美國文學(xué)選讀課后習(xí)題答案

1、精選優(yōu)質(zhì)文檔-傾情為你奉上Unit 1 Benjamin Franklin1.Why did Franklin write his Autobiography?Franklin says that because his son may wish to know about his life, he is taking his one week vacation in the English countryside to record his past. He also says that he has enjoyed his life and would like to repeat it2

2、.What made Franklin decide to leave the brother to whom he had been apprenticed?His brother was passionate, and had often beaten him. The aversion to arbitrary power that has stuck to him through his whole life .After a brush with the law, Franklin left his brother.3.How did he arrive in Philadephia

3、?First he set out in a boat for Amboy, the boat dropped him off about 50 miles from Burlington, the next day he reached Burlington on foot, in Burlington he found a boat which was going towards Philadelphia, he arrived there about eight or nine oclock, on the Sunday morning and landed at the Market

4、Street wharf.4.What features do you find in the style of the above selection?It is the pattern of Puritan simplicity, directness, and concision(言簡意賅). The narrative is lucid(易懂的), the structure is simple, the imagery is homely(樸素的).Unit 2 Edgar Allen Poe1.Who is the narrator? What wrong does he want

5、 to redress?Montresor.Fortunato,one of wine experts insulted him, so he wanted to murder him.2.What is the pretext he uses to lure Fortunato to his wine cellar?He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a cask of Amontillado a rare and valuable sherry wine. Fortunato is

6、 anxious to determine whether or not it is truly Amontillado, so he goes to the vault with Montresor.3.What happens to Fortunato in the end?He was walled up alive behind bricks in a wine cellar.Unit 4 Nathaniel Hawthorne:1.Why is the prison the setting of Chapter 1 ?No matter how optimistic the foun

7、ders of new colonies may be, they are quick to establish a prison and a cemetery in their “Utopia,” for they know that misbehavior, evil, and death are unavoidable.This belief fits into the larger Puritan doctrine, which puts heavy emphasis on the idea of original sinthe notion that all people are b

8、orn sinners because of the initial transgressions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. he is therefore using the prison building to represent the crime and the punishment which are aspect of civilized life. What is the implication of the description of the roses?The rosebush symbolizes the ability

9、 of nature to endure and outlast man's activities. The narrator suggests that roses offer a reminder of Nature's kindness to the condemned; for his tale, he says, it will provide either a “sweet moral blossom” or else some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom.2.Describe the app

10、earance of Hester Prynne and the attitude of the people towards her.The second paragraph on page 30.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval. Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not

11、have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges. One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester.3.What has happened to Hester? As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live. Wh

12、ile waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl. The scarlet letter is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. Why does she make the embroidery of the letter A so elaborate?It seems to declare that she is proud, rather than ash

13、amed, of her sin. In reality, however, Hester simply accepts the “sin” and its symbol as part of herself, just as she accepts her child. And although she can hardly believe her present “realities,” she takes them as they are rather than resisting them or trying to atone for them. How does this tell

14、us about her character? Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.Unit 6 Henry David Thoreau1. Where indeed did Thoreau live, both at a physical level and at a spiritual level

15、? He lived in a cabin on Walden Pond, which belonged to Emersons property.2.Had Thoreau ever bought a farm? Why did he enjoy the act of buying? No, he hadnt. He avoided purchasing a farm because it would inevitably tie him down financially and complicate his life. Thoreau didnt see the acquisition o

16、f wealth as the goal for human existence, he saw the goal of life to be an exploration of the mind and of the magnificent world around us. He regarded the places as an existence free of obligations and full of leisure.3. Is it significant that Thoreau mentioned the Fourth of July as the day on which

17、 he began to stay in the woods? Why?Yes, it is. Because The Fourth of July is known as Independence Day, the birthday of the United States. Here Thoreau uses the day to express his beginning of regeneration at Walden. It also means a symbol of his conquest of being.Unit 7 19th Century American Poets

18、1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1) I Shot an Arrow1. Why did the speaker lose sight of his arrow and song?The arrow flies too swiftly and too far away to be seen by the speaker; whereas the song is naturally invisible. 2. In what circumstances did he find them again? He finds them unexpectedly years

19、later from the trunk of a tree and the heart of a friend. 3. What do arrow and song stand for in this poem? The images of arrow and song here may stand for friendship.(2) A Psalm of Life 1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem? The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerfu

20、l, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death?We should work harder and live happier.3. Interpret the metaphor of "Footprints on the sand of time" (line 2

21、8).The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.2. Walt Whitman (1) Ones Self I Sing 1. What is the significance of singing about one's self? It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy? Physiol

22、ogy is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person. 3. What does Whitman mean by the term of "the Modern Man"?He means that a man should be fre

23、e from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one that is full of bias.(3) O Captain! My Captain! 1. Why is the word "Captain" capitalized throughout the poem?In this poem the word “Captain” specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.2. Wha

24、t overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem? Life is a journey. 3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad? They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.3. Emily D

25、ickinson (1) To Make a Prairie 1. What things are needed to "make" a prairie? In what sense can one really do it? Some grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination.2. How can "revery alone" create a prairie? The prairie stays in one's

26、mind.(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest 1. Why is success "counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed"? Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success.2. Who are "the purple host"? The so-called successful people in the world. 3. Who is &

27、quot;he" in the last stanza? Anyone who is pursuing his success.(3)I'm nobody! 1. Who are the "pair of us" and "they?"in this poem? The "pair of us" refers to the speaker in the poem and the reader, and "they" refers to the public, especially those in

28、 power.2. What does "an admiring bog" really mean?" (line 28). It implies the vain and empty common people, who are always admiring and pursuing the celebrities.3. What is the theme of this poem? The real admirable life is a secluded and common one. 4. Do you want to be "nobody&q

29、uot; or "somebody"? Explain your reasons. Different persons would have different answers to his question. Personally, I prefer to be nobody.Unit8 mark twainQuestions1: Why do you think Mr. Wheeler is so eager to tell these stories?From Mr. Wheelers behaviors and contents of his narration.

30、First, when "I" asked him to tell "me" something about W. Smiley, he “backed me into a corner and blockaded me with his chair, and then sat down and reeled off the narrative”. And during the process of telling his stories, he never paid any attention to others' response to hi

31、s story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted to leave, Mr. Wheeler even didn't notice it and still asked him to sit there listening to him.Question2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories? No. the audience does not sho

32、w any interest in Mr. Wheeler stories. In fact, the narrator was very feverish about his stories, but, in the eyes of the listener, the stories were very boring and had nothing to do with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he

33、would never bother himself to understand it. So after the longtime of Mr. Wheeler solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away.Question3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions?The narrator and hi

34、s listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor. During the intercourse, the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative "without a little smiling" talking about the animals and the things like, while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his stories. It seem

35、ed to be kind of coarse things. So the two different scenes go on separately without an intersection. And their interaction was a complete failure according tour common sense about communication. But it in this sense produced the effect of humor which can be tasted by our readers due to the skills a

36、dopted by Mark Twain .Unit14 The Great GatsbyDo you think Gatsby deserv es to be called “the great”?Why?(1)I think it is too complicated to simply say Gatsbydeserves to be greator not.For one thing, Gatsby wasambitious, hardworking, generous and passionate. He was soextremely loyal to his love and D

37、aisy that he could doanything to get Daisy back. In this respect, he ismuch greater than his contemporaries. For another thing,Gatsby never realized that Daisy wasnt the girl he lovedanymore. Gatsby was so innocent that he staked everythingon his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy of

38、him. He wasnt sober enough to be great. 2.Does “the greenlight” Gatsby believed in exist in reality? Why orwhy not ?(1)I think the green lightdoes not exist in reality.Because the green light which situated at th e end of DaisysEast Egg dock and barely visible from West Egg lawnrepresents Gatsbys un

39、attainable dream. Although the coloritself can be seen as hope and bright future, Gatsbys questfor Daisy back is doomed to be impossible. Daisy livedin a materi al world without being real, where poor ghosts,breathing dream like air. The distinction between ideal andreality was huge. As if American

40、dream between golden pastand golden future always suffered from the realistic betrayaland crush.3.What does Gats bys Schedule reveal about him and howdoes it relate to the American Dream?(1)The schedule is a reflection of Gatsbys determinationand ambition. It reveals that he is hard on himself in pu

41、rsuitof his goalto be an upper-class man.(2)On one hand, we can know that he is persistent inpursuing his American Dream- to attain wealth andhappiness through his struggle. On the other hand, he is tooidealistic and naive. The girl he loves is as vulgar andsuperficial as others in her circle, she i

42、s unable to meetsGatsbys romantic fantasy. So his dream is destined to shatter,which indicates the disillusion of American Dream. 4.Whenyou read the line “He (the man with owl-eyed glasses)took off his glasses and wiped them again, outside andin ,” what images does it create in your mind, given then

43、ovels numerous references to the strikingly strangescene of the spectacled eyes?(1)From this line , superficially, owl-eyes is a person with thick and blurry glasses who can not see clearly all the things in the world. However, we know he is actually an owl-wise observer and sees more clearly than a

44、nyone else in the novel. Owl-Eyes, except Nick, is the only friend to appear at the rain-soaked burial of Gatsby, when others are unwilling to come. He feels sympathy for Gat sbys tragedy.Unit 16 Ernest Hemingway1.How do you interpret the irony of the title after readingthe story?(1)The title A Clea

45、n Well-Lighted Place refers to thecaféin the text. The caféwas very clean and well- lighted.From the literary meaning, we may feel this place was verywarm and comfortable, was a place where people needwarmth wanted to go. So the old man, who was rich butdeaf and lonely came here to find wa

46、rmth and avoided nada.It was the only place he could go and could find somecomfort.(2)However, the younger waiter was very selfish.Therefore, he refused to offer the old man another cup ofwine by the excuse that the business was finished. This caféshould be warm but the younger waiter forced th

47、e lonely anddeaf to leave without any sympathy. This is the irony of thetitle.2.Do you think youth and confidence can help onewithstand the metaphorical dark?Why or why not?(1)I dont think so.In our opinion, the metaphorical darkmeans nada,nothing in ones inner heart. In the article, the younger wai

48、ter had both youth and confidence; however, he never made full use of them. As we can see, he didnt understand the old mans suicide and excessive drinking, and failed to see his tomorrow through the old mans present situation.3.The older wait er said to the younger waiter:“We are of two different ki

49、nds.” In what way do you think they are different?(1)I think they are different from each other in the following four aspects:In the beginning, they are in different ages.The older waiter was in his middle age; while the other was much younger.(2)Then, they have different attitudes towards the old m

50、an. From the article, the older waiter could understand the old man and show sympathy to him. However, the young man was very selfish. He showed hatred rather than sympathy to the old man.(3)Next, they have different attitudes towards life. The older waiter had a deep sense of life. He was brave and

51、 wanted to fight again nada. Besides, he cared about others. he has a shadow understanding of life. He satisfied with his present love and work, he only care about himself. He even never thought of his future.(4)Finally, they have different attitudes towards nada. The older waiter had realized that

52、it is impossible to avoid nada in ones whole life. The only thing h e can do is to keep a kind of clearness in his own mind. But out of youth and confidence, he failed to overcome nada. On the contrary, the younger waiter had the two most important factors for withstanding nada; however, he didnt re

53、alize the nada in his heart at all. Then his youth and confidence became useless.Unit 17 20th -Century American Poets1.Ezra Pound In A Station of the Metro1.Why does the poet call the faces of pedestrians "apparition"?These pedestrians are all walking in a hurry amidst the drizzling rain.

54、What do "petals" and "bough" stand for? Petals refer to the faces while the bough stands for the floating crowd.2.Wallace Stevens Anecdote of the Jar1.What does the jar in poem symbolize? Why does the speaker place it on top of a hill?The jar here symbolizes a certain perspective

55、 on looking at this world. If the perspective of the viewing is creative and unique, it will change the conventional order of the old world. When a new perspective comes out, it will certainly hold attention from the rest.2. The jar is "round" and "of a port in air," meaning that

56、 it has a stately importance. What effect does it have on surroundings when placed on the ground? Maybe the round jar assumes the air of a domineering figure, which helps to form a certain order out of the disordered surrounding.3. How did the wilderness of Tennessee characterized? What words or phr

57、ases does the poet use to describe it?Tennessee seems to a place full of life and energy. “Slovenly,” “sprawl” and “wild” are some of the words used to describe the place. (See Anecdote of the Jar ) 3.Robert Frost(1)Fire and Ice 1. What are the symbolic meanings of fire in this poem? Fire symbolizes

58、 natural disaster, human passion, as well as war. 2. Why does the speaker say that ice is also great for destruction? Explain what ice stands for here. Ice, oppose to fire, is also a dreadful natural disaster in this world, and ice is always related to indifference, coldness, hatred, and the other negative sentiments of human beings. 3. What is your opinion abou