Question

    William Butler Yeats, a most famous Irish writer, was born in Dublin on June 13, 1865. His childhood lacked the harmony that was typical of a happy family. Later, Yeats shocked his family by saying that he remembered “little of childhood but its pain”. In fact, he inherited (继承) excellent taste in art from his family—both his father and his brother were painters. But he finally settled on literature, particularly drama and poetry.

Yeats had strong faith in coming of new artistic movements. He set himself the fresh task in founding an Irish national theatre in the late 1890s. His early theatrical experiments, however, were not received favorably at the beginning. He didn’t lose heart, and finally enjoyed success in his poetical drama.

Compared with his dramatic works, Yeats’s poems attract much admiring notice. The subject matter includes love, nature, history, time and aging. Though Yeats generally relied on very traditional forms, he brought modern sensibility to them. As his literary life progressed, his poetry grew finer and richer, which led him to worldwide recognition.

He had not enjoyed a major public life since winning the Nobel Price in 1923. Yet, he continued writing almost to the end of his life. Had Yeats stopped writing at age 40, he would who probably now be valued as a minor poet, for there is no other example in literary history of a poet Auden wrote, among others, the following liners:

Earth, receive an honored guest:

William Yeats is laid to rest.

Let the Irish vessel (船) lie

Emptied of its poetry.

1.Which of the following can describe Yeats’s family?

A. It filled Yeats’s childhood with laughter.

B. It was shocked by Yeats’s choice.

C. It was a typically wealthy family.

D. It had an artistic atmosphere.

2.What kind of feeling is expressed in W. H. Auden’s lines?

A. Envy. B. Admiration.

C. Emptiness. D. Sympathy.

3.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Yeats’ literary achievements. B. Yeats’ historical influence.

C. Yeats’ artistic ambition. D. Yeats’ national honor.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.A

【解析】

本文是一篇人物传记，主要介绍了叶芝在戏剧和诗歌等文学领域的成就。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段中的“In fact, he inherited (继承) excellent taste in art from his family—both his father and his brother were painters.”可知，他继承了家里优秀的艺术品位，他的爸爸和哥哥都是画家，由此可知，Yeats的家里很有艺术氛围，故D项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段中的“Compared with his dramatic works, Yeats’s poems attract much admiring notice.”可知，与他的戏剧作品相比，叶芝的诗吸引了赞赏的注意，接下来举W. H. Auden的诗的例子就是为了证明着一点，由此可知，W. H. Auden在诗中表达了对叶芝的赞赏，故B项正确。

3.主旨大意题。通读全文，特别是根据第一段中的“But he finally settled on literature, particularly drama and poetry.”及第三段中的“Compared with his dramatic works, Yeats’s poems attract much admiring notice.”可知，叶芝选择了戏剧和诗歌，与他的戏剧作品相比，他的诗吸引了很多赞赏的关注，由此可知，本文主要介绍了叶芝在戏剧和诗歌等文学领域的成就，故A项正确。