Question

    Shakespeare, more perhaps than any other writer, made full use of the greatest resources of the English language. Most of us use about five thousand words in our normal employment of English; Shakespeare in his works used about twenty­five thousand! There is probably no better way for a foreigner to appreciate the richness and variety of the English language than by studying the various ways in which Shakespeare used it. Such a study is well worth the effort, even though some aspects of English usage and the meaning of many words have changed since Shakespeare’s day.

However, it is surprising that we should know comparatively little about the life of the greatest English author. We know that Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon, and that he died there in 1616. He almost certainly attended the Grammar School in the town, but of this we cannot be sure. We know he was married there in 1582 to Anne Hathaway and that he had three children. We know that he spent much of his life in London writing his masterpieces. But this is almost all that we do know.

However, what is important about Shakespeare’s life is not its details but the products, the plays and the poems. For many years scholars have been trying to add a few facts about Shakespeare’s life to the small number we already possess and for an equally long time critics have been theorizing about the plays. Sometimes, indeed, it seems that the poetry of Shakespeare will disappear under the great mass of comment that has been written upon it.

Fortunately, this is not likely to happen. Shakespeare’s people have long delighted not just the English but lovers of literature everywhere, and will continue to do so after the scholars and critics and all their works have been forgotten.

1.What’s Para.1 mainly about?

A.The great varieties in writing styles.

B.The great length of Shakespeare’s works.

C.The richness of the content in Shakespeare’s works.

D.The rich English language used by Shakespeare in his works.

2.According to the passage, which of the following remains uncertain about Shakespeare?

A.His date of birth. B.His marriage.

C.His life in the Grammar School. D.His date of death.

3.What does the last sentence in Para.3 mean?

A.People can’t see the poetry of Shakespeare any more.

B.The comment is printed on the poetry of Shakespeare.

C.People don’t think the poetry of Shakespeare good any more.

D.Some people pay more attention to the comment than to Shakespeare’s poetry.

4.The underlined phrase “Shakespeare’s people” in Para.4 refers to ________.

A.the characters in Shakespeare’s works B.the people whose native language is English

C.the people living in Shakespeare’s day D.the readers of Shakespeare’s works

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.D

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要说明了莎士比亚在作品中使用英语的各种方式更能体现英语的丰富性和多样性，文章介绍了莎士比亚的生平，以及人们对他作品的喜爱之情。

1.

主旨大意题。根据第一段中Shakespeare, more perhaps than any other writer, made full use of the greatest resources of the English language. Most of us use about five thousand words in our normal employment of English; Shakespeare in his works used about twenty­five thousand! There is probably no better way for a foreigner to appreciate the richness and variety of the English language than by studying the various ways in which Shakespeare used it.可知莎士比亚也许比其他作家更充分地利用了英语语言的最大资源。我们大多数人在正常使用英语的过程中，大约使用了5000个单词；而莎士比亚在他的作品中，大约使用了2.5万个单词! 对于一个外国人来说，大概没有什么比研究莎士比亚使用英语的各种方式更能体会到英语的丰富性和多样性。由此可知，第1段的主要内容是莎士比亚在他的作品中使用的丰富的英语。故选D。

2.

细节理解题。根据第二段中He almost certainly attended the Grammar School in the town, but of this we cannot be sure.可知几乎可以肯定他上过镇上的文法学校，但这一点我们不能肯定。由此可知，莎士比亚在文法学校的生活仍不确定。故选C。

3.

句意猜测题。根据本句前的For many years scholars have been trying to add a few facts about Shakespeare’s life to the small number we already possess and for an equally long time critics (批评) have been theorizing (理论化) about the plays.可知多年来，学者们一直试图在我们已经掌握的少量莎士比亚生平的基础上补充一些事实，而批评家们也一直在对这些戏剧进行理论分析。所以，有时人们对莎士比亚作品的评论比对其诗歌本身的关注还要多。由此可知，第3段最后一句话意思是有些人更注意评论而不是莎士比亚的诗歌。故选D。

4.

词义猜测题。根据后文have long delighted not just the English but lovers of literature everywhere, and will continue to do so after the scholars and critics and all their works have been forgotten.可知长期以来，莎士比亚笔下的人物不仅深受英国人的喜爱，而且深受世界各地文学爱好者的喜爱。由此可知，第4段中划线的词组“莎士比亚的人民”指的是“莎士比亚作品中的人物”。故选A。