1.2 考研真题与典型题详解
Ⅰ.Fill in the blanks.
1．Beowulf probably existed in its oral form as early as the ________ century and its hero and his adventures are placed in ________ and southern Sweden rather than in England.（国际关系学院2010研）
【答案】6th；Denmark
【解析】《贝奥武夫》最早在公元六世纪开始口头传诵，故事发生在丹麦和瑞典南部，诗中并没有提及英国。
2．________ conquered England on October 14, 1066. From then on began the medieval period.（南开大学2008研）
【答案】Duke of Normandy
【解析】公元1066年，诺曼底公爵，或者叫William the Conqueror（征服者威廉），占领英格兰，从此开始了中世纪时期。
3．The English great writer Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1343 and died in 1400. His most important work is ________, a long poem made up of a general introduction and 24 stories.（南开大学2007研）
【答案】The Canterbury Tales
【解析】乔叟的代表作是《坎特伯雷故事集》，是一首由一篇序言和24个故事组成的长诗。
4．The ________ period witnessed a transition from tribal society to feudalism.
【答案】Anglo-Saxon
【解析】盎格鲁-撒克逊时期，英国由部族社会步入封建社会。
5．The most magnificent prose work of the 15th century is Le Morte D’ Arthur concerning with ________ legend.
【答案】Arthurian
【解析】15世纪左右公认的集大成作品为《亚瑟王之死》，是关于亚瑟王的传奇故事。
6．The only important prose writer in the 15th century is Sir ________.
【答案】Thomas Malory
【解析】十五世纪最著名的散文家是托马斯·马洛礼爵士，他将众多的关于亚瑟王的传奇故事收录为集大成之作《亚瑟王之死》，是英国散文第一部重要的散文。
7．In 55 B.C., Britain was invaded by ________, the Roman conqueror. Along with the invasion came the ________ into Britain.
【答案】Julius Caesar, Roman mode of life
【解析】公元前凯撒大帝率军征服不列颠。在罗马统治期间，罗马生活方式传入不列颠。
8．Angles, Saxons and ________ usually known as Anglo-Saxons are the first Englishmen. Language spoken by them is called _________, which is the foundation of English language and literature.
【答案】Jutes; the Old English
【解析】盎格鲁-撒克逊人通常指盎格鲁、撒克逊、朱特人三个部族的人，他们的语言是古英语。
9．The literature of the Anglo-Saxon period falls naturally into two divisions, ________ and Christian.
【答案】pagan
【解析】盎格鲁-撒克逊时期的英国文学主要是世俗诗和宗教诗两类。
10．In the 8th century, Anglo-Saxon prose appeared. The famous prose writers of that period were Venerable Bede and ________.
【答案】Alfred the Great
【解析】阿尔弗雷德大帝和比德是盎格鲁-撒克逊时期的散文家。
11．In the year 1066, the Normans defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the battle of ________.
【答案】Hastings
【解析】1066年黑斯廷之战，盎格鲁-撒克逊人溃败，诺曼征服开始。
12．The fifteenth century has been traditionally described as the barren age in English literature. But it is the spring tide of English ________.
【答案】ballads
【解析】十五世纪英国歌谣开始兴起。
13．________ is Chaucer’s longest complete poem (about 8, 000 lines) and his greatest artistic achievement.
【答案】Troilus and Criseyde
【解析】《特洛伊罗斯与克瑞西达》是乔叟最长的一首完整诗篇，长达8000多行。
14．The Canterbury Tales contains in fact a general prologue and only ________ tales, of which two are left unfinished.
【答案】24
【解析】乔叟的代表作《坎特伯雷故事集》计划写120个故事，但最后只完成总序和24个故事，其中两个未完成。
15．After the ________ Conquest, feudal system was established in English society.
【答案】Norman
【解析】诺曼征服后英国封建主义制度建立。
Ⅱ.Multiple Choice
1．The history of English literature begins in the ________ century.（北二外2009研）
A. 7th
B. 6th
C. 5th
D. 4th
【答案】C
【解析】英国文学始于盎格鲁-撒克逊人定居英国，即公元450年，所以是五世纪。
2．In English poetry, a quatrain is ________.（北二外2008研）
A. a four-line stanza
B. a couplet
C. a fourteen-line stanza
D. a terza rima
【答案】A
【解析】quatrain即四行诗；a couplet是对句；a fourteen-line stanza是十四行诗，也就是sonnet；a terza rima是三韵句。
3．Knights of the Round Table are characters serving ________ in legends, which depict chivalry in early literature.（北二外2007研）
A. Sir Lancelot
B. Sir Godwin
C. King Arthur
D. King Henry Ⅷ
【答案】C
【解析】圆桌骑士是中世纪传说中亚瑟王宫廷里最高等的骑士，因聚会的桌子是圆桌而得名。
4．Romance was a type of literature that was very popular in the ________.（四川大学2008研）
A. Renaissance period
B. seventeenth century
C. Middle Ages
D. eighteenth century
【答案】C
【解析】Romance是富有浪漫色彩的恋爱故事或冒险故事，是中世纪在欧洲非常流行的一种文学体裁，著名作品如《亚瑟王之死》、《特里斯坦和伊瑟》等。
5．________, the “father of English poetry” and one of the greatest narrative poets of England, was born in London about 1340.
A. Geoffrey Chaucer
B. Sir Gawain
C. Francis Bacon
D. John Dryden
【答案】A
【解析】乔叟被誉为“英国诗歌之父”；培根被认为是现代科学的奠基人，他的《培根散文集》被誉为英国散文发展的里程碑。
6．________ is the first important religious poet in English literature.
A. John Donne
B. George Herbert
C. Caedmon
D. Milton
【答案】C
【解析】英国最早的宗教诗人是Caedmon。
7．The Anglo-Saxons were Christianized in the ________ century.
A. 5th
B. 6th
C. 7th
D. 8th
【答案】C
【解析】七世纪基督教传入英国。
8．________ was the greatest of English religious reformers and the first translator of the Bible.
A. Langland
B. Gower
C. Wycliffe
D. Chaucer
【答案】C
【解析】威克里夫是一位宗教改革家，同时也是把《圣经》翻译成英文的第一人。
9．Beowulf describes the exploits of a ________ hero, Beowulf, in fighting against the monster Grendel, his revengeful mother, and a fire-breathing dragon.
A. Danish
B. Scandinavian
C. English
D. Norwegian
【答案】B
【解析】《贝奥武夫》讲述的故事发生在北欧斯堪的纳维亚半岛。歌颂了主人公贝奥武夫先后战胜巨怪Grendel，Grendel的母亲以及火蛇的英勇事迹。
10．________ was the first to be buried in the Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey.
A. Chaucer
B. Shakespeare
C. Marlowe
D. Spenser
【答案】A
【解析】第一个被安葬于威斯敏斯特大教堂“诗人角”的是乔叟。斯宾塞安葬于其师乔叟的旁边。
Ⅲ. Explain the following terms.
1．heroic couplet（人大2006研；厦门大学2007研；北航2010研）
Key: Heroic couplet: A heroic couplet is a traditional form for English poetry, commonly used for epic and narrative poetry; it refers to poems constructed from a sequence of rhyming pairs of iambic pentameter lines. The rhyme is always masculine. The use of the heroic couplet was first pioneered by Geoffrey Chaucer in The Legend of Good Women and The Canterbury Tales.
2．Freudianism（国际关系学院2007研）
Key: Freudianism: Freudianism derives from Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. Freudianism emphasizes the importance of unconscious forces in determining the beliefs and actions of human beings. The theory also has great influence on literature in the 20th century. A lot of modern writers such as Woolf, Joyce and Lawrence are deeply influenced by Freudianism.
3．epic（天津外国语学院2007研；厦门大学2008研）
Key: Epic: It is, originally, an oral narrative poem, majestic both in theme and style. Epics deal with legendary or historical events of national or universal significance, involving actions of broad sweep and grandeur. Most epics deal with the exploits of a single individual, thereby giving unity to the composition. Great epics include The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer.
4．Alliteration（南开大学2010研）
Key: Alliteration: ①(also known as ‘head rhyme’ or ‘initial rhyme’), the repetition of the same sounds—usually initial consonants of words or of stressed syllables—in any sequence of neighboring words. ②Now an optional and incidental decorative effect in verse or prose, it was once a required element in the poetry of Germanic languages (including Old English and Old Norse) and in Celtic verse. ③Such poetry, in which alliteration rather than rhyme is the chief principle of repetition, is known as alliteration verse; Its rules also allow a vowel sound to alliterate with any other vowel.
Ⅳ. Questions 1 to 3 are based on the following passage of The Canterbury Tales.（南开大学2009研）
From The Canterbury Tales
1．What does the fact that the knight owns fine horses indicate?
2．What does the clothes he wears indicate?
3．What does Geoffrey Chaucer want to show through these details?
Key:
1．The fact indicates that the knight represents a real knight and the ideal of a medieval Christian man-at-arms.
2．The knight wears a fustian tunic stained and dark with smudges, which indicates that he has recently returned from an expedition.
3．Through these details, Chaucer wants to show that the knight is brave, experienced, devout and prudent. The Knight rides at the front of the procession described in the General Prologue, and his story is the first in the sequence. The Host clearly admires the Knight, as does the narrator.
Ⅴ. Short answer questions
1．Why is the Knight first in the General Prologue to tell a tale in Canterbury Tales?（北航2009研）
Key:
According to Chaucer’s words before he introduces the pilgrims, he judges each one by whom they are, what is their degree and their arriving sequence. At that time, the upper class or nobility is represented chiefly by the Knight and his Squire, which means that the Knight has the highest degree among the pilgrims. They are noble for their bravery in the battles and their loyalty to the woman. The Knight tells his tragic love story which was treasured by people at that time. So the Knight is the first to tell a tale. This shows the social class at that time.
Secondly, according to Chaucer’s description, the Knight is in the front of the other entire persons.
2．What are the artistic features of Old English poetry?
Key:
(1) The use of alliteration. Each full line has four stresses with a number of unstressed syllables, three of which begin with the same sound or letter.
(2) The use of the strong stress and the predominance of consonants. Almost all this poetry is composed without rhyme. Each line is divided into two halves and each half has two heavy stresses.
(3) The use of vivid poetic diction and parallel expressions for a single idea, such as the sea is called “swan-road” or “whale-path”, a soldier is called “shield-bearer”, “battle-hero” or “spear-fighter”, etc.
3．What is Chaucer’s contribution to the English language?
Key:
(1) Chaucer’s language is vivid and exact. His words are easy to understand.
(2) He introduced from France the "heroic couplet" to English poetry.
(3) Though influenced by French, and Italian literature models, he is the first important poet to write in the current English language. His production of so much excellent poetry was an important factor in establishing English as the literary language of the country.
4．What are the essential features of romance in the medieval English literature?
Key:
The romance was the prevailing form of literature in the Middle Ages. It was a long composition, sometimes in verse, sometimes in prose, used to sing knightly adventures or other heroic deeds. Its essential features are:
(1) The central character of the romance is the knight, a man of noble birth skilled in the use of weapons. He is commonly described as riding forth to accomplish some missions—to protect the church, to attack infidelity, to rescue a maiden, to meet a challenge or to obey a knightly command.
(2) Romantic love is an important part of the plot in the romance.
(3) It lacks general resemblance to truth or reality.
(4) The structure is loose and episodic, and the language is simple and straight forward.
Ⅵ.Essay questions
1．How did Chaucer’s creative work reflect the changes of the English society in the second half of the 14th century? How much was Chaucer influenced by foreign authors such as Dante or Boccaccio? What are some of the significances of such influences?（人大2007研）
Key:
(1) At that time, the feudal system had already begun to crumble. His work，for the first time in English literature，created a comprehensive realistic picture of the medieval English society and created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life. For example, his masterpiece The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury which are from all walks of life. His characterization is very vivid and the true side of society at that time is revealed.
(2) Dante and Boccaccio not only had direct influence on Chaucer’s poem in form and content, but also had determined effects on his world value. Since then, his literary activities turned into an active and creative phase which is marked by his two long poems, The House of Fame and Troilus and Criseyde. Chaucer mainly wrote three longer poems using the heroic stanza of seven lines. From the perspective of newly citizen class, he held positive attitude towards love and individual happiness and rejected feudalism and religious abstinence.
(3) Chaucer’s poetry traces out a path to the literature of English Renaissance. Chaucer’s poem marks a new step in the author’s progress to maturity and is distinguished for its profound delineation of characters and truthful description of human relations. Chaucer chose the metrical poetry which laid the foundation of the English tonico-syllabic verse. He did much in making the dialect of London.
2．Compare Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales with Old English poetry and the works of other Middle English poets to illustrate that Chaucer is the first realistic writer in English literature.
Key:
①The Old English poetry is specifically Christian, devoted to religious subjects. More importantly, it is almost all in the heroic mode due to the great influence of the heroic ideal, i.e. Beowulf is the ideal of kingly behavior. The idealized hero figures predominantly in Old English literature.
②Middle English romance generally concerns the knight. It makes liberal use of the improbable, often of the supernatural.
③Religious writing reflects the unchanging principles of medieval Christian doctrine, which looks to the world to come for the only answer to men’s troubles. William Langland’s Piers the Plowman reflects the great religious and social issues of his day, yet it is written in the form of a dream vision.
④ It is Chaucer alone who, for the first time in English literature, presented to us a comprehensive realistic picture of the English society of his time and created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life in his masterpiece The Canterbury Tales.