Question

You may have heard of the book Moby Dick(《白鲸记》), written by the American author Herman Melville. You may also know that Moby Dick is considered one of the greatest novels ever written. However, it might surprise you to find out Herman Melville was not always a highly regarded author.

Melville’s first two novels, Typee and Omoo, were widely read and financially successfully. They were both exciting tales of adventures at sea and experiences with people in foreign lands. Melville became quite famous. However, upon the publication of his third book, Mardi, Melville’s popularity began to weaken. He was no longer interested in telling tales of pure adventure, and his writing took on a style that alienated(使疏远) the general reading public of his time.

Melville published Moby Dick in October of 1851. It was an original novel, combining aspects of sociology and philosophy, which confused readers by its complex symbolism. The book sold poorly.

Melville’s next book, Pierre, was almost completely disregarded by the public. Debt frustration and ill health finally forced Melville to take a low-paying job as a customs inspector. Eventually, Melville abandoned prose(散文) and began to write poetry.

The Civil War is the main subject of Melville’s poetry. He and his brother made a trip to the front line, and he published a book of poems, Battle-Pieces and Aspects of War, based on this experience.

Melville died in 1891 at the age of 72. at this point, his work had been completely forgotten by the public. His talent was to go unrecognized for the next thirty years. Then, in 1920s, his reputation began to improve as critics and readers rediscovered his work. Today Moby Dick is one of the best-known novels ever penned by an American author.

1.What were Melville’s first two novels mainly about?

A. His travel experience.

B. His successful communication skills.

C. Adventurous experiences in the front line.

D. Adventurous voyages and foreign experiences.

2.We can learn from the text that Moby Dick ________.

A. sold a little better than Pierre

B. was Melville’s favorite novel

C. was copied from other books

D. made Melville popular again

3.The text may be taken from ________.

A. a writing guide

B. a literary journal

C. a science magazine

D. a critical book on literature

4.What is the text mainly about?

A. The main works of Melville.

B. The skills in Melville’s writing.

C. The ups and downs of Melville.

D. The reason for Melville’s failure.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.B

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文属于人物传记类短文，主要介绍了美国著名作家Herman Melville所写的几本小说，他最初的小说Typee and Omoo很受欢迎，接着第三本书Mardi就不太受欢迎了。

1. 细节理解题。根据第二段第二句They were both exciting tales of adventures at sea and experiences with people in foreign lands.可知，他最初的两本作品都是关于大海探险以及在外国的经历。故选D。

2. 推理判断题。根据文章第三段Melville published Moby Dick in October of 1851. it was an original novel, combining aspects of sociology and philosophy, which confused readers by its complex symbolism. The book sold poorly.可知，Moby Dick这本书艰涩难懂，销量很差。再看第四段第一句Melville’s next book, Pierre, was almost completely disregarded by the public.可知，他的下一本书Pierre几乎没有得到公众的认可，也就是说Moby Dick卖的比Pierre稍微好一点，故选A。

3. 推理判断题。本文主要介绍的是美国著名作家Herman Melville所写的几本小说，属于文学领域的话题。所以最可能是从文学刊物上摘录而来的。故选B。

4. 主旨大意题。本文属于人物传记类短文，主要介绍了美国著名作家Herman Melville所写的几本小说，他最初的小说Typee and Omoo很受欢迎，接着Mardi就不太受欢迎了。Moby Dick这本书艰涩难懂，销量很差，Pierre根本没有收到读者的认可，后来他干脆去写受欢迎了。但是他去世以后Moby Dick却受到人们的热捧。所以本文主要关于Melville起伏的人生。故选C。

【学法指导】

找主题句的四个小窍门：1.段落中出现表转折的词语(如however, but, in fact, actually, while, on the contrary, in contrast等)时，其后的句子很可能是主题句。2.首段出现疑问句时，对该问题的回答很可能就是主题句。3.作者有意识地反复强调的观点，通常是主旨;反复出现的词语，一般为体现文章主旨的关键词。4.表示总结或结论的话常有therefore，thus， in short，conclude， conclusion等。27.5.

考点：考查人物传记类阅读