美国文学部分精选练习题根据英语专业八级考试人文考试部分的要求,我们总结了美国各个历史时期的文学知识,并精选出以下习题,祝各位考生考出好成绩。

In American literature, the eighteen century was the age of the Enlightenment. was the dominant spirit.A. HumanismB. RationalismC. RevolutionD. Evolution Which statement about Franklin is not true?A. He instructed his countrymen as a printer.B. He was a scientist.C. He was a master of diplomacy.D. He was a Puritan.Who is regarded as the first American prose epic.A. NatureB. The Scarlet LetterC. WaldenD. Moby-DickThe Romanic Period of American literature started with the publication of Washington Irving's and ended with Whiteman's Leaves of Grass.A. The Sketch BookB. Tales of a TravelerC. The AlhambraD.A history of New YorkIn Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, "A" may stand for .A. AdulteryB. AngelC. AmiableD. All the aboveThe period before the American Civil War is generally referred to as .A. the Naturalist PeriodB. the Modern PeriodC. the RomanticPeriod D. the Realistic PeriodThe Age of Realism is the literary history of the United States refers to the period from to .A. 1861 – 1914B. 1863 – 1918C. 1865 – 1914D. 1865 –1918Who is described by Mark Twain as a boy with "a sound heart and a deformed conscience?" ?A. Tom SawyerB. Huckleberry FinnC. JimD. TonyMark Twain, one of the greatest 19th century American writers, is well known for his .A. international themeB. waste-land imageryC. local colorD. symbolismThe impact of Darwin's evolutionary theory on the American thought and the influence of the nineteenth-century French literature on the American men of letters gave rise to yet another school of realism: American .A. modernismB. naturalismC. vernacularismD. local colorismIn 1900, London published his first collection of short stories, named .A. The son of the WolfB. The Sea WolfC. The Law of LifeD. White FangIn which of the following works, Hemingway presents his philosophy about life and death through the depiction of the bull-fight as a kind of microcosmic tragedy?A. The Green Hills of Africa.B. The Snows of Kilimanjaro.C. To Have and Have Not.D. Death in the Afternoon. Which of the following figures does not belong to "The Lost Generation"?A. Ezra PoundB. William Carlos WilliamsC. Robert FrostD. Theodore Dreiser B 20世纪美国最负盛名的几个诗人之一，与象征派和意象派联系紧密。

他还是全科及小儿科医师。

他反对维多利亚诗风（尤其是T·S·艾略特），既受到庞德等人影响，又继承了浪漫派传统，推陈出新，力求贴近生活语言。

Who is a dramatist that holds the central position in American drama the modernistic period?A. Sinclair LevisB. Eugene O'NeilC. Arthur MillerD. Tennessee WilliamsThe following writers were awarded Nobel Prize for literature except .A. William FaulknerB. F. Scott FitzgeraldC. John SteinbeckD. Ernest HemingwayIn 1954, was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature for his "mastery of the art of modern narration".A. T.S. EliotB. Ernest HemingwayC. John Steinbeck 1962D.William Faulkner1950Who is the author of the work: "The Grapes of Wrath"?A. John SteinbeckB. Eugene O'NeilC. F. Scott FitzgeraldD. Theodore DreiserIn 1920 Sinclair Lewis published his memorable denunciation of American small-town provincialism in .A. Main StreetB. An American TragedyC. Winesburg, OhioD. Sister CarrieI. Choose among the four choices the one that would best complete the statement. （30 pts， 1.5 for each）1. The Romantic Period in American literature started f rom the publication of Washington Irving's ______ and ended with Whitman's Leaves of Grass.A. The Sketch BookB. Adventures of Captain BonnevilleC. A History of New YorkD. The Scarlet Letter2. In the middle of 19th century， America witnessed a cultural flowering which is called “_____”.A. the English RenaissanceB. the Second RenaissanceC. the American RenaissanceD. the Harlem Renaissance3. As a philosophical and literary movement， the main issues involved in the debate of Transcendentalism are gene rally concerning ______.A. nature， man and the universeB. the relationship between man and womanC. the development of Romanticism in American literatur eD. the cold， rigid rationalism of Unitarianism4. In the history of American literature， ______ is us ually agreed to be the summit of the American Romanticism.A. the Harlem RenaissanceB. England TranscendentalismC. New England TranscendentalismD. New Transcendentali sm5. About the novel The Scarlet Letter， which of the fo llowing statements is not right？A. It's very hard to say that it is a love story or a s tory of sin.B. It's a highly symbolic story and the author is a mas ter of symbolism.C. It's mainly about the moral， emotional and psycholo gical effects of sin upon the main characters and the peopl e in general.D. In it the letter A takes the same symbolic meaning t hroughout the novel.6. The great sea adventure story Moby-Dick is usually c onsidered______.A. a symbolic voyage of the mind in quest of truth and knowledge of the universeB. an adventurous exploration into man's relationship w ith natureC. a simple whaling tale or sea adventureD. a symbolic voyage of the mind in quest of the artist ic truth and beauty7. As a great innovator in American literature， Walt W hitman wrote his poetry in an unconventional style which is now called “______，” which is ______.A. blank verse poetry with chanting refrainsB. free verse poetry without a fixed beat or regular rh yme schemeC. blank verse poetry without rhymes at the end of the lines but with a fixed beatD. free verse poetry in an irregular metric form and ex pressing noble feelings8. After the Civil War America was transformed from ___ ___ to ______.A. an agrarian community … an industrialized and comme rcialized societyB. an agrarian community … a society of freedom and eq ualityC. a poor and backward society … an industrialized and commercialized societyD. an industrialized and commercialized society … a hi ghly developed society9. Which of the following is said of the American natur alism？A. They preferred to have their own region and people a t the forefront of the stories.B. Their characteristic setting is usually an isolated town.C. Humans should be united because they had to adapt th emselves to changing harsh environment.D. Their characters were conceived more or less complex combinations of inherited attributes， their habits condit ioned by social and economic forces.10. Which of the following is not right about Mark Twai n's style of language？A. His sentence structures are long， ungrammatical and difficult to read.B. His words are colloquial， concrete and direct in ef fect.C.His humor is remarkable and characterized by puns， s traight-faced exaggeration， repetition and anti-climax.D. His style of language had exerted rather deep influe nce on the contemporary writers.11. The impact of Darwin's evolutionary theory on the A merican thought and the influence of the 19th century Frenc h literature on the American men of letters gave rise to an other school of realism： American ______.A. RomanticismB. TranscendentalismC. RealismD. Naturalism12. Which of the following is not written by Henry Jame s？A. The Portrait of a Lady and The American， Daisy Mill erB. The Wings of the Dove and The AmbassadorsC. What Maisie Knew and The Golden BowlD. The Rise of Silas Lapham and The Gilded Age13. Which of the following about Emily Dickinson is not right？A. Dickinson thinks that nature is both benevolent and cruel.B. Dickinson emphasizes free-will and human responsibil ityC. Dickinson believes in science as a final and saving power.D. Dickinson is original in her poetry.14. Which of the following is right about Emily Dickins on's poems about nature？A. In them， she expressed her general affirmation abou t the relationship between man and nature.B. Some of them showed her disbelief that there existed a mythical bond between man and nature.C. Her poems reflected her feeling that nature is resto rative to human beings.D. Many of them showed her feeling of nature's inscruta bility and indifference to the life and interests of human beings.15. As a very eminent 19th century American writer， Nat haniel Hawthorne is especially famous for his great narrati ve stories such as The Scarlet Letter， and his narrative f orm of art is peculiarly termed as _____.A. short storiesB. romantic storiesC. romanceD. romantic novelII. Explain Define the following terms （25 pts， 5 for each）.1. Transcendentalism2. Local Colorism3. Walden4. Poor Richard’s Almanac5. Moby DickIII. Answer the following questions. （45 pts）1.Say something about Henry James’s literary contribut ions.2. Comment on the American Puritanism and its cultural and literary impact.3. Comment on the aesthetics of Edgar Allan Poe.。