浙江2010年7月高等教育美国文学选读自考试题

浙江2010年7月高等教育美国文学选读自考试题浙江省2010年7月高等教育自学考试美国文学选读试题课程代码：10055Part I: Choose the relevant match from column B for each item in column A.(1 0%)Section AColumn A Column B( )1.Ezra Pound a. The Marble Faun( )2.William Faulkner b. The Ambassadors( )3.Mark Twain c. The American Tragedy( )4.Henry James d. Hugh Selwyn Mauberley( )5.Theodore Dreiser e. The Adventures of Tom SawyerSection BColumn A Column B( )1.Yank a. Indian Camp( )2.Tom Sawyer b. Daisy Miller( )3.Nick Adams c. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn( )4.Frederic Winterbourne d. The Hairy Ape( )5.Charles Drouet e. Sister CarriePart Ⅱ: Complete each of the following statements with a proper word or a phr ase according to the textbook. (10%)1. To Hawthorne and Melville every person is a sinner and great __________is theref oreindispensable for the improvement of human nature.2. The period ranging from 1865 to 1914 has been referred to as the Age of ______ ____.3. The impact of Darwin’s evolutionary theory on the American thought and the influ ence of the 19th century French literature on the American men of letters gave rise to yet another school of realism: American __________.4. More than five hundred poems Dickinson wrote are about nature, in which her ge neral __________ about the relationship between man and nature is well-expressed.5. In the history of American literature, Ezra Pound was regarded as a leading spoke sman of the fam ous “__________ Movement”.6. Eugene O’Neill is considered the leading __________ of the modern period in Am erican literature.7. Robert Frost is generally considered a regional poet. In his poetry, he made the co lloquial __________ speech into a poetic expression .8. Hemingway’s first novel The Sun Also Rises casts light on a whole generation aft er the __________ and the effects of the war by way of a vivid portrait of “The Lost G eneration.”9. John Steinbeck is a novelist of the 1930s. His The Grapes of Wrath is a record of the life of the dispossessed and the wretched farmers during __________.10. Besides his volumes of poems, Pound also worked out quite a few translations, fr om which his affinity to the __________ and his strenuous effort in the study of Oriental literature can be seen .Part Ⅲ: Each of the following statements below is followed by four alternative answe rs. Choose the one that would best complete the statement. (50%)1. Which of the following cannot be said of American literature from the early 1800s to the beginning of the Civil War?( )A. American type of characters speaking local dialects appeared in the fictionB. There was a stress on law and reason in literary writings of the timeC. There was faith in the value of individualism and self-relianceD. There was a desire for an escape from civilized society and a return to the ennob ling nature2. The main philosophical concern in the debate of Transcendentalism are generally a bout __________.( )A. nature, man and the universeB. the relationship between man and womanC. the development of Romanticism in AmericaD. the cold, rigid rationalism of Unitarianism3. Which of the following book was regarded as the first work that had won financia l success on both sides of the Atlantic in the first half of the 19th century?( )A. The Sketch BookB. Charles the SecondC. The Scarlet LetterD. Moby Dick4. According to Emerson, which of the following is said of nature?( )A. It is emblematic of the spiritua l world, alive with God’s overwhelming presence.B. It exercises a healthy and restorative influence on human mindC. Without nature man can improve himself and become spiritually whole.D. both A and B5. As a man of literary craftsmanship, Hawthorne is good at __________.( )A. exploring the complexity of human psychology, especially the power of blackness deep in people’s heartB. exploring the goodness hidden deeply in people’s heartC. exploring the complexity of human psychology, especia lly the puritans’ confusion before the real worldD. both A and C6. As to the great novel Moby-Dick which of the following statements is right?( )A. It is a symbolic voyage of the mind in quest of the truth and knowledge of the universe.B. It’s a spiritual exploration into man’s deep reality and psychologyC. It is only a simple whaling tale or sea adventureD. both A and B7. The greatest realist Mark Twain has coined the term“ The Gilded Age”, which lat er usually refers to __________ in American history.( )A. the Romantic PeriodB. the Realistic PeriodC. the Modern AgeD. the Postmodern Age8. About the American Naturalism, which of the following statements is right?( )A. They preferred to have their own region and people at the forefront of the stories.B. Their characteristic setting is an isolated town.C. Their characters were conceived more or less complex combinations of inherited at tributes, their habits conditioned by social and economic forces.D. none of the above9. Mark Twain had gradually changed from __________ to __________ by the turn of the century, which could be felt in his books The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and The Mysterious Stranger.( )A. an almost despairing pessimist ...an optimistB. an optimist ... an almost despairing pessimistC. a local colorist ... a naturalistD. a naturalist ... a local colorist10. Which of the following is not written by Henry James?( )A. The Portrait of A Lady and The EuropeansB. The Wings of the Dove and The AmbassadorsC. The Golden Bowl and The Gilded AgeD. What Maisie Knows and The Bostonians11. Which of the following statements is not right about the heroine in the novel Daisy Miller?( )A. She has become a celebrated cultural type who embodies the spirit of the New W orld.B. She comes from the new world but remains traditional and conservative.C. Her innocence turns out to be an admiring but a dangerous quality in the new wo rd.D. The author’s sympathy for her, a tender flower crush ed by the harsh winter in Ro me was easily felt.12. The subjects of Emily Dickinson’s poems are mainly about __________. ( )A. religionB. death and immortalityC. love and natureD. all of the above13. In her quiet and solitary life, Emily Dickinson makes enchanting poetry out of __ ________.( )A. a happy and active lifeB. adventurous experiencesC. a single household and an inactive lifeD. a hard and suffering life14. About the novel Sister Carrie , which of the following statements is right?( )A. The story is about a young sailor, who struggles to reach the upper society but s oon gets disillusioned.B. It is about a Southern aristocratic woman, who refuses to come to terms with the present.C. It tells a story of a country girl, who strives to gain her material rise in big citie s but soon gets tired of her success.D. It is about a young vain girl, who indulges herself in grand parties and luxurious trips but soon becomes penniless.15. The Civil War had transformed America from __________ to __________.( )A. an agrarian community ... a society of freedom and equalityB. an agrarian community ... an industrialized and commercialized societyC. an industrialized and commercialized society ... a highly developed societyD. a poor and backward society ...an industrialized and commercialized society16. At the end of the 19th century, the realists rejected the portrayal of idealized cha racters and events and, instead, sought to __________.( )A. describe the wide range of American experienceB. present the subtleties of human personalityC. show animal nature of human beingsD. both A and B17. About the first few decades of the 20th century, which of the following is right? ( )A. There was a rise in moral standard and it was best described as a spiritual land o f promiseB. Individual power and hope became part of the American experience as a result of the First World War.C. There was a decline in social standard and it was described as a spiritual wastela nd.D. all of the above.18. Eugene O’Neill is remembered for his tragic view of life and most of his plays are about__________. ( )A. the root, the truth of human desires and human frustrationsB. the moral nature of the modern mankindC. the relationship between man and nature as well as man and womanD. the inner contradiction of men before the real world19. In general terms, much serious American literature written from 1912 onwards att empted to convey __________. ( )A. a vision of social breakdown and moral decayB. a vision of social continuity and harmonyC. the continuity and discontinuity between the past and the modern timeD. all of the above20. Which of the following is not said about Pound’s The Cantos?( )A. It traces the rise and fall of eastern and western empires.B. It reflects the moral and social chaos of the modern world.C. It concerns particularly the corruption of America after the heroic time of Jefferso n.D. all of the above21. In his poetic creation, Robert Frost looked upon nature as__________.( )A. the opposite of human societyB. a storehouse of analogies and symbolsC. a contrast to human civilizationD. an ennobling force to purify human soul22. Which of the following is not said about the thematic concerns of Robert Frost ? ( )A. The terror and tragedy in nature as well as its beautyB. The relationship between man and societyC. His love of life and his belief in a serenity coming from workingD. The loneliness and poverty of the isolated human being23. In the play The Hairy Ape, the major character Yank __________.( )A. has a sense of belonging nowhere, hence homelessness and rootlessnessB. is typical of the mood of isolation and alienation in the early twentieth century in the United States onlyC. reflects the problem of modern man’s identityD. both A and C24. Which of the following is properly said of Fitzgerald’s writing style?( )A. The scenic method is explored, each of which consists of one or more dramatic s cenes.B. His intervening passages of narration leaves the tedious process of transition to the author’s imaginationC. The device of having events observed by a “central consciousness” is dropped off.D. His diction and metaphors are not completely original and details sometimes inacc urate.25. Faulkner’s first novel A Rose for Emily is set in the town of __________ in Yo knapatawpha.( )A. JeffersonB. CambridgeC. OxfordD. New AlbanyPart Ⅳ: Interpretation(16%)Read the following selections and then answer the questions.Passage 1Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveller , long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,and having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.1. What does the poet mean symbolically by “road”?2. Why did the speaker choose the road less travelled by?Passage 2There was music from my neighbor’s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champag ne and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the towe r of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his two motor-boats sl it the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam. On week-ends hisRolls Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the r avages of the night before.…I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house I was one of the few guest s who had actually been invited. People were not invited-they went there. They got into a utomobiles which bore them out to Long Island, and somehow they ended up at Gatsby’s door. Once there they were introduced by somebody who knew Gatsby, and after that th ey conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with an amusement park. Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came for the par ty with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission.I had been actually invited. A chauffeur in a uniform of robin’s-egg blue crossed my lawn early that Saturday morning with a surprisingly formal note from his employer: the honor would be entirely Gat sby’s, it said, if I would attend his “little party” that night. He had seen me several times, and had intended to call on me long before, but a peculia r combination of circumstances had prevented it-signed Jay Gatsby, in a majestic hand.Dressed up in white flannels, I went over to his lawn a little after seven, and wande red around rather ill at ease among swirls and eddies of people I didn’t know-though here and there was a face I had noticed on the commuting train. I was immediately struck by the number of young Englishmen dotted about; all well dressed, all looking a little hungr y, and all talking in low, earnest voices to solid and prosperous Americans. I was sure that they were selling something: bonds or insurance or automobiles. They were at least ago nizingly aware of the easy money in the vicinity and convinced that it was theirs for a fe w words in the right key.As soon as I arrived I made an attempt to find my host, but the two or three people of whom I asked his whereabouts stared at me in such an amazed way, and denied so v ehemently any knowledge of his movements, that I slunk off in the direction of the cockt ail table-the only place in the garden where a single man could linger without looking pu rposeless and alone.3. Which novel is this passage taken from? Who is the writer?4.How do you interpret the atmosphere of contradiction which is evoked in this chapt er?Part V: Give brief answers to the following questions. (14%)1. Please give a brief analysis of Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”.2. What is American naturalism? Please make a brief analysis.。