题目内容
Steinbeck, John, 1902-68, American writer, born in Salinas, Calif., studied at Stanford. He is probably best remembered for his strong sociological novel The Grapes of Wrath, considered one of the great American novels of the 20th century. Steinbeck's early novels-Cup of Gold (1929), The Pastures of Heaven (1932), and To a God Unknown (1933)-attracted little critical attention, but Tortilla Flat (1935), an affectionate(亲切的)yet realistic novel about the lovely, Spanish-speaking poor of Monterey, was enthusiastically received.
A merciful understanding of the world's poor was to be Steinbeck's mark. The novel In Dubious Battle (1936) defends striking immigrant agricultural workers in the California fields. In the novel Of Mice and Men (1937; later made into a play), Steinbeck again presents immigrant workers, but this time in terms of human worth and integrity(完好)-a theme he also used in The Moon Is Down (1942; later made into a play), about Norwegian resistance to the Nazis. The Grapes of Wrath (1939; Pulitzer Prize), while treating the hard situation of dispossessed Dust Bowl farmers during the 1930s, presents a universal picture of victims of disaster. Steinbeck's description of the westward migration of the Joad family, and their following struggles in the agricultural industry of California, is realistic and moving, and he presents his inferior characters with nobility.
Steinbeck's other works are diverse, ranging from the literal account of a voyage, The Sea of Cortez (1941; written with the marine biologist E. F. Ricketts),to a moral story, The Pearl (1948); to a French folk piece, The Short Reign of Pippin IV (1957). Love of his native land shines through the delicately nostalgic story "The Red Pony" in The Long Valley (1938). The somewhat emotional attitude of Tortilla Flat appears again in Cannery Row (1945), The Wayward Bus (1947), and Sweet Thursday (1954).
【小题1】 How many novels adapted into a play are mentioned in the passage ?_________.
A.Nine | B.Seven | C.Four | D.Two |
A.The Grapes of Wrath, is considered one of the great novels of this century. |
B.Only in the novel In Dubious Battle Steinbeck referred to immigrant workers. |
C.In The Grapes of Wrath, farmers living in Dust Bowl possess almost nothing. |
D.All Steinbeck’s late works are related to his love of his native land. |
A.did not draw much attention until Tortilla Flat was published |
B.wrote all his novels in terms of human worth and integrity |
C.presented poor but noble characters in all his novels |
D.showed his love for his native land in The Short Reign of Pippin IV |
A.works | B.life | C.fame | D.prize |
【小题1】D
【小题2】C
【小题3】A
【小题4】A
解析
John Steinbeck once said, “All Americans believe they are born fishermen. For a man to admit to a distaste in fishing would be like denouncing (公开指责) mother – love or hating moonlight.”
I can’t say that I’m the biggest John Steinbeck fan. Actually, the only thing I can ever remember reading by him was “The pearl” when I was in middle school, but I couldn’t agree more with the man when it comes to fishing. Whether I am on a boat in the middle of the Lay Lake, fishing off the shores of the Florida Keys for tarpon or catching rainbow trout in the Shoshone River of Wyoming, fishing is my life.
According to the American Sports Fishing Association, the fishing industry brings in more than $ 116 billion per year from fishermen across the country.
Though a beautiful picture to imagine, fishing is much more than that. Fishing is a way of life for many people and a way to escape everyday stress. Being a fisherman makes me a member of a wonderful group of people extending to all walks of life. Even President Obama can be found fishing on his farm in Texas with his good friend Roland Martin when the job gets too stressful.
I can remember fishing with my grandfather when I was 5 years old on his boat at Lake Mitchell. Although I didn’t understand what I was doing, I did know that my grandfather was happy and that made me happy. Since then I’ve spent the past 16 years on the rivers and lakes of Alabama.
After days of practice, before and after work, I slowly developed an understanding of fishing. My boss, Ric Horst, took me back to the Shoshone, and I managed to bring in a 19–inch cutthroat trout. Fishing with Ric was a life–changing experience for me. He not only showed me how to fish correctly, but also told me how fishing could be a way to escape your problems.
Since then, prime–time season seems to take forever to arrive.
Now, with the ending of February and beginning of March in sight, the excitement of heading out Lake Tuscaloosa or Lake Lurleen before classes and catching something has finally returned.
【小题1】What John Steinbeck said in the first paragraph implies that ______________.
A.Americans are believed to be the offspring of fishermen |
B.it is unthinkable for an American to admit his dislike of fishing |
C.all Americans are expert at fishing |
D.those who dislike fishing would not love their mother |
A.when he was reading “The pearl” by John Steinbeck |
B.when he went fishing with his grandfather at Lake Mitchell |
C.after he had spent 16 years on the rivers and lakes of Alabama |
D.after he went fishing with his boss, Ric Horst on the Shoshone |
A.The author is at most 21 years old. |
B.The author regards fishing as a very important part in his life. |
C.The author agreed with John Steinbeck the most when he was in middle school. |
D.President Obama often goes fishing in public in order to collect idea for his job. |
A.people can get to know VIPs when fishing. |
B.people can smooth away all the troubles by fishing |
C.Fishing is a way of communication |
D.Fishing is a way to make a living for most American people |
A.To describe the writer’s experience and understanding of fishing. |
B.To explain the reason why so many Americans like fishing. |
C.To make others understand the industry of fishing. |
D.To express his opinions about fishing in different time of the year. |
Franz Kafka wrote that “a book must be the ax (斧子) for the frozen sea inside us. ”I once shared this sentence with a class of seventh graders, and it didn’t seem to require any explanation.
We’d just finished John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. When we read the end together out loud in class, my toughest boy, a star basketball player, wept a little, and so did I. “Are you crying?” one girl asked, as she got out of her chair to take a closer look. “I am,” I told her, “and the funny thing is I’ve read it many times.”
But they understood. When George shoots Lennie, the tragedy is that we realize it was always going to happen. In my 14 years of teaching in a New York City public middle school, I’ve taught kids with imprisoned parents, abusive parents, irresponsible parents; kids who are parents themselves; kids who are homeless; kids who grew up in violent neighborhoods. They understand, more than I ever will, the novel’s terrible logic—the giving way of dreams to fate (命运).
For the last seven years, I have worked as a reading enrichment teacher, reading classic works of literature with small groups of students from grades six to eight. I originally proposed this idea to my headmaster after learning that a former excellent student of mine had transferred out of a selective high school—one that often attracts the literary-minded children of Manhattan’s upper classes—into a less competitive setting. The daughter of immigrants, with a father in prison, she perhaps felt uncomfortable with her new classmates. I thought additional “cultural capital” could help students like her develop better in high school, where they would unavoidably meet, perhaps for the first time, students who came from homes lined with bookshelves, whose parents had earned Ph. D.’s.
Along with Of Mice and Men, my groups read: Sounder, The Red Pony, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. The students didn’t always read from the expected point of view. About The Red Pony, one student said, “it’s about being a man, it’s about manliness. ”I had never before seen the parallels between Scarface and Macbeth, nor had I heard Lady Macbeth’s soliloquies (独白) read as raps (说唱), but both made sense; the interpretations were playful, but serious. Once introduced to Steinbeck’s writing, one boy went on to read The Grapes of Wrath and told me repeatedly how amazing it was that “all these people hate each other, and they’re all white.” His historical view was broadening, his sense of his own country deepening. Year after year, former students visited and told me how prepared they had felt in their first year in college as a result of the classes.
Year after year, however, we are increasing the number of practice tests. We are trying to teach students to read increasingly complex texts, not for emotional punch (碰撞) but for text complexity. Yet, we cannot enrich (充实) the minds of our students by testing them on texts that ignore their hearts. We are teaching them that words do not amaze but confuse. We may succeed in raising test scores, but we will fail to teach them that reading can be transformative and that it belongs to them.
【小题1】The underlined words in Paragraph 1 probably mean that a book helps to __________.
A.realize our dreams | B.give support to our life |
C.smooth away difficulties | D.awake our emotions |
A.Because they spent much time reading it. |
B.Because they had read the novel before. |
C.Because they came from a public school. |
D.Because they had similar life experiences. |
A.she was a literary-minded girl | B.her parents were immigrants |
C.she couldn’t fit in with her class | D.her father was then in prison |
A.creatively | B.passively | C.repeatedly | D.carelessly |
A.introduce classic works of literature |
B.advocate teaching literature to touch the heart |
C.argue for equality among high school students |
D.defend the current testing system |
Franz Kafka wrote that “a book must be the ax (斧子) for the frozen sea inside us. ”I once shared this sentence with a class of seventh graders, and it didn’t seem to require any explanation.
We’d just finished John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. When we read the end together out loud in class, my toughest boy, a star basketball player, wept a little, and so did I. “Are you crying?” one girl asked, as she got out of her chair to take a closer look. “I am,” I told her, “and the funny thing is I’ve read it many times.”
But they understood. When George shoots Lennie, the tragedy is that we realize it was always going to happen. In my 14 years of teaching in a New York City public middle school, I’ve taught kids with imprisoned parents, abusive parents, irresponsible parents; kids who are parents themselves; kids who are homeless; kids who grew up in violent neighborhoods. They understand, more than I ever will, the novel’s terrible logic—the giving way of dreams to fate (命运).
For the last seven years, I have worked as a reading enrichment teacher, reading classic works of literature with small groups of students from grades six to eight. I originally proposed this idea to my headmaster after learning that a former excellent student of mine had transferred out of a selective high school—one that often attracts the literary-minded children of Manhattan’s upper classes—into a less competitive setting. The daughter of immigrants, with a father in prison, she perhaps felt uncomfortable with her new classmates. I thought additional “cultural capital” could help students like her develop better in high school, where they would unavoidably meet, perhaps for the first time, students who came from homes lined with bookshelves, whose parents had earned Ph. Ds.
Along with Of Mice and Men, my groups read: Sounder, The Red Pony, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. The students didn’t always read from the expected point of view. About The Red Pony, one student said, “it’s about being a man, it’s about manliness.”I had never before seen the parallels between Scarface and Macbeth, nor had I heard Lady Macbeth’s soliloquies (独白) read as raps (说唱), but both made sense; The interpretations were playful, but serious. Once introduced to Steinbeck’s writing, one boy went on to read The Grapes of Wrath and told me repeatedly how amazing it was that “all these people hate each other, and they’re all white.” His historical view was broadening, his sense of his own country deepening. Year after year, former students visited and told me how prepared they had felt in their first year in college as a result of the classes.
Year after year, however, we are increasing the number of practice tests. We are trying to teach students to read increasingly complex texts, not for emotional punch (碰撞) but for text complexity. Yet, we cannot enrich (充实) the minds of our students by testing them on texts that ignore their hearts. We are teaching them that words do not amaze but confuse. We may succeed in raising test scores, but we will fail to teach them that reading can be transformative and that it belongs to them.
【小题1】The underlined words in Paragraph 1 probably mean that a book helps to __________.
A.realize our dreams | B.give support to our life |
C.smooth away difficulties | D.awake our emotions |
A.Because they spent much time reading it. |
B.Because they had read the novel before. |
C.Because they came from a public school. |
D.Because they had similar life experiences. |
A.she was a literary-minded girl | B.her parents were immigrants |
C.she couldn’t fit in with her class | D.her father was then in prison |
A.creatively | B.passively | C.repeatedly | D.carelessly |
A.introduce classic works of literature |
B.advocate(倡导) teaching literature to touch the heart |
C.argue for equality among high school students |
D.defend the current testing system |