3.3　考研真题和典型题详解

I. Fill in the blanks.

1．In his autobiography, _____ creates the image of a self-made man and demonstrates his belief that the new world of America was a land of _____ which might be met through hard work and wise management. （天津外国语学院 2011 研）

【答案】Benjamin Franklin; opportunities

【解析】富兰克林是美国启蒙时期与独立战争时期的代表人物。他的《自传》是美国第一部成功的传记体作品，文中树立的主人公形象激励了一代又一代的美国人去追求美国梦。

2．Except Common Sense, Paine’s the other two famous works were _____ and _____.

【答案】The Rights of Man; The Age of Reason

【解析】潘恩著名的作品包括《常识》、《人的权利》、《理性的时代》等。

3．Eighteen-century America experienced an age of _____, of _____, and _____ like England and Europe.

【答案】enlightenment; reason; order

【解析】18世纪的美国处于启蒙、理想、秩序的时代。

4．The War of Independence lasted eight years till _____.

【答案】1783

【解析】美国独立战争（1775-1883）是世界史上第一次大规模的殖民地争取民族独立的战争。1775年莱克星敦的枪声拉开了美国独立战争的序幕，至1783年9月3日，英国正式承认美国独立。

5．The most outstanding poet in America of the 18th century was _____.

【答案】Philip Freneau

【解析】菲利普·弗伦诺（Philip Freneau）（1752-1832）美国殖民时期著名诗人，美国革命战争后期最杰出的作家。他被誉为“美国独立革命的诗人”。

6．In American literature, the eighteenth century was an Age of _____ and Revolution.

【答案】Reason

【解析】18世纪的美国处于理性与革命时期。这一时期的美国深受法国启蒙思想的影响，且处于独立革命时期。

II. Multiple choices.

1．Benjamin Franklin is not merely an outstanding politician, a talented inventor but also a famed literary giant. His autobiography set the example of practicing _____ moral disciplines which gave profound influences as the national spirit.（北二外2007研）

A. Quaker’s

B. Puritan

C. Anglican Christian

D. Easter’s

【答案】B

【解析】富兰克林是一位虔诚的清教徒，他的《自传》是奉行清教道德标准的典范，对塑造美国精神产生了重大影响。

2．“These are the times that try men’s souls”，these words were once read to Washington’s troops and did much to spur excitement to further action with hope and confidence. Who is the author of these words?

A. Benjamin Franklin.

B. Thomas Paine.

C. Thomas Jefferson.

D. George Washington.

【答案】B

【解析】“这是考验人的灵魂的时刻”选自潘恩的《美国危机》。

3．Which work is written by Freneau?

A. The Rights of Man.

B. The Wild Honey Suckle.

C. Poor Richard’s Almanac.

D. The Day of Doom.

【答案】B

【解析】《野生的金银花》是弗瑞诺最具代表性的作品。

4．At the Reason and Revolution Period. Americans were influenced by the European movement called the _____.

A. Chartist Movement

B. Romanticist Movement

C. Enlightenment Movement

D. Modernist Movement

【答案】C

【解析】欧洲的启蒙运动对美国理性和独立革命时期产生了深远影响。

5．Who was considered as the “Poet of American Revolution”?

A. Michael Wigglesworth

B. Edward Taylor

C. Anne Bradstreet

D. Philip Freneau

【答案】D

【解析】菲利普·弗伦诺（Philip Freneau）（1752-1832）美国殖民时期著名诗人，美国革命战争后期最杰出的作家。他被誉为“美国独立革命的诗人”。

III. Explain the following terms.

1．Jefferson, Thomas（天津外国语2007研）

Key: Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–1809), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States.

2．the literary form of autobiography（北二外2008研）

Key: the literary form of autobiography：An autobiography is a person’s account of his or her life. It is generally written in the first person, with the author speaking as “I”. Autobiography presents life events as the writer views them, and offers insights into the beliefs and perceptions of the author. Representative writer: Benjamin Franklin and his work: The Autobiography.

IV. Read the following quotations and answer the questions.

Passage 1

These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: ‘This dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods.

Questions:

(1) Which book is this passage taken from?

Key: The American Crisis

(2) Who is the author of this book?

Key: Thomas Paine

(3) Whom is the author praising? Whom is the author criticizing?

Key: Paine is praising those who stand “it”, it referring to “the service of their country”. In the meantime, Paine is criticizing those who shrink from the service of their country in this crisis.

(4) What do you think of the language used in the book?

Key: The language is plain, impressive and forceful. Paine himself once said that his purpose as a writer was to use plain language to make those who can scarcely read understand.

Passage 2

Questions:

(1) Who is the writer of these verses?

Key: Philip Freneau

(2) What is the title of this poem?

Key: “The Wild Honey suckle”

(3) Give a brief comment on this poem.

Key: Here Freneau offers a version of an abundant America with potential for providing a good life for all. The poem is also an indication of his dedication to American subject matter as he examined peculiarly American characteristics of the countryside.

V. Short answer questions.

1．Who wrote The Poor Richard’s Almanac? Make a brief introduction to it.

Key: Benjamin Franklin wrote this work.

①Benjamin Franklin created a character, Poor Richard, in whose name the work appeared, and whose real existence was debated humorously and seriously. For almost a quarter of a century, he kept publishing Poor Richard’s Almanac, expanding its literary part to the intense delight of its readers. ②Apart from poems and essays, he manage to put in a good many adages, and commonsense witticisms which became household words and, for, many mottos of the most typical kind. He did not always write the maxims himself. He borrowed from others and made good use of his own wit and wisdom to simplify and enrich their axiom. There are many similar statements filled almanac, and taught as much as amused. The practical wisdom of Franklin shone forth rays of grandeur from its pages.

2．What is Age of Enlightenment?

Key: ①Age of Enlightenment is a term used to describe the trends in thought and letters in Europe and the American colonies during the 18th century prior to the French Revolution.

②The phrase was frequently employed by writers of the period itself, convinced that they were emerging from centuries of darkness and ignorance into a new age enlightened by reason, science, and a respect for humanity.

VI. Essay question.

1．Write an analysis of Declaration of Independence.

Key: ①The Declaration of Independence, adopted July 4, 1776, not only announced the birth of a new nation; it also set forth a philosophy of human freedom which served as an important force in the western world. Its ideas inspired mass fervor for the American cause, for it instilled among the common people a sense of their own importance, and inspired struggle for personal freedom, self-government, and a dignified place in society.

②In addition, Jefferson’s purpose in writing is to make the experiment of free government so successful that it would be an example to the rest of the world and a moral force in the destiny of mankind. The principles of decentralization of authority, agrarian economy, public education and flexible laws were all by products of the central doctrine of Lockian perfectibility.

③Against this doctrine and formal statement Alexander Hamilton and the other founders of the Federalist party argued for a liberty which comes through submission to authority, in this case a clear and firm system of civil law derived from nature by experience but virtually rigid when once formulated. Man is not consistent in design or action, and the Constitution of the United States, with its added “Bill of Rights” by reflecting two such opposite views as those of Jefferson and Hamilton, probably conies as near to being a description of basic human nature as any document that lawmakers have framed. These views appear again and again, in different form, in America’s national literature.

2．What are the characteristics of Benjamin Franklin’s literary work?

Key: ①The predominant quality in all of Benjamin Franklin’s writing is its genuine humanness; this is what brought the Almanac into instant popularity, and what makes the Autobiography an enduring American classic. It is a quality that had been extremely rare in the earlier colonial literature. A keen sense of humor, also, homely and blunt but true, is constant in Franklin’ s work and one of the essential factors in its success.

②Franklin’s literary work was thoroughly typical of himself. To him the matter of “getting on” in the world was a duty; and to enable others to see the advantages of integrity, application, and thrift was his self-appointed task. The absence of ideality is obvious in all his compositions. He never reached the high levels of imaginative art, but on this lower plane of material interest and everyday life he was, and is, without a peer among writers. The works which have been mentioned possess a universal charm.

③the style of the book is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision. The lucidity of the narrative, the absence of ornaments in wording and complex, involved structures in syntax, and the Puritan abhorrence of paradox are all well graphically demonstrated here and in the whole of the book. Taken as a whole, it is safe to say that the book is an exemplary illustration of the American style of writing.