III. 阅读理解
William Shakespeare is the most famous playwright (剧作家). Although he died in 1616, people still go to see his plays. Among the most popular are RomeoandJuliet, AMidsummerNight’sDream and Hamlet — the story of a prince who struggles to respond to the crimes around him.
Shakespeare, who was born in 1564, was an actor as well as a writer. Most of his ideas for plays were taken from history, people’s conversation, ancient stories, and also from other writers. He wrote not only about kings and queens and princes, but also about friends and ordinary people. He wrote about the cruelty of war and the bravery of heroes, as well as about jealousy, joy, hate, ambition and love. His stories live on. The tragedy RomeoandJuliet was reborn as the musical WestSideStory and more recently as the movie RomeoandJuliet with the wonderful performance of Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
He invented a number of great characters: powerful magicians, thrilling witches, smart women and both wise and wicked men. He also invented some great phrases. If you’ve ever said, “Oh, for goodness sake!” you can thank Shakespeare for that. Other examples of common phrases adapted from Shakespeare: “as luck would have it”, “your own flesh and blood”, “too much of a good thing”, “good riddance”, “in one fell swoop”, and “in the twinkling of an eye”. “To be, or not to be: that is the question,” Hamlet says. “Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it is morrow,” says Juliet to her Romeo.
Don’t be surprised if you don’t understand everything when reading Shakespeare or watching one of his plays because the meanings of many words have changed over the years. And Shakespeare’s characters speak in poetry, so their speeches can be complicated.
It does help to find out a little bit about the story before reading a Shakespeare play. It’s worth the effort. As Shakespeare wrote, “All the world is a stage.” And in his plays you’ll find that an entire world is waiting for you.
1. Shakespeare created the following characters EXCEPT ________.
A. Juliet         B. Hamlet     C. Claire Danes    D. Romeo
2. From Paragraph 3 we can learn that ________.
A. most of the characters created by Shakespeare were negative ones
B. most of the phrases used today were invented by Shakespeare
C. “Oh, for goodness sake!” is what Juliet says to Romeo
D. Shakespeare contributed greatly to the development of English
3. Which of the following is a reason why it’s difficult to understand some of Shakespeare’s plays?
A. There are many new words in his plays.
B. He wrote his plays using uncommon words.
C. The characters in his plays speak in poetry.
D. Most of the words in his plays are outdated.
4. We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. most of Shakespeare’s plays have been made into films
B. language changes with the development of society
C. Shakespeare made lots of money from his works
D. it is more useful to read Shakespeare’s works than to watch them


Rae Armantrout, who has been a poetry professor at the University of California San Diego(UCSD) for two decades, has won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category for her most recent book, “Versed”.
“I’m delighted and amazed at how much media recognition that the Pulitzer brings, as compared to even the National Book Critics Award, which I was also surprised and delighted to win,” said Armantrout.
“For a long time, my writing has been just below the media radar, and to have this kind of attention, suddenly, with my 10th book, is really surprising.”
Armantrout, a native Californian, received her bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley, where she studied with noted poet Denise Levertov, and her master’s in creative writing from San Francisco State University. She is a founding member of Language Poets, a group in American poetry that analyzes the way language is used and raises questions to make the reader think.
In March, she won the National Book Critics Circle Award for “Versed.”
“This book has gotten more attention,” Armantrout said, “but I don’t feel as if it’s better.”
The first half of “Versed” focuses on the dark forces taking hold of the United States as it fought the war against Iraq. The second half looks at the dark forces casting a shadow over her own life after Armantrout was diagnosed with cancer in 2006.
Armantrout was shocked to learn she had won the Pulitzer but many of her colleagues were not. “Rae Armantrout is a unique voice in American poetry,” said Seth Lerer, head of Arts and Humanities at UCSD.
“Versed”, published by the Wesleyan University Press, did appear in a larger printing than her earlier works, which is about 2,700 copies. The new edition is scheduled to appear in May.
1. According to Rae Armantrout, ____________.
A. her 10th book is much better               [来源:学*科*网]
B. her winning the Pulitzer is unexpected
C. the media is surprised at her works        
D. she likes being recognized by her readers
2. Which of the following is true of Rae Armantrout?
A. She published a poetry textbook.
B. She used to teach Denise Levertov.
C. She started a poets’ group with others.
D. She taught creative writing at UC Berkeley.
3. What can we learn about “Versed”?
A. It consists of three parts.
B. It is mainly about the American army.
C. It is a book published two decades ago.
D. It partly concerns the poet’s own life.
4. Rae Armantrout’s colleagues think that she ____________.
A. should write more                   B. has a sweet voice
C. deserves the prize                  D. is a strange professor
5. What can we learn from the text?
A. About 2,700 copies of “Versed” will be printed.
B. Cancer made Armantrout stop writing.
C. Armantrout got her degrees at UCSD.
D. “Versed” has been awarded twice.

  Reading poetry 36  people from different places and different times together. More than any other of literature, poetry 37    sounds, words and grammar. That makes poetry 38 to write, but very interesting to 39 .  Poetry also 40 all the colours, feelings, experiences and curious 41of a dream world.

          China has a long history42 which many of the world’s greatest poets were active. Poems by Du Fu, Li Bai and Wang Wei among others 43_ in the halls of glory. When you have read some44 poems, you will have seen and heard some of the features that all good poetry45. The 46   is very important: the number of lines and the number of characters in each line. Poetry often  47_ special patterns of rhythm and rhyme.

          Despite its short history, there is a lot of good English poetry around. The earliest English poetry was written in a kind of English that is now difficult to 48. Modern English started around the time of Shakespeare, towards the end of the sixteenth century. The seventeenth century was a great time for English poetry. Shakespeare is most famous 49 his plays. His sonnets, however, belong to the best English poetry. In the next generation of great English poets we 50   John Donne. Chinese readers 51his works because of his use of surprising images that 52 them of the works of poets such as Su Dongpo. Before the end of the century, there was 53 famous writer, John Milton. 54   published, his work became famous for the absence of rhyme at the end of each line. In the eighteenth century it was Alexander Pope 55 wrote the finest poetry in England.

36. A. brings          B. takes             C. looks               D. thinks

37. A. plays               B. goes for            C. plays with            D. goes on

38. A. easy             B. great              C. interesting            D. difficult

39. A. recite                     B. read               C. enjoy                D. reach

40. A. calls at         B. calls up          C. calls for               D. calls in

41. A. images            B. pictures             C. sight                    D. scene

42. A. at                   B. after               C. before               D. during

43. A. stand out         B. stand for           C. show up               D. follow up

44. A. English            B. Chinese          C. American          D. foreign

45. A. creates            B. shares         C. finds            D. looks

46. A. word              B. sentence            C. form            D. fact

47. A. follows           B. faces              C. joins              D. judges

48. A. understand      B. keep           C. get              D. deal

49. A. as                   B. with               C. in                      D. for

50. A. advise             B. meet            C. concern                  D. inform

51. A. inspire             B. desire            C. cheer                  D. admire

52. A. sets                B. dreams          C. reminds             D. puts

53. A. another           B. other          C. others              D. one another

54. A. Though           B. Although       C. Once              D. As

55. A. which             B.    who        C.      when          D. what

   

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