《当代散文赏析》考试重点

《当代散文赏析》复习重点和考试题型

考试题型

I. Paraphrase in English the parts underlined in the following (2x10=20%) 2到3段来自我讲课的重点段落unit 2, unit3, unit 6, unit 7, unit 8, unit 9, unit 12,unit13 unit 15

II Rewrite the following (2x5=10%) 高级英语（二）教与学指南unit 3, 8, 11, 13

的rewriting

III Translate the following parts into English (40%) 2到3段来自我讲课的重点段落unit 2, unit3, unit 6, unit 7, unit 8, unit 9, unit 12,unit13 unit 15

IV Writing (30%)

以下是复习的主要重点段落（大家好好做一下高级英语（二）教与学指南相应的练习）

Unit 2

In fact, there is a long and honorable history of procrastination to suggest that many ideas and decisions may well improve if postponed. It is something of a truism that to put off making a decision is itself a decision. The parliamentary process is essentially a system of delay and deliberation. So, for that matter, is the creation of a great painting, or an entree, or a book, or a building like Blenheim Palace, which took the Duke of Marlborough’s architects and laborers 15 years to construct. In the process, the design can mellow and marinate. Indeed, hurry can be the assassin of elegance. As T. H. White, author of Sword in the Stone, once wrote, time “is not meant to be devoured in an hour or a day, but to be consumed delicately and gradually and without haste.”

Unit 3

In a primitive society, for example, men pictured the world as large, fearsome, hostile, and beyond human control. Therefore they built heavy, walls of huge boulders, behind which they could feel themselves to be in a delimited space that was controllable and safe; these heavy walls expre ssed man’s fear of the outer world and his need to find protection, however illusory. It might be argued that the undeveloped technology of the period precluded the construction of more delicate walls. This is of course true. Still, it was not technology, but a fearful attitude toward the world, which made people want to build walls in the first place. The greater the fear, the heavier the wall, until in the tombs of ancient kings we find structures that are practically all wall, the fear of dissolution being the ultimate fear.

Unit 6

There seems to be a general assumption that brilliant people cannot stand routine; that they need a varied, exciting life in order to do their best. It is also assumed that dull people are particularly suited for dull work. We are told that the reason the present-day young protest so loudly against the dullness of factory jobs is that they are better educated and brighter than the young of the past.

The outstanding characteristic of man’s creativeness is the ability to 1trans mute trivial impulses into momentous consequences. The greatness of man is in 2what he can do with petty grievances and joys, and with common physiological pressures and hungers. “When I have a little 3vexation,” wrote Keats, “it grows in five minutes into a theme for Sophocles.” To a creative individual all experience is 4seminal --- all events are 5equidistant from new ideas and 6insights --- and his 7inordinate humanness shows itself in the ability to make the trivial and common reach an enormous way.

Ch ildren and mature people 8thrive on dull routine, while the adolescent, who has lost the child’s capacity for concentration a nd is without the inner 9resources of the mature, needs excitement and novelty to 10stave off boredom.

People who find dull jobs unendurable are often dull people who do not know what to do with themselves when at leisure. Children and mature people thrive on dull routine, while the adolescent, who has lost the child’s capacity for concentration and is without the inner resources of the mature, needs excitement and novelty to save off boredom.

Unit 7

For the Greeks, beauty was a virtue: a kind of excellence. Persons then were assumed to be what we now have to call --- lamely, enviously --- whole persons. If it did occur to the Greeks to distinguish between a person’s “inside” and “outside,” they still expected that inner beauty would be matched by - beauty of the other kind. The well-born young Athenians who gathered around Socrates found it quite paradoxical that their hero was so intelligent, so brave, so honorable, so seductive --- and so ugly. One of Socrates’ main pedagogical acts was to be ugly — and teach those innocent, no doubt splendid-looking disciples of his how full of paradoxes life really was. 0ne could hardly ask for more important evidence of the dangers of considering persons as split between what is “inside” and what is “outside” than that interminable half-comic half-tragic tale, the oppression of women.

Unit 8

One of the major pleasures in life is appetite, and one of our major duties should be to preserve it. Appetite is the 1keenness of living; it is one of the senses that tells you that you are still 2curious to exist, that you 3still have an edge on your longings and want to bite into the world and taste its 4multitudinous flavors and juices.

By appetite, of course, I don’t mean just the 5lust for food, but any condition of unsatisfied desire, any 6burning in the bl ood that proves you want more than you’ve got, and that you haven’t yet used up your life. Wilde sai d he felt sorry for those who 7never got their heart’s desire, but sorrier still for those who did. I got mine once only, and it nearly killed me, and I’ve always preferred 8wanting to having since.

Besides, the whole 9toffee-ness of toffees was 10imperceptibly diminished by the gross act of having eaten it.

Unit 9

Law-and-order is the longest-running and probably the best-loved political issue in U.S. history. Yet it is painfully apparent that millions of Americans who would never think of themselves as law-breakers, let alone criminals, are taking increasing liberties with the legal codes that are designed to protect and nourish their society. Indeed, there are moments today --- amid outlaw litter, tax cheating, illicit noise and motorized anarchy --- when it seems as though the scofflaw represents the wave of the future. A Harvard Sociologist suspects that a majority of Americans have blithely taken to committing supposedly minor derelictions as a matter of course. Already, he also says, the ethic of U. S. society is in danger of becoming this: “You’re a fool if you obey the rules.”

Unit 12

America was a land that was beginning all over again, dedicated to nothing much more complicated than the rather hazy belief that all men had equal rights and should have an equal chance in the world. In such a land Lee stood for the feeling that it was somehow of advantage to human society to have a pronounced inequality in the social structure. There should be a leisure class, backed by ownership of land; in turn, society itself should be keyed to the land as the chief source of wealth and influence. It would bring forth (according to this ideal) a class of men with a strong sense of obligation to the community; men who lived not to gain advantage for themselves, but to meet the solemn obligations which had been laid on them by the very fact that they were privileged. From them the country would get its leadership; to them it could look for the higher values --- of thought, of conduct, of personal deportment --- to give it strength and virtue.

Unit 13

A euphemism is commonly defined as an 1auspicious or exalted term (like “sanitation engineer”) that is used in place of a mor e 2down-to-earth term (like “garbage man”). People who 3are partial to euphemisms 4stand accused of being “5phony” or trying to bide what it is they are really talking about. And there is no doubt that in some situations the accusation is entirely proper. For example, one of the more 6detestable euphemisms I have come across in recent years is the t erm “Operation Sunshine,” which

is the name the U. S. Government gave to some experiments it conducted with the hydrogen bomb in the South. Pacific. It is obvious that the government, in choosing this name, was trying to 7expunge the hideous imagery that the bomb evokes and in so doing committed, as I see it, an immoral act. But there is another side to euphemizing that is worth mentioning, and a few words here in its defense will not be 8amiss. What I am saying is that the process of euphemizing has no moral content. The moral 9dimensions are supplied by what the words 10in question express, what they want us to value and to see.

Unit 15

Just recently a committee meeting at the University of Colora5do was interrupted by the spectacle of a young man 1scaling the wall of the library just outside the window. Discussion of new interdisciplinary courses halted as we silently hoped he had discipline enough to return safely to the earth. Hope was all we could offer 2from our vantage point in Ketchum Hall, the impulse to rush out and catch him being 3checked by the realization of futility.

The incident reinforced my sense that mountaineering serves as an 4apt analogy for the art of teaching. The excitement, the risk, the need for 5rigorous discipline all correspond, though the image I have in mind is not that of the solitary adventurer rappelling off a wall, but that of a Swiss guide leading an expedition.

1. My father’s negative response was not so much to the architecture as to a violation of his concept of the n ature of money. The architecture itself didn’t cause so much of _______________

2. It might be argued that the undeveloped technology of the period precluded the construction of more delicate walls.

It was possibly because of the undeveloped technology of the period _______________

3. These men were bringing the Civil War to its virtual finish.

Due to these men’s act, the Civil War ______________

4. Their behavior there put all succeeding generations of Americans in their debt.

All succeeding generations of Americans owe ________________

5. This sort of process—giving pretty names to essentially ugly realities—is what has given euphemizing such a bad name.

For this sort of process—giving pretty names to essentially ugly realities—, euphemizing has been ___________________

试题样题（题型例释）

I. Paraphrase in English the parts underlined in the following (20%):

Besides, the whole 9toffee-ness of toffees was 10imperceptibly diminished by the gross act of having eaten it.

II. Rewrite the following (10%)

For each of the sentences below, write a new sentence as close in meaning as possible to the original sentence by using the given words as the beginning.

The outstanding characteristic of man’s creativeness is the ability to transmute trivial impulses into momentous consequences.

Man’s creativeness is especially shown in the fact that_________

III. Translate the following underlined parts into English (40%)

美国是一个一切从头越的国家，它致力于实现一种复杂而又相当模糊的信念：人人都享有平等的权利，并应该享受平等的生存机会。

IV. Writing (30%)

Directions:

For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition based on the title: Should Firecrackers Be Banned? You should base your composition on the following outline (given in Chinese).

1.有人认为放鞭炮是好事，为什么？

2.有人认为放鞭炮是坏事，为什么？

3.我的看法

There has been much controversy over setting off firecrackers in the past years,with each party owning convincing evidences. Those who are in favor of setting firecrackers claim that it is an ancient Chinese custom that should be preserved. They also argue that firecrackers make festivals and holiday occasions more colorful and entertaining for both adults and children. Without firecrackers, festivals would become cold and cheerless.

On the other hand, there are many people who are of the opinion that firecrackers should be banned. They point out that firecrackers are responsible for fires which destroy property, and for injuries suffered both by the people who set them off and by innocent bystanders. Besides, they maintain that firecrackers lead to a waste of money and resources.

Personally, I think that both sides have something right. Actually, firecrackers should be viewed as a two-edged sword, which presents us with both benefits and troubles. But we should not give up eating for fear of choking. The best policy, as I see it, is to maximize their advantages and minimize their unhealthy influence, so that they can benefit us in a better way.

段落的衔接

Connective words or phrases can be used point out the thought relationship between sentences. Here is a list of some commonly used connectives:

1)表示列举或次序：first, firstly, first of all, above all, to begin with, in the first place, for one thing; second, secondly,

in the second place, for another; finally, last but not least

2)表示递进：besides, plus, moreover, furthermore, in addition, additionally, more important, most important

3)表示举例：for example, for instance, as an example, as an illustration, to illustrate, such as(介)…

4)表示对比：similarly, likewise, in the same way, equally important; on the contrary, conversely, in contrast, by

contrast, on the other hand, otherwise, whereas（连）

5)表示让步：though/although（连）, even though（连）, in spite of（介）, despite（介）, it is true that（连）, admittedly,

6)表示转折：but, yet, however, nevertheless, instead

7)表示原因：because（连）, as（连）, since（连）, for（连）, because of（介）, owing to（介）, due to（介）,

on account of（介）, as a result of（介）

8)表示结果：so（连）, thus, consequently, hence, therefore, accordingly, as a result, as a consequence, on that account

9)表示强调：in fact, actually, indeed, certainly, chiefly, especially, particularly,

10)表示总结：in conclusion, in short, in brief, in summary, on the whole, to sum up, to conclude

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic On the Internet to a reader at your age but with little knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of the Internet.

You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below in Chinese.

1.目前Internet在我们生活中的地位。

2.Internet在我们生活中有利和不利的方面。

3.结论：我们对Internet应该采取什么样的态度。

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Should the University Campus Be Open to Tourists? You should write at Least 150 words following the outline given below:

1. 名校校园正成为旅游新热点

2. 校园是否应对游客开放，人们看法不同

3. 我认为…

Directions: For this part, you are allowed to write a composition on the topic “Should Jaywalkers（乱穿马路的人）Be Fined?”. You should write at least 150 words based on the outline below.

1. It is common to see pedestrians crossing in the middle of a street or ignoring a traffic light.

2. The measure of fining jaywalkers has provoked widespread controversy.

3. How to resolve the problem?

Directions:For this part, you are allowed thirty minutes to write a short essay entitled Reduce Waste on

Campus. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below:

1．有些大学校园浪费的现象日益严重

2．浪费的危害

3．杜绝浪费，从我做起

Reduce Waste on Campus

(a)

第一段：

Nobody could have failed to apparently notice the fact has become an increasingly grave problem in many campuses. Much food are left in the plates and dumped into the trash can in the dining hall. Blank or half blank pieces of paper are left on the desks in the classroom. Taps are left open and water left running or dripping all the time In the dorm building. And there can be more such examples.

可以将划线部分组合成一句：如下

in the

in the in the dorm

it put virtue of hard work and simple living and may leads to a luxurious life style, which is dangerous to the souls of

mankind.

可以将划线部分组合成一句：如下

第三段：

In view of the seriousness of this problem, it is high time that effective measures must be taken before things get worse.First, it is essential that regulations be worked out and enforced to

students should enhance their awareness of saving resources. Only with these measures taken is it

for us to believe that the problem will be solved in the near future.