Question

When Shakespeare was twenty-one, he went to London, a very interesting place, to try his fortune.

There was the famous London Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral, and palaces and markets and long streets full of shops.

Then, too, there were the daily crowds where could be seen people from all over the world. Knights, scholars and the highwayman (拦路强盗）or thieves, who had been infamous for their clever robberies, passed by each other.

Here, also, were noblemen dressed in gold, from Italy and Spain and France; slaves from Spanish America, sea captains and ministers, soldiers and servants—all held by chances or interests within the gray walls which circled London, and whose gates gave welcome to as strange a crowd as could be found in the world.

Into this curious crowd came Shakespeare, quick to see and eager to learn. And before long all these strange sights were as familiar to him as the faces of his own town’s residents. Each one told its story to him so plainly that, as before he had learned the secrets of the fields and woods, so now he learned men and men’s interests that make up the great world.

And he learned these lessons so well that when he came to write his plays, he made such use of them as no writer ever made before or since; for it is the use of this knowledge of the world, combined with his own genius, that makes Shakespeare the greatest dramatist that has ever lived.

1.What was London like in Shakespeare’s eyes when he first went there?

A. Dirty and small.    B. Strange and interesting.

C. Infamous and terrible.    D. Familiar and modern.

2.Which of the following best describes Shakespeare?

A. Shakespeare got inspiration to write from his hometown, London.

B. Shakespeare was eager to make friends with the noblemen in London.

C. Shakespeare was good at observing and learning from the daily life.

D. Shakespeare became the greatest dramatist owing to his own genius.

3.What does the word “one” in paragraph 5 refer to?

A. Crowd.    B. Resident.

C. Face.    D. Sight.

4.The passage probably comes from______.

A. a poster    B. a textbook

C. an advertisement    D. an announcement

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇名人轶事。文章讲述了文学大师莎士比亚年轻时去到伦敦第一天时遇到的有趣的事情。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段中的a very interesting place和第五段中的all these strange sights可知，在 Shakespeare 的眼中，伦敦是一个有趣而陌生的城市。故选B。

2.推理判断题。根据第五段可知，Shakespeare来到伦敦不久之后，通过观察和学习了解了伦敦，并适应了那里的生活，由此可推断出，Shakespeare擅长观察日常生活并从中学习。故选C。

3.词义猜测题。画线词后的as before he had learned the secrets of the fields and woods意思为“正如他以前所学到的田野和树林的秘密那样”，根据这句话可知，one指的是“像田野和树林一样的景象”。故选D。

4.推理判断题。本文主要讲述了莎士比亚到伦敦的经历，所以这篇文章最有可能出现在一本教材中。故选B。