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 daily English; Shakespeare in his works used about twenty five thousand! There is probably no better way for a foreigner to enjoy the richness and variety(多样性) of the English language than by studying the different ways in which Shakespeare uses it. Such a study is well worth the effort, even though some aspects（方面）of English usage, and the meaning of many words, have changed since Shakespeare’s day.

However, it is surprising that we should know little about the life of the greatest English writer. 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 works. But this is almost all that we do know.

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

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

1.This passage is about ________ .

A.the great length of each chapter

B.the great varieties in writing styles

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 writer, 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.It can be inferred from Para 3 that________ .

A.not all the reviews on Shakespeare’s works have produced good effects

B.scholars have successfully collected facts about Shakespeare’s life

C.critics are more interested in Shakespeare’s plays than his poetry

D.the details of Shakespeare’s life are more important than his literary works

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

A.the characters in Shakespeare’s products B.the people whose mother language is English

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

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.A

【解析】

文章叙述了莎士比亚的作品里有丰富的语言词汇，他比其他的作家更充分利用了英语资源，我们大多数人在我们的日常生活中使用大约五千个英语单词，莎士比亚在他的作品中使用约两万五千个单词，有的人对莎士比亚的作品评价特别重视，而忽视了作品。

1.主旨大意题。根据Shakespeare, more perhaps than any other writer, made full use of the greatest resources of the English Language.可知莎士比亚的作品里所用的丰富的词汇无人能及，并不是他的写作风格、内容的丰富多样；故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据He almost certainly attended the Grammar School in the town, but of this we cannot be sure.可知，几乎确定他上了镇上的语法学校，但是这点我们不能肯定；故选C。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段内容可知，诗评之多淹没了诗作本身，出现了只见评论不见诗的局面，所以不是所有关于莎士比亚作品的评论都产生良好的结果；故选A。

4.词义猜测题。根据have long pleased not just the English but lovers of literature everywhere不仅长久的愉悦英国人，也愉悦了世界各地的文学爱好者，可猜测指的是莎士比亚作品中的人物角色；故选A。