Question

    One of the important subjects in contemporary poetry is identity — with an open-ended explanation of that word Poets, young and old are exploring what identity is, using their own lives as the background.

British poet Phoebe Power, in her first collection of poems, Shrines of Upper Austria, explores a different aspect of identity: a personal understanding of national identity the collection received the forward prize for Best First Collection and was on the final list for the t.s. Eliot Prize.

Power was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne and raised in Cumbria. She has taken part in a number of performance art and video art projects. She received a Northern Writers’ Award in 2014 and an Eric Gregory Award from the Society of Authors in 2012. Now she lives in York in northern England.

Power’s starting point is her grandmother. She came to England from Austria as a new bride (新娘) married to a British soldier in 1946, the first year after the end of World War Ⅱ. Imagine the reactions of her British neighbors, and her new British family. Imagine what she had left behind. The grandmother’s experiences influenced Power greatly.

In Shrines of Upper Austria, we walk with the poet to see her grandmother’s life before Britain. We can learn about the small town where she lived and where “many of the shopkeepers were Jews”, the bodies of water, and buildings that existed when her grandmother lived there power also added some prose (散文) to the book, which tells us some stories of her grandmother’s early life. For example, it tells the stories about how her grandmother was found as a baby and given to a farmer when she was two.

The poems in the collection are pieces of a life. We can no more walk in our grandparents’ shoes than they can walk in ours. However, we can study old family photographs. We can see pieces of their lives — where they lived perhaps; where they played as children; what lakes or rivers they swam in. Like Power, we are left with pieces. These pieces don’t all make sense, but collectively they show a life.

1.Why could Power’s book of poems win influential prizes?

A.It was a collective work of the Society of Authors.

B.It specially focused on national identity.

C.It clearly explained the meaning of identity.

D.It was about powers’real life.

2.What can we find in Shrines of Upper Austria?

A.The poems by power’s grandmother.

B.The life and culture in Austria.

C.The stories of Power’s early life.

D.The bodies of water in York.

3.What does the author think of the pieces of our grandparents’ life?

A.Meaningful. B.Shocking. C.Heartbreaking. D.Outdated.

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.A

【解析】

本文是说明文。文章主要介绍了英国诗人菲比鲍尔的诗集《上奥地利的神殿》。

1.

细节理解题。根据第二段内容可知，英国诗人菲比·鲍尔，在她的第一部诗集《上奥地利的神殿》中，探索了身份的一个不同方面：个人对国家身份的理解。该系列获得了最佳一等奖，并进入了艾略特奖的最终获奖名单。因此可知，这部诗集特别注重国家身份，因此获得了最佳一等奖。故选B。

2.

推理判断题。根据文章后三段内容可知，《上奥地利的神殿》描述了祖母在奥地利的生活，并反映了当地的文化传统。故选B。

3.

推理判断题。根据最后一段的Like Power, we are left with pieces. These pieces don’t all make sense, but collectively they show a life.可知，就像Power一样，给我们留下了生活中碎片。 这些碎片并不都有意义，但它们共同展示了一种生活。由此推断，作者认为我们祖父母生活的碎片是有意义的。故选A。