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, telling 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(轶事) 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 mentioned when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1954.

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

A. The style of the writer. B. The history of the letter.

C. The contents of the letter. D. The popularity of the writer.

2.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.

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

1. Hemingway wrote a letter to describe his adventure.

2. Hemingway caught a big blue marlin.

3. The letter was sold at auction.

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

A. ①③②④ B. ②①④③ C. ②④①③ D. ②③①④

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.B

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。最近，欧内斯特·海明威在1935年的一封信被拍卖公司拍卖。该信中详细描述了他捕捉到的一条500磅重的青枪鱼的故事。这次冒险被认为是他的小说《老人与海》的部分灵感来源。文章详细叙述了海明威创作《老人与海》的背景和原因。

1.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“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，出售这封信的拍卖公司内特·德·桑德斯(Nated Sanders)表示，它首次用海明威自己的话记录了这只青枪鱼的大小，还记录了鲨鱼的袭击，这些反映了小说的情节。由此可知，拍卖公司强调的是这封信的内容。C选项正确。

2.细节理解题。根据第五段中的“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讲述的一个轶事也启发了了海明威写《老人与海》。故B选项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据第一段中的“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…”可知，海明威捕获了一条大青枪鱼，然后他将这次冒险写在了一封信里，后来这次经历成为了《老人与海》的创作灵感，近期描写这次冒险经历的信件才被拍卖公司拍卖。根据最后一段中的“It won him the Pulitzer in 1953, and was specifically mentioned when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1954”的可知，1954年，《老人与海》这部小说获得诺贝尔文学奖。综上，选项中所给事实的排列顺序应为②①④③。故B选项正确。