体验，味觉D．Attitude态度。根据Sir Walter Scott praised Jane Austen for‘that unique touch which makes ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting’可知沃尔特. 斯科特伯爵赞扬简. 奥斯丁，因为她那独一无二的化平凡无奇为生动有趣的手法。故选A。

2.Northanger Abbey(published in 1818)和Persuasion(also published in 1818)，而Jane Austen died in 1817．可知，Northanger Abbey和Persuasion这两本小说是在简. 奥斯丁死去之后才出版的。故选B。

3.Somerset Maugham claimed that she had at her command ‘the most precious gift a novelist can possess’s that of keeping the reader’s interest．可知，萨默塞特. 毛姆称她（简. 奥斯丁）有一种极为珍贵的她自己能够灵活运用的天赋，那是一个作家能够把握读者兴趣的天赋。故选D。

4.

考点：考查人物传记类短文阅读。