Question

    Recently， a 1935 letter in which Ernest Hemingway detailed his catch of a 500lb blue marlin（青枪鱼）， an adventure that is believed to have partly inspired his novel The Old Man and the Sea， has been sold for﹩28，000 （£22，000）．

The handwritten letter was sent by Hemingway on 8 May to the fishing editor of the Miami Herald， laying out in great detail how the author and his friend Henry Strater battled to keep sharks away from the marlin after catching it off the Bahamian island of Bimini．

Nate D Sanders， the auction（拍卖） company which sold the letter， said it documented for the first time in Hemingway's own words not only the size of the marlin， but also the attack by sharks， reflecting the plot of the novel．

The company added that Hemingway's account of the marlin catch differed from other anecdotes of it， one of which described Hemingway using a machine gun on the sharks， which is said to have attracted more sharks rather than frightened them away．

The Old Man and the Sea was also inspired by an anecdote told by Hemingway's Cuban friend Carlos Gutierrez． In 1936， Hemingway wrote in a magazine that Carlos had told him about an old fisherman who caught a great marlin alone．

Three years later， Hemingway told his editor Max Perkins that he was planning a short story about the old commercial fisherman who fought the swordfish all alone in his sailing boat． Instead， he ended up writing For Whom the Bell Tolls， not returning to the story about the old fisherman until January 1951． It won him the Pulitzer in 1953， and was specifically cited when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1954．

1.What does the underlined phrase "laying out" in the second paragraph mean？

A. Discussing．

B. Wondering．

C. Imagining．

D. Presenting．

2.What did the auction company stress when selling the 1935letter？

A. The style of the writer．

B. The history of the letter．

C. The contents of the letter．

D. The popularity of the writer．

3.What inspired Hemingway to write The Old Man and The Sea besides his own adventure？

A. Henry Strater's account．

B. Carlos Gutierrez's story．

C. Max Perkins' life experience．

D. Nate D Sanders' description．

4.Which is the correct order of time for the following facts in the passage？

1Hemingway wrote a letter to describe his adventure．

2Hemingway caught a big blue marlin．

3The letter was sold at auction．

4The Old Man and The Sea won the Nobel Prize．

A. ①③②④

B. ②①④③

C. ②④①③

D. ②③①④

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇记叙文。主要讲述了著名的作家海明威创作《老人与海》的背景和原因，并对他所创作的其他作品进行了罗列。

1.词义猜测题。根据文章第二段第一句The handwritten letter was sent by Hemingway on 8 May to the fishing editor of the Miami Herald，laying out in great detail how the author and his friend Henry Strater battled to keep sharks away from the marlin after catching it off the Bahamian island of Bimini．可知这封手写信是海明威5月8日寄给《迈阿密先驱报》的渔业编辑的，详细阐述了作者和他的朋友亨利•斯特拉特在巴哈马群岛比米尼岛捕获马林鱼后，如何努力使鲨鱼远离它。结合选项，所以选择D。

2.细节理解题。根据文章第三段第一句Nate D Sanders， the auction（拍卖） company which sold the letter， said it documented for the first time in Hemingway's own words not only the size of the marlin， but also the attack by sharks， reflecting the plot of the novel．可知拍卖公司强调说，这封被拍卖的信是海明威第一次用自己的话记录一些东西，记录的内容不仅包括鱼的大小，还有鲨鱼对他们的袭击。结合选项，所以选择C。

3.细节题。根据文章第五段第一句The Old Man and the Sea was also inspired by an anecdote told by Hemingway's Cuban friend Carlos Gutierrez．可知海明威的古巴朋友Carlos Gutierrez给他讲述了的一则轶事也启发了海明威创造老人和海这部小说。结合选项，所以选择B。

4.细节理解题。根据文章第一段Recently， a 1935 letter in which Ernest Hemingway detailed his catch of a 500lb blue marlin…可知，海明威捕获了一只大的青枪鱼，然后他将这个冒险经历写在了信里。后来这个经历促成了《老人与海》这篇小说的创作。根据文章最后一句It won him the Pulitzer in 1953，and was specifically cited when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1954.可知1954年的时候，《老人与海》这部小说获得诺贝尔奖．近期写着冒险经历的信件才被拍卖公司拍卖了，故文章中的故事发展顺序应该是②①④③，结合选项，所以选择B。