南开大学2010年硕士研究生入学考试试题

英语语言文学专业

文学部分（50分）

Ⅰ.Define briefly the following terms.（20 points）

1.Walt Whitman and Leaves of Grass

2.old English，middle English and modern English

3.Realism

4.sonnet

5.alliteration

Ⅱ.Read and interpret.（30 points）

Selection 1

Questions 1 to 6 are based on the following poem by Sir Philip Sidney.

Sonnet 31

With how sad steps，O Moon，thou climb’st the skies！

How silently，and with how wan a face！

What，may it be that even in heavenly place

That busy archer his sharp arrows tries？

Sure，if that long-with-love-acquainted eyes

Can judge of love，thou feel’st a lover’s case；

I read it in thy looks；thy languished grace

To me that feel the like，thy state descries.

Then，even of fellowship，O Moon，tell me，

Is constant love deemed there but want of wit？

Are beauties there as proud as here they be？

Do they above love to be loved，and yet

Those lovers scorn whom that love doth possess？

Do they call virtue there ungratefulness？

1.What question does the poet speaker ask in Lines 3–4？

2.According to Lines 5–9，what do the speaker and the moon have in common？

3.In your own words，tell what the speaker asks in Lines 10–14.

4.What does the description of the moon in Lines 1–8 suggest about the speaker’s emotion when he is in love？

5.What do the questions that conclude the poem imply about the object of the speaker’s love？

6.What is the rhyme scheme of this poem？

Selection 2

Questions 7 to 10 are based on the following passage from Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.

“Sure there’s a catch，”Doc.Daneeka replied.“Catch-22.Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn’t really crazy.”

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22，which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind.Orr was crazy and could be grounded.All he had to do was ask，and as soon as he did，he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions.Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t，but if he was sane he had to fly them.If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to；but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to.Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

“That’s some catch，that Catch-22，”he observed.

“It’s the best there is，”Doc.Daneeka agreed.

Yossarian saw it clearly in all its spinning reasonableness.There was an elliptical precision about its perfect pairs of parts that was graceful and shocking，like good modern art，and at times Yossarian wasn’t quite sure that he saw it at all，just the way he was never quite sure about good modern art or about the flies Orr saw in Appleby’s eyes.He had Orr’s word to take for the flies in Appleby’s eyes.

“Oh，they’re all right，”Orr had assured him about the flies in Appleby’s eyes after Yossarian’s fist fight with Appleby in the officers’club，“although he probably doesn’t even know it.That’s why he can’t see things as they really are.”

“How come he doesn’t know it？”inquired Yossarian.

“Because he’s got flies in his eyes，”Orr explained with exaggerated patience.“‘How can he see he’s got flies in his eyes if he’s got flies in his eyes？”

It made as much sense as anything else，and Yossarian was willing to give Orr the benefit of the doubt because Orr was from the wilderness outside New York City and knew so much more about wildlife that Yossarian did，and because Orr，unlike Yossarian’s mother，father，sister，aunt，uncle，in-law，teacher，spiritual leader，legislator，neighbor and newspaper，had never lied to him about anything crucial before.Yossarian had mulled his newfound knowledge about Appleby over in private for a day or two and then decided，as a good deed，to pass the word along to Appleby himself.

“Appleby，you’ve got flies in your eyes，”he whispered helpfully as they passed by each other in the doorway of the parachute tent on the day of the weekly milk run to Parma.

“What？”Appleby responded sharply，thrown into confusion by the fact that Yossarian had spoken to him at all.

“You’ve got flies in your eyes，”Yossarian repeated.“That’s probably why you can’t see them.”

7.What is Catch-22 described in the passage？

8.Why is the description of Catch-22（Paragraph 2）followed by the story of Appleby having flies in his eyes？

9.According to Joseph Heller，“The only freedom we really have is the freedom to say no.”Do you agree or disagree with him？Support your opinion with examples from historical or personal experience.

10.Is Catch-22 relevant to the societies？Support your opinion with examples from historical or personal experience.

参考答案与解析

Ⅰ.Define briefly the following terms.（20 points）

1.Walt Whitman and Leaves of Grass

Walt Whitman（1819–1892）is one of the most original and inspiring American Poets，true to his art and to his role as a poet.He devotes himself to poetry eulogizing the native American experience.

Leaves of Grass is America’s first genuine epic poem，which has nine editions with more than 400 poems all written in free verse form.The title implies rebirth，renewal and green life.

2.old English，middle English and modern English

Old English is an early form of the English language that is spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what England and south-eastern Scotland are now between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century.What survives through writing represents primarily the literary register of Anglo-Saxon.

Middle English is the diverse forms of the English language in use between the late 11th century and about 1470，when a form of London-based English began to become widespread，aided by the introduction of the printing press to England in the late 1470s.

Modern English，including William Shakespeare’s works and the King James Bible，generally dates from about 1550，and continues to adopt foreign words from a variety of languages，as well as coining new words.

3.Realism

Realism refers to the attempt in literature and art to represent life as it really is，without sentimentalizing or idealizing it.Realistic writing often depicts the daily life and speech of ordinary people.Its practitioners include William Howells and George Eliot.

4.sonnet

Sonnet is a fourteen-line lyric poem，usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter.A sonnet generally expresses a single theme or idea.Sonnets vary in structure and rhyme scheme，but are generally of two types—the Italian sonnet and the Shakespearean sonnet.

5.alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of similar sounds，usually consonants or consonant clusters，in a group of words.Sometimes the term is limited to the repetition of initial consonant sounds.It is an important poetic device in Anglo-Saxon poetry where it generally occurs on three of the four stressed syllables in a line.

Ⅱ.Read and interpret.（30 points）

Selection 1

Questions 1 to 6 are based on the following poem by Sir Philip Sidney.

1.What question does the poet speaker ask in Lines 3–4？

These two lines ask about whether there is love in the heaven.

2.According to Lines 5–9，what do the speaker and the moon have in common？

Both the speaker and the moon are falling in love with someone.The poet narrator is melancholy and finds sympathy in the moon’s wan countenance，which seems to him to be the face of a lover scorned and rejected as he is.

3.In your own words，tell what the speaker asks in Lines 10–14.

In Lines 10–14 the speaker is asking the moon about the situation in the heaven，that is，whether in the heaven true love is considered stupid，and whether the girls are proud and always fail to be loyal to their love.

4.What does the description of the moon in Lines 1–8 suggest about the speaker’s emotion when he is in love？

The description of the moon suggests the speaker’s love is not easy，so he is heartbroken and feeble.

5.What do the questions that conclude the poem imply about the object of the speaker’s love？

The last question of the poem means in the heaven the lovers don’t cherish the love either and are always ungrateful to their love.This question implies the object of the speaker’s love might be the same，that is，she might also be unfaithful to her love and treat love as a plaything.

6.What is the rhyme scheme of this poem？

The rhyme scheme of this poem is abbaabba，ededee.

Selection 2

Questions 7 to 10 are based on the following passage from Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.

7.What is Catch-22 described in the passage？

Catch-22 is a military term that is confusing and difficult to describe.It is like a trap that confined members of the U.S.Air Force.In terms of logic，the“catch”is that，by applying for exemption from highly dangerous bombing missions on the grounds of insanity，the applicant proves himself to be sane（after all，that’s what any sane person would do）.If anyone applies to fly they would be considered insane.Either way，sane or insane，they are sent on the missions.

8.Why is the description of Catch-22（Paragraph 2）followed by the story of Appleby having flies in his eyes？

Because the Catch-22 is kind of paradox，in which the attempt to escape makes escape impossible.Orr’s explanation to the flies in Appleby’s eyes is also a logical confusion，in other words，the flies story is also a paradox.However，everybody knows that Catch-22 does not exist，but all think that it exists and obeys its absurd logic.The flies story is the same case，because“it made as much sense as anything else，and Yossarian was willing to give Orr the benefit of the doubt.”

I can’t agree with Heller.To Heller，the world is absurd and morbid，and any attempt to create order in the absurd world would be a vain.This kind of existentialist idea would lead to his conclusion that“the only freedom we really have is the freedom to say no.”But actually the freedom we can enjoy is not only the freedom to say no.Take Henry Thoreau for example，when he refused to pay a poll-tax of$2 to the government，he was choosing his freedom to say no and then was put in jail for one night.But his freedom is not limited in just saying no，for this experience inspired him to write his famous essay Civil Disobedience，advocating nonviolent struggle against social injustice.

10.Is Catch-22 relevant to the societies？Support your opinion with examples from historical or personal experience.

The Catch-22 does exist in society.For example，when college graduates are applying for jobs，many companies would require working experience.Without the working experience，applicants are hard to get the job.But applicants can never have working experience if the employers would not give them any opportunity to do the job.