Question

    Perhaps the first novel to best express the modern idea of the self was Jane Eyre, written in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte.

Those who remember Jane Eyre solely as required reading in high-school English class likely recall most vividly a childhood banishment(流放) to a death-haunted room, a mysterious presence in the attic, and a cold mansion going up in flames. It’s more seemingly the stuff of Lifetime television, not revolutions. But as unbelievable as many of the events of the novel are, even today, Bronte’s biggest accomplishment wasn’t in plot devices. It was the narrative voice of Jane — who so openly expressed her desire for identity, definition and meaning — that rang powerfully true to its 19th-century audience. In fact, many early readers mistakenly believed Jane Eyre was a true account (in a clever marketing scheme, the novel was subtitled, “An Autobiography”)，perhaps a validation of her character’s authenticity.

The way that novels paid attention to the particularities of human experience (rather than the universals of romances) made them the ideal vehicle to shape how readers understood the modern individual. The novel seemed perfectly designed to tell Bronte’s first-person narrative of a poor orphan girl searching for a secure identity—first among an unloving family, then a charity school, and finally with the wealthy but unattainable employer she loves. Unable to find her sense of self through others, Jane makes the surprising decision to turn inward.

The broader cultural implications of the story—its insistence on the value of conscience and will—were such that one critic worried some years after its publication that the “most alarming revolution of modern times has followed the invasion of Jane Eyre：' Before Rene Descartes's cogito ergo sum (“I think, therefore I am”)，when the sources of authority were external and objective, the aspects of the self so central to today’s understanding mattered little then.

To be sure, no earlier novelist had provided a voice so seemingly pure, so fully belonging to the character, as Bronte, She developed her art alongside her sisters, the novelists Anne and Emily, but it was Charlotte whose work best captured the sense of the modern individual. Anne Bronte's novels Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall contributed to the novers ability to offer social criticism, while the Romantic sensibilities of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights explored how the “other,” in the form of the dark, unpredictable Heathcliff，can threaten the integrity(完整) of the self.

One of the greatest testimonies(证明) to Bronte's accomplishment came from a modernist pioneer, Virginia Woolf, who declares, “Jane’s voice is the source of the power the book has to absorb the reader completely into her world.” Woolf explains how Bronte depicts: ...an overpowering personality, so that, as we say in real life, they have only to open the door to make themselves felt. There is in them some untamed ferocity perpetually at war with the accepted order of things which makes them desire to create instantly rather than to observe patiently.

It is exactly this willingness — desire, even — to be “at war with the accepted order of things” that characterizes the modern self. While we now take such a sense for granted, it was，as Bronte’s contemporaries rightly understood, radical (激进的) in her day.

“_______,’’ Jane says as she is dragged by her cruel aunt toward banishment in the bedroom where her late uncle died. This sentence, Joyce Carol Oates argues, serves as the theme of Jane’s whole story.

Charlotte Bronte created a new mold for the self—a person’s inner life can allow her to change from the inside out.

It is true Jane does right and exercises great moral strength.

1.Which of the following rang powerfully true to 19th-century audience?

A.The subtitle“An Autobiography". B.Jane' s real character.

C.The clever marketing scheme. D.Jane' s inner voice for herself

2.What can we infer from Paragraph 4?

A.The self started to be rooted in individuals 'hearts.

B.Jane Eyre gave rise to a cultural revolution comprehensively.

C.Jane Eyre changed people's viewpoints of their society.

D.The self failed to affect the course of an individual's life.

3.Why does the author mention Anna and Emily in Paragraph 5?

A.To argue how outstanding the sisters were.

B.To show how Charlotte was influenced by her sisters.

C.To prove how unique Charlotte's art of writing was.

D.To explain how the three sisters shaped English literature.

4.What does Virginia Woolf mean by"Jane' s voice is the source of the power the book has to absorb the reader completely into her world”？

A.Jane' s pursuit for individualism attracts readers.

B.Readers can express themselves through Jane.

C.Readers can find themselves in Jane' s voice.

D.Jane' s personality makes the book popular.

5.Which of the following can be put in the blank of the text?

A.I moved forward all the way B.I resisted all the way

C.I cried all the way D.I thought carefully all the way

6.What can we learn from the passage?

A.Readers recognized the modern individualism by nature of romance.

B.High-school students enjoy recalling what happens to Jane Eyre.

C.Jane Eyre is a reflection of its author Charlotte Bronte.

D.Jane Eyre' s publication changed the way people understood their internal world.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.A

5.B

6.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章讲述夏洛蒂•勃朗特的声音通过作品盖过世俗的嘈杂，唤醒了人们内心沉睡的自我，让我们不禁感叹:文学作品确实具有改变社会、改变历史、改变人生的力量。

1.细节理解题。根据第2段的It was the narrative voice of Jane — who so openly expressed her desire for identity, definition and meaning — that rang powerfully true to its 19th-century audience可知，简的叙述--她公开地表达了自己对于身份、定义、意义以及施为能力的渴望--让19世纪的读者产生了强烈的真实感。所以简内心的声音对19世纪的观众来说是最真实的。故选D项。

2.推理判断题。根据第4段one critic worried some years after its publication that the “most alarming revolution of modern times has followed the invasion of Jane Eyre：' Before Rene Descartes's cogito ergo sum (“I think, therefore I am”)，when the sources of authority were external and objective, the aspects of the self so central to today’s understanding mattered little then可知，某位批评家在该书出版数年之后愤愤道:“当今最令人惊恐的革命就是从《简•爱》的入侵开始的。”在勒内·笛卡尔的“我思故我在”之前，在权威的建立还是来源于外在、客观的时候，现今人们意识中如此核心的“自我”概念在那时是无足轻重的。由此判断出自我开始扎根于个人的心中。故选A项。

3.推理判断题。根据第五段“ as Bronte, She developed her art alongside her sisters, the novelists Anne and Emily, but it was Charlotte whose work best captured the sense of the modern individual. ”她和她的姐妹，小说家安妮和艾米丽一起发展了她的艺术，但夏洛蒂的作品最好地捕捉了现代个人的感觉。由此判断出将勃朗特和 Anna and Emily对比，是为了突出勃朗特的写作特点。故选C项。

4.推理判断题。根据第6段，Virginia Woolf, who declares, “Jane’s voice is the source of the power the book has to absorb the reader completely into her world”可知，简的声音是书的力量来源，使读者完全融入她的世界。再根据第2段的It was the narrative voice of Jane — who so openly expressed her desire for identity, definition and meaning 可知，简的叙述--她公开地表达了自己对于身份、定义、意义以及施为能力的渴望”。由此判断出弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫所说的“简的声音是书的力量来源，使读者完全融入她的世界”是指阿简对个人主义的追求吸引了读者。故选A项。

5.推理判断题。文章倒数第4段讲到“It is exactly this willingness — desire, even — to be “at war with the accepted order of things”that characterizes the modern self. While we now take such a sense for granted, it was, as Bronte’s contemporaries rightly understood, radical (激进的) in her day”可知，勃朗特的想法在那个年代是很激进的。接着在倒数第3段划线后提到“Jane says as she is dragged by her cruel aunt toward basement in the bedroom where her late uncle died”可知她一直在与世俗做斗争。划线处讲的是“我一直在反抗”符合语境。故选B项。

6.推理判断题。根据倒数第2段“Charlotte Bronte created a new mold for the self—a person’s inner life can allow her to change from the inside out”可知，一个人的内心生活可以让她从内到外改变。同时在文章第3段Unable to find her sense of self through others, Jane makes the surprising decision to turn inward可知，由于无法通过别人找到自我，简决定寻求自我。根据最后一段“It is true Jane does right and exercises great moral strength.”的确，简做的是对的，并发挥了巨大的道德力量。所以从这篇短文我们学到简·爱的出版改变了人们理解自己内心世界的方式。故选D项。