Question

Doris Lessing was born in 1919 in Persia, moving as a child with her family to southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, where she stayed in school only to the age of 14.

A year after moving to London, she published her first novel in 1950. The Grass is Singing examines unbridgeable racial conflict(冲突) in colonial Africa through the eyes of a white farmer’s wife and her black servant.

Her literary breakthrough came in 1962 with publication of The Golden Notebook, seen by many, though not necessarily Lessing, as a pioneering work of modern feminism(女权运动). A separated study of the mind of the main character, Amma Wulf, the novel explores her thoughts about Africa, politics and relationships with men and sex.

Lessing’s themes changed to psychology in her works from the 1960s, and by the 1970s the was extremely interested in the Islamic mystic tradition of Sufism(苏菲教派). Her turn toward science fiction with the Canopus series in the early 1980s was not warmly received by traditionalist critics, but she has continued to win new readers and numerous literary awards, including the David Cohen British Literary Prize and the Companion of Honour from the Royal Society of Literature, both in 2001.

Following the announcement, the Horace Engdahl told VOA why he was personally so pleased with Lessing’s selection.

“She is one of the truly great writers－of novels, short stories, fiction and non-fiction,” Engdahl said. “She is one of the few writers who have had the courage to uphold the principle of equality between the male and female experience, and she has given the impulse(冲动) to numbers of other women writers. And she is really the mother of a school that is one of the most important in our contemporary literature.”

At 87, Doris Lessing is the oldest Nobel Literature winner sine the first prizes were awarded in 1901.

1.What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Doris Lessing writes The Golden Notebook

B．Doris Lessing is a pioneer of modern feminism

C．Doris Lessing wins the Nobel Prize for Literature

D．Doris Lessing is concerned about Africa

2.It can be inferred from the passage that      .

A．there are only two characters in The Grass is Singing

B．The Golden Notebook is regarded as Lessing’s masterpiece by herself

C．life in Africa in her early age lays a solid foundation for her writing

D．Doris Lessing is strongly against traditional culture in Africa

3.According to the fourth paragraph,       .

A．Lessing began to believe in Christ in the 1970s

B．Lessing’s science fiction won readers

C．Lessing had won two literary medals for her writings

D．Lessing changed her themes to meet the needs of traditional critics

4.According to the Horace Engdahl, Lessing wins Nobel Prize mainly because       .

A．she has rich experience in living in Africa

B．she is a head master of an important school

C．she encourages women writers to struggle against men

D．she makes great contributions to equal rights for women

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.C

2.C

3.B

4.D  

【解析】

试题分析：本文介绍了诺贝尔文学奖得主Doris Lessing的生平和她的文学成就。

1.主旨题：文章最后一段At 87, Doris Lessing is the oldest Nobel Literature winner sine the first prizes were awarded in 1901.点题选C

2.推理题：从第三段的句子：A separated study of the mind of the main character, Amma Wulf, the novel explores her thoughts about Africa, politics and relationships with men and sex.可知在非洲的经历给她打下坚实的基础。选C

3.推理题：从第四段的句子Her turn toward science fiction with the Canopus series in the early 1980s was not warmly received by traditionalist critics, but she has continued to win new readers and numerous literary awards, 可知她的科幻小说赢得了读者。选B

4.推理题：从倒数第二段的句子：“She is one of the few writers who have had the courage to uphold the principle of equality between the male and female experience, and she has given the impulse(冲动) to numbers of other women writers.可知她获得诺贝尔文学奖主要是因为她对妇女的平等做出了贡献。选D  

考点：考查人物传记类短文

点评：这篇文章题型有细节题也有推理题，在答题中，应首先略读每题的信息，把几个选项含义理解透，抓住关键信息，要求学生在把握文章主旨的基础上，也要留意细节，对一些长难句的理解要准确。