Question

    Elizabeth Bishop is considered one of the best American poets of the 20th century. She was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1911. Her dad died when she was just a baby and her mom never recovered from the loss. She went to live with her grandparents in Nova Scotia, Canada when she was five. Eventually Bishop attended Vassar College, where she began to write poetry.

At Vassar she discovered Marianne Moore's poetry and met Ms Moore and began their life-long friendship. She later met poet Robert Lowell. She wrote tons and tons of letters to both of them, which is good for us because we would otherwise know very little of her personal life.

Bishop published her first book of poetry in 1946 and wrote until her death in 1979. She would spend years working on a single poem. Her poems are not the result of hasty scribbling (匆忙乱写) on paper while eating breakfast. She would look through drafts of poems again and again and improve them until they were as close to perfect as she could get them.

Reading Elizabeth Bishop is like being transported to the very place, the very moment she's writing about. She leads us to a microscope so we can see every smallest part of the scene. It seems that she's always asking us to notice more, and more until the poem is so clear in our minds that it's almost painful—like a light that's too bright.

1.What do we know about Bishop's early life?

A.She was mainly brought up by her grandparents. B.She spent her childhood mainly in Worcester.

C.She was always encouraged by her parents. D.She started to write poems at five.

2.Why are Bishop's letters to Moore and Lowell important?

A.They have a deep influence on other poets. B.They offer much information about her life.

C.They help us study Moore and Lowell's poetry. D.They prove she had friendships with famous poets.

3.What can we say about Bishop's poetic creation?

A.She liked to write in the morning. B.She could write poems at high speed.

C.She tried her best to achieve perfection. D.She published hundreds of books of poetry.

4.Which word can be used to best describe the style of Bishop’s poems?

A.Enthusiastic. B.Romantic. C.Humorous. D.Exact.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。文章讲述了女诗人伊丽莎白·毕肖普的生平事迹和创作风格。

1.

细节理解题。由第一段中的“Her dad died when she was just a baby and her mom never recovered from the loss. She went to live with her grandparents in Nova Scotia, Canada when she was five.”（当她还是个孩子的时候，她爸爸就去世了，而她的妈妈却再也没有从失去丈夫中恢复过来。五岁时，她和祖父母住在加拿大新斯科舍省。）可知伊丽莎白·毕肖普主要由她的祖父母抚养长大。故选A项。

2.

细节理解题。由第二段中的“She wrote tons and tons of letters to both of them, which is good for us because we would otherwise know very little of her personal life.”（她给他们两人写了无数封信，这对我们很好，否则我们对她的私生活知之甚少。）可知写给摩尔和洛厄尔的信提供了很多关于伊丽莎白·毕肖普的生活信息，所以很重要。故选B项。

3.

细节理解题。由第三段中的“She would spend years working on a single poem. Her poems are not the result of hasty scribbling (匆忙乱写) on paper while eating breakfast. She would look through drafts of poems again and again and improve them until they were as close to perfect as she could get them.”（她会花数年时间写一首诗。她的诗不是吃早饭时，在纸上草草潦草写下的结果。她会一次又一次地翻阅诗稿，不断改进，直到它们尽可能地接近完美。）可知伊丽莎白·毕肖普创作诗歌力求完美。故选C项。

4.

推理判断题。由最后一段中的“She leads us to a microscope so we can see every smallest part of the scene.”（她把我们带到显微镜前，这样我们就能看到现场的每一个小部分。）她的诗歌能领着读者到显微镜前，可推断出“准确”最能描述毕肖普诗歌的风格。故选D项。