Question

Shakespeare’s Sister

Let us imagine, since facts are so hard to come by, what would have happened had Shakespeare had a wonderfully gifted sister, called Judith.

Shakespeare himself went, very probably — his mother was an heiress — to the grammar school, where he may have learnt Latin — Ovid, Virgil and Horace — and the elements of grammar and logic. He was, it is well known, a wild boy who poached (偷猎) rabbits, perhaps shot a deer, and had, rather sooner than he should have done, to marry a woman in the neighborhood, who bore him a child rather quicker than was right. That escapade sent him to seek his fortune in London. He had, it seemed, a taste for the theatre; he began by holding horses at the stage door. Very soon he got work in the theatre, became a successful actor, and lived at the centre of the universe, meeting everybody, knowing everybody, practicing his art on the boards, exercising his wits in the streets, and even getting access to the palace of the queen.

Meanwhile his extraordinarily gifted sister remained at home. She was as adventurous, as imaginative, as curious to see the world as he was. But she was not sent to school. She had no chance of learning grammar and logic, let alone of reading Horace and Virgil. She picked up a book now and then, one of her brother’s perhaps, and read a few pages. But then her parents came in and told her to mend the stockings or mind the stew(炖锅) and not moon about with books and papers. They would have spoken sharply but kindly, for they were practical people who knew the conditions of life for a woman. Soon, however, before she was out of her teens, she was to be engaged to the son of a neighboring wool stapler(经销商). She cried out that marriage was hateful to her, and for that she was severely beaten by her father. Then he ceased to scold her. He begged her instead not to hurt him, not to shame him in this matter of her marriage. He would give her a chain of beads or fine dresses, he said; and there were tears in his eyes. How could she disobey him? How could she break his heart?

The force of her own gift alone drove her to it. She made up a small parcel of her belongings, let herself down by a rope one summer’s night and took the road to London. She was not seventeen. The birds that sang in the woods were not more musical than she was. She had the quickest fancy, a gift like her brother’s, for the tune of words. Like him, she had a taste for the theatre. She stood at the stage door; she wanted to act, she said. Men laughed in her face. The manager — a fat, loose-lipped man — howled with laughter. He roared something about puppies dancing and women acting — no woman, he said, could possibly be an actress. She could get no training in her craft. Could she even seek her dinner in a bar or roam (游荡) the streets at midnight? Yet her genius was for fiction and lusted to feed abundantly upon the lives of men and women and the study of their ways. At last — for she was very young, oddly like Shakespeare the poet in her face, with the same grey eyes and rounded brows — at last Nick Greene the actor-manager took pity on her; she found herself with child by that gentleman and so — who shall measure the heat and violence of the poet’s heart when caught and confined in a woman’s body? — killed herself one winter’s night and lies buried at some cross-roads where the omnibuses (公共汽车) now stop outside the Elephant and Castle.

That, more or less, is how the story would run, if a woman in Shakespeare’s day had had Shakespeare’s genius.

1.From Paragraph 2, we can find Shakespeare once did all of the followings but ________.

A. hold horses at the theatreB. perform plays on the stage

C. be the centre of the universeD. go to the palace of the queen

2.What can we infer from Judith’s teen life?

A. She was cared for but was expected to live a girl’s life.

B. She was willing to be engaged to a wool stapler.

C. Her father wanted to make a fortune by her marriage.

D. She got less affection from her parents than her brother.

3.What is the right order of Judith’s life events?

a. She was forced to be engaged.

b. She found herself pregnant by Nick Greene.

c. She had no chance of schooling.

d. She fled away from home to London.

e. She put an end to her life.

A. c-a-b-d-e       B. c-a-d-b-e     C. a-c-b-d-e       D. b-c-a-d-e

4.Why did Judith commit suicide to end her life?

A. The fat manager rejected her and even insulted her.

B. She married the wrong person and couldn’t face it.

C. She couldn’t tolerate the violence of the poet’s heart.

D. She was caught between her ideal and the reality.

5.From the passage, we can safely draw the conclusion that in the age of Shakespeare ________.

A. women couldn’t possibly act on the stage or write plays

B. women could enjoy themselves domestically and socially

C. women couldn’t make their achievements at any level

D. women could make their own decision as to their marriage

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.B

4.D

5.A

【解析】

试题分析：本文假设莎士比亚有一个妹妹，然后对这个妹妹的命运进行了分析和想象。结果是：在莎士比亚的时代，一个有着诗歌天赋，戏剧才能的女人是个不幸的女人，一个与自身相冲突的女人。她不可能活跃在戏剧舞台上或文学世界里。最终，她会发狂自杀结束自己悲剧的一生。

1. 推理判断题。根据第二段最后两句话：“He began by holding horses at the stage door”对应A项。“became a successful actor”以及“practicing his art on the boards”对应B项。“getting access to the palace of the queen”对应D项。只有C项：虽然有原句“lived at the centre of the universe”，但是后面的一系列分词作状语补充修饰，指的是他“仿佛”居住在宇宙中心，做了所有得意的事情。放在选项中，没有补充，就完全变成了他是宇宙的中心，偷换了概念。所以C项错误，故选C。

2. 推理判断题。根据第三段对Judith青少年时期的详细描述，D选项含义为“她从父母那得到的爱要比哥哥少”。但是全段没有涉及父母对兄妹俩关爱的对比，甚至未谈到父母对莎士比亚的任何态度。B选项根据：“before she was out of her teens, she was to be engaged to the son of a neighboring wool stapler(经销商)”一句。首先engage一词与marry有差别。其次，即使marry改为engage,这也是事实而非推论。C选项表述错误：依据是第三段最后几句：“He begged…not to hurt him…shame him…break his heart.”并未指出父亲要从她的婚姻中得到何种利益，反而只是指不要让他伤心，不要使他蒙羞。A选项根据在于“for they were practical people who knew the conditions of life for a woman”意指他们都是实际的人，了解女人的生活状态。段中最后父亲的许诺，眼里噙着的泪花都可以说明她得到了家庭的关爱，但是却希望她像个女孩儿一样的生活。所以A项为正确答案。

3. 推理判断题。从第3、4段 Judith的人生经历可以判断出正确答案为B。

4. 细节理解题。根据第四段最后：“She found herself with child by that gentleman and so—who shall measure the heat and violence of the poet’s heart when caught and confined in a woman’s body? —killed herself…”文章明确指出“谁又能说清楚，当诗人的心灵禁锢于女人的身体内，是怎样的一种胶着和爆烈？”所以她愤而自杀，原因在于理想与现实之间存在巨大的反差，她最终没能展示自己的天赋与才华。A项：被剧院经理拒绝并未直接导致她的死亡。B项：没有证据表明她嫁给了Nick Greene。C项the violence of the poet’s heart 断章取义，意味不明。所以D项为正确答案。

5.、戏剧才能的女人是个不幸的女人，一个与自身相冲突的女人。她不可能活跃在戏剧舞台上或文学世界里。最终，她会发狂自杀结束自己悲剧的一生。C项“任何层次”的说法太绝对；B的说法错在socially，且与全文的着眼点不同；D的说法是错误的，显然，妇女对自己的婚姻是没有发言权的。所以A项是正确答案。

考点：考查故事类阅读