职称英语综合类考试阅读理解原文练习(五)

　　A Tale of Scottish Rural Life

　　Lewis Grassic Gibbons Sunset Song was voted the best Scottish novel of all timeby Scottishs reading public in 20051 Once considered shocking for its frank description of aspects of the lives of Scotlands poor rural farmers，it has been adapted for stage，film，TV and radio in recent decades.

　　The novel is set on the fictional estate of Kinraddie，in the farming country of the Scottish northwest in the years up to and beyond World War I.At its heart is the story of Chris，who is both part of the community and a little outside it.

　　Grassic Gibbon gives us the most detailed and intimate account of the life of his heroine.We watch her grow through a childhood dominated by her cruel but hard-working father;experience tragedy ;and learn about her feelings as she grows into woman.We see her marry，lose her husband，then marry again.Chris has seemed so convincing a figure to some female readers that they cannot believe that she is the creation of a man2.

　　But it would be misleading to suggest that this book is just about Chris.It is truly a novel of a place and its people.Its opening section tells of Kinraddies long history，in a language that imitates the places changing patterns of speech and writing.

　　The story itself is amazingly full of characters and incidents.It is told from Chris point of view but also from that of the gossiping community，a community where everybody knows everybody elses business and nothing is ever forgotten.

　　Sunset Song has a social theme too.It is concerned with what Grassic Gibbon perceives as the destruction of traditional Scottish rural life first by modernization and then by World War 1.Gibbon tried hard to show how certain characters resist the war.Despite this，the war takes the young men away，a number of them to their deaths.In particular，it takes away Chris husband，Ewan Tavendale.The war finally kills Ewan，but not in the way his widow is told.In fact，the Germans arent responsible for his death，but his own side.He is shot because he is said to have run away from a battle.

　　If the novel is about the end of one way of life it also looks ahead.It is a Sunset Songbut is concerned too with the new Kinraddie，indeed of the new European world.Grassic Gibbon went on to publish two other novels about the place that continue its story.

　　词汇：

　　amazingly/[5meIzNlI/adv.令人吃惊地

　　注释：

　　1.　Lewis Grassic Gibbons Sunset Songwas votedthe best Scottish novel of all timeby Scottishs reading public in 2005.Lewis Grassic Gibbon的《日落歌》在2005年被苏格兰读书界投票为所有时代中的最佳的小说。

　　2.　Chris has seemed so convincing a figure to some female readers that they cannot believe that she is the creation of a man.在一些女读者看来，Chris这个人物写得非常令人信服，因此不能相信她是由一个男人创作出来的。

　　练习：

　　1.　What is Sunset Song mainly about?

　　A)The First World War.

　　B)The beauty of the sunset.

　　C)The new European world.

　　D)The lives of rural Scottish farmers.

　　2.　Which statement is NOT true of Chris?

　　A)She is the heroine of Sunset Song.

　　B)She had a miserable childhood.

　　C)She is the creation of a man.

　　D)She married only once.

　　3.　What is the opening section of the novel mainly concerned with?

　　A)The climate of Kinraddie.

　　B)The history of Kinraddie.

　　C)The geography of Kinraddie.

　　D)The language spoken in Kinraddie.

　　4.　Who are responsible for Evans death，according to Chris?

　　A)The Germans.

　　B)The French army.

　　C)The British troops.

　　D)The Russian soldiers.

　　5.　The word sunset occurring in the title of the novel most probably means

　　A)the end of the heroines life.

　　B)the end of ones life.

　　C)the end of traditional life.

　　D)the end of the day.

　　答案与题解：

　　1.　D 问题问的是《日落歌》主要讲的是什么?选项A说的是：第一次世界大战。选项B说的是：日落之美。选项C说的是：新欧洲世界。选项D说的是：苏格兰农夫的生活。选项D是正确的，相关的信息可在第一段中找到。

　　2.　D 问题问：哪个陈述对Chris是不符的?选项A说的是：她是《日落歌》中的女主人公。选项B说的是：她的童年很苦。选项C说的是：她是由一个男人创作出来的。选项D说的是：她只结过一次婚。D不对。第三段有这么一句话：We see her malty，lose her husband，then marry again.我们看见她结婚，失去丈夫，后来又结婚。

　　3.　B 问题问的是：小说的开头部分主要说了些什么?选项A说的是：Kinraddie的气候。选项B说的是：Kinraddie的历史。选项C说的是：Kinraddie的地理。选项D说的是：Kinraddie说的语言。看看下面这句话：Its opening section tells of Kinraddies long history，in a language that imitates the places changing patterns of speech and writing.小说的开头部分讲述了Kinraddie的悠久历史，讲述时模仿了该地方变化着的口头语和书面语的表达方式。可以看出，B是对的。

　　4.　A 问题问的是：根据Chris，谁杀死了Evan?选项A说的是：德国人。选项B说的是：法国军队。选项C说的是：英国部队。选项D说的是：俄罗斯士兵。B 是正确的。倒数第二段有这么两句话：The war finally kills Ewan，but not in the way his widow is told.In fact，the Germans arent responsible for his death，but his own side.战争最后杀死了Ewan，但不是他的寡妇说的那样。事实上，德国人没有杀他，是他自己一边的人杀的。

　　5.　C 问题问的是：小说题目中sunset这个词的意思很町能是哪一个意思?选项A说的是：女主人公生命的结束。选项B说的是：一个人生命的结束。选项C说的是：传统生活方式的结束。选项D说的是：一天的结束。正确答案是C。最后一段的第一句话是这么说的：If the novel is about the end of one way of life it also looks ahead.如果小说是关于一种生活方式的结束，那么它同时也是朝前看的。