Question

    A trick question: Can you name the only three writers who have won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction twice? Faulkner, yes； Updike. And? Hats off if you came up with Booth Tarkington.

And yet his two prize-winners——"The Magnificent Ambersons" and " Alice Adams”, just reissued in one volume by the Library of America—are not even the most commercially successful novels of his extraordinarily successful career. Nine of his books were ranked among the top ten sellers of their year, and the strangely dissimilar The Turmoil and Seventeen were the No. 1 sellers in consecutive（连续的）years. And then there's Penrod, probably the most beloved boys' book since Tom and Huck, though I can't recommend a stroll down that particular memory lane.

There are thirty or so novels, countless short stories and serials, a string of hit plays. And there were countless honors: Tarkington was not only commercial but literary—not just the Pulitzers but in 1933 the gold medal for fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which Edith Wharton and William Dean Howells had won previously. As early as 1922, the Times had placed him twelfth on a list of the twelve greatest contemporary American men.

As for booksellers, in 1921 they voted him the most significant contemporary American writer. Nothing ever changes. How to explain this remarkable career—the quick rise to fame, the unaffected reputation over several decades, and then the pronounced fall into shadowiness? If you read all his fiction, you find a steady although uninspired hand at the helm. Slowly, painstakingly （费力地），Tarkington had taught himself to write reliable prose （散文）and construct appealing fictions ； he was modest—always literate but never showy. You could count on him to catch your interest even if he failed to grasp your imagination or your heart. And he was always a gentleman.

1.What does "Hats off" underlined in Paragraph 1 mean?

A.Show respect. B.Feel nervous.

C.Throw away hats. D.Take off hats.

2.Which book is possibly popular among boys?

A.The Magnificent Ambersons. B.Alice Adams.

C.Penrod. D.Seventeen.

3.What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A.Tarkington's works and honors. B.Tarkington's personality.

C.Tarkington's social position. D.Tarkington's achievements.

4.What's the authors attitude to Tarkington?

A.Doubtful. B.Objective.

C.Negative. D.Admiring.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了Booth Tarkington的作品及其所获得的荣誉。

1.词义猜测题。根据第一段内容可知，作者首先提出了问题，问：你是否能说出获得过两次普利策小说奖的三个人的名字？能说出Faulkner和Updike，那没什么，但第三个人Booth Tarkington更值得我们致敬。结合下文可知，文章在介绍Tarkington的成就，所以作者对Tarkington有一种敬畏尊敬之情。由此可推知，Hats off 字面意思为脱帽。在这里引申为向某人致敬。故选 A。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句中的“And then there’s Penrod, probably the most beloved boys’ book since Tom and Huck”可知，在男孩们的圈子中，最受欢迎的是Penrod 这本书。故选C。

3.段落大意题。根据第三段内容尤其是第一、二句“There are thirty or so novels, countless short stories and serials, a string of hit plays. And there were countless honors...”可知，第三段重点介绍了Tarkington 的作品数量和获得的无数荣誉， 即Tarkington的成就。A项可以排除，因为本段着重介绍的不是他的作品名称和内容，而是在强调他的作品数目之多以及他所获得的众多荣誉。所以D项更能准确地概括本段内容。故选 D。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段中作者对Tarkington的一些描述比如倒数第三句中的“he was modest”和最后一句“And he was always a gentleman”可知，作者认为Tarkington 是一位谦逊的绅士，作者高度赞美了Tarkington，即作者对Tarkington 的态度是赞赏的。故选D。