Question

When Oscar Pistorius was convicted (证明有罪的)murder last month, the judge described the case as a “human tragedy of Shakespearean proportions”. The Paralympic athlete’s fall from grace made this comparison appropriate: overcoming severe disability to reach “Olympian heights”, falling in love with a beautiful model, and, in a coincidence that wouldn’t be out of place in one of the plays, taking her life on Valentine’s Day. Mr. Pistorius’s tragic flaw was that he was an excessive paranoia（偏执狂）, which showed itself in an enthusiasm for guns.

Mr. Pistorius’s case is, indeed, peculiarly Shakespearean. But Justice Eric Leach, who delivered the judgment, is but one of those who have turned to the playwright in times of legal need. In 2012, Britain’s High Court quoted “King Lear” in a trial regarding a “threatening” joke on Twitter — they eventually overturned a conviction on the grounds that social-media users “are free to speak not what they ought to say, but what they feel”. A choice snippet of “Hamlet” (“a little patch of ground that hath no profit in it but the name”) was quoted in a 2008 boundary dispute. “Henry VIII” was called forth by Senator Sam Ervin Jr during the Watergate hearings. The condemnation of Dzokhar Tsarnaev, involved in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, was sealed with lines from “Julius Caesar”: “the evil that men do lives after them; the good is often buried with their bones.”

Lawyers’ love of Shakespeare is appropriate given that more of his lines are devoted to discussing law than any other profession. Some think his knowledge of the law was so detailed that the “real” Shakespeare must have been a lawyer. A study by Scott Dodson and Ami Dodson published last year set out to discover “the most literary justice” of those currently sitting(开庭), and which authors were regularly turned to for quotable wisdom. The “most abundant citer and the widest read” was found to be Antonin Scalia, and — no surprise — William Shakespeare topped the list of the often-quoted, along with Lewis Carroll. Both Shakespeare and Carroll accumulated sixteen references from five justices. Other popular authors among the bench were George Orwell, Charles Dickens, Aldous Huxley and Aesop.

The words of Shakespeare are likely to be sounded around courtrooms for decades to come as many universities — particularly in America and Britain — have included him in their law courses. Harvard Law School offers a seminar which focuses entirely on “justice and morality in the plays of Shakespeare”. King’s College London’s “Shakespeare and the Law” model is co-taught by the Literature and Law faculties, and explores “the role of the law in mediating the place of the individual within society”. There are sensible reasons behind this; the University of Southampton, in line with recent studies, states that it offers the opportunity to study law through a literary prism of Shakespeare, Dickens, Kafka and others in order to “help law students to become more ethically sharp”. A study argues that reading literary fiction makes people show empathy, challenge prejudice, and be more flexible in their decision-making. A literary sensibility enables lawyers to present clear, structured opinions and briefs.

But what is it about the work of Shakespeare, in particular, that lends itself to legal quotation and reflection? After all, as Robert Peterson pointed out in “The Bard and the Bench”, all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays have been quoted by American courts, in over 800 judicial opinions. One answer lies in the fact that Shakespeare’s status embodies high culture; quoting him seeks to invest the judgment with credibility and induce a sense of history. Mr. Peterson notes that this can “drive decisions in authentic ways”. Another option is Shakespeare’s universality — everyone has either read, or claims to have read, plays like “Hamlet”. His works have become globally shared; the term “Shakespearean tragedy” induces a rise-and-fall story even if the listener is not familiar with the works themselves. The horrifying details of Mr. Pistorius’s actions on that night, placed in a familiar Shakespearean frame, helps members of the court, and the public, to make sense of the unnecessary bloodshed.

1.Why is Oscar Pistorius mentioned in the first paragraph?

A. To introduce the topic of the passage.

B. To explain why he was announced guilty of murder.

C. To show the appropriateness of Shakespeare’s comparison.

D. To highlight how Shakespeare influenced his conviction.

2.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Studying law makes people more flexible in making right decisions.

B. The quotation from Shakespeare in court will keep up in the following decades.

C. The accusation against Twitter was overturned by Britain’s High Court in 2012.

D. It is a must for law students in America and Britain to take courses in Shakespeare’s play.

3.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “embodies” in the last paragraph?

A. Creates.    B. Shapes.

C. Promotes.    D. Represents.

4.The reason why Shakespeare is often quoted in court is that__________.

A. he is universally recognized as a productive playwright

B. the quotation from him adds credibility to the judgment

C. there are many professional legal terms in his works

D. Shakespearean tragedy is globally read by people

5.How is the passage mainly developed?

A. By listing data.    B. By presenting examples.

C. By analyzing phenomena.    D. By making comparisons.

6.Which of the following is the most suitable title for the passage?

A. Why Lawyers Love Shakespeare

B. Famous Quotations from Shakespeare

C. How Shakespeare Created Popular Works

D. The Most Influential Playwright in History

Answer

1. A

2. B

3. D

4. B

5. C

6. A

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。文章叙述的是律师喜欢引用莎士比亚的语言。莎士比亚经常在法庭上被引用的原因是他的话增加了判决的可信度莎士比亚在法庭上的引语将在今后几十年里继续沿用。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段第一句When Oscar Pistorius was convicted (证明有罪的)murder last month, the judge described the case as a “human tragedy of Shakespearean proportions”.可知，第一段提到奥斯卡·皮斯托瑞斯是为了介绍这篇文章的主题，也就是人们喜欢在法庭上引用莎士比亚的话，故选A。

2.推理判断题。根据第一段第一句The words of Shakespeare are likely to be sounded around courtrooms for decades to come as many universities可知，莎士比亚在法庭上的引语将在今后几十年里继续沿用。故选B。

3.词义猜测题。根据最后一段中One answer lies in the fact that Shakespeare’s status embodies high culture; quoting him seeks to invest the judgment with credibility and induce a sense of history. 一个答案是莎士比亚的地位体现了高雅文化；引用他的话，是为了让判断具有可信度，并引发历史感。由此推知划线词的意思是“莎士比亚的悲剧被全世界的人所读”，故选D。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段中One answer lies in the fact that Shakespeare’s status embodies high culture; quoting him seeks to invest the judgment with credibility and induce a sense of history. ---Another option is Shakespeare’s universality — everyone has either read, or claims to have read, plays like “Hamlet”.可知，莎士比亚经常在法庭上被引用的原因是他的话增加了判决的可信度，故选B。

5.推理判断题。根据第三段中The “most abundant citer and the widest read” was found to be Antonin Scalia, and — no surprise — William Shakespeare topped the list of the often-quoted, along with Lewis Carroll. Both Shakespeare and Carroll accumulated sixteen references from five justices. Other popular authors among the bench were George Orwell, Charles Dickens, Aldous Huxley and Aesop.（“引用最多、阅读最广”的名人是安东宁•斯卡利亚，不出所料，威廉•莎士比亚和刘易斯•卡罗尔并列榜首。莎士比亚和卡罗尔都从五位大法官那里收集了16份推荐信。其他受欢迎的作家包括乔治·奥威尔、查尔斯·狄更斯、奥尔德斯·赫胥黎和伊索。）可知，文章主要是通过分析现象来叙述内容的。故选C。

6.主旨大意题。根据第三段中Lawyers’ love of Shakespeare is appropriate given that more of his lines are devoted to discussing law than any other profession. Some think his knowledge of the law was so detailed that the “real” Shakespeare must have been a lawyer. A study by Scott Dodson and Ami Dodson published last year set out to discover “the most literary justice” of those currently sitting(开庭), and which authors were regularly turned to for quotable wisdom.（律师们对莎士比亚的喜爱是恰当的，因为他比其他任何职业都更专注于讨论法律。有些人认为他对法律的了解非常详细，“真正的”莎士比亚一定是个律师。斯科特•多德森(Scott Dodson)和阿米•多德森(Ami Dodson)去年发表的一项研究，旨在发现目前坐着的作家中“最具文学正义的人”，这些作家经常向他们寻求可引用的智慧。）纵观全文，可知本文讲述的是“为什么律师喜欢引用莎士比亚的语言”，故选A。