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第1单元 杰弗里?乔叟
1. How is the setting of the talesdescribed? With such a setting, could you predict the general tone of the talesthat are to follow?
Key: (1) Chaucer sets thetales in the spring, describing both the natural world and people—the naturalworld shows a kind of renewal and rebirth, and people begin to stir after thelong sleep of winter. Chaucer’s description of the landscape is lively (欢快的) and fresh (清新的), since he speaks of buddingflowers, growing crops and singing birds.
(2) Accordingto such a setting, we can predict that the general tone of the tales will belight, sprightly (活泼、愉快的) and humorous.
2. In your own words, summarize thecharacter of the Knight from the brief introduction in this excerpt.
Key: According to theexcerpt, we can see that the Knight has a strong spirit of chivalry—truth,honor, freedom and courtesy. He had fought many battles for the faith ofpeople. He is a brave, wise, modest and “truly perfect gentle-knight”.
3. Without comparison with thetranslated version, are there words still recognizable to you in the originalMiddle English version?
Key: Yes, there are manywords can be recognized. Because many words only contain few different letterscompared with the modern words. What’s more, sometimes, we can recognize thewords by guess or by the sense-group.
第2单元 威廉?莎士比亚
Hamlet
1. Why sleep is so frightening,according to Hamlet, since it can “end” “the heartache and the thousand naturalshocks”?
Key: Death means the endof life. If he dies, he may go to an unknown world and can never come back. Inthis sense, Hamlet can not take revenge on his uncle for his father, failing torealize his will. Though “sleep” can end the heartache and the thousand naturalshocks, it is a state of mind and Hamlet doesn’t know at all. He is frightenedby the possible suffering in the long “dream”. He can’t predict what willhappen in the sleep, may be good may be evil.
2. Why would people rather bear allthe sufferings of the world instead of choosing death to get rid of them,according to Hamlet?
Key: According to Hamlet,because that people don’t know what lying there waiting for them in the unknownworld, maybe something more terrible than that in the mortal world.
3. What, after all, makes people losetheir determination to take action? Please explain in relation to the so-calledhesitation of Hamlet.
Key: It is the fear forthe unknown world and the lake of confidence for the future make people loosedetermination to take action. Just like Hamlet, he doesn’t know what wouldhappen if he kills his uncle or kills himself, so he is hesitated. However,Hamlet’s hesitation should be concerned from a different point of view. Hamletis a true man. He always considered for his country and the people, maybe hishesitation due to the meditation on death and the fear of unknown world afterdeath, but the main reason lies in his all-round consideration for his nation.He wants to change the dark existing world but it is beyond his ability, he hasno idea what he should do. He knows his death can’t solve the problems deeplyrooted in the society. So he hesitated about what he should do as the prince ofDemark. His revenge is not everything for him. And he clearly knows that thesudden death of king may arise some disorders in the country. Thus he confusedabout his action.
Romeo and Juliet
1. What does Romeocompare Juliet to in the beginning passage of the selection?
Key: Romeo comparesJuliet to the sun.
2. What is Romeo andJuliet’s attitude toward being a Montague or a Capulet?
Key: They think thatsince their family names hinder them from loving each other, they prefer thatthe names Montague and Capulet have nothing to do with themselves and even givethem up.
3. What does Romeo mean when he says“Look thou but sweet,/And I am proof against their enmity”?
Key: It means that Romeoloves Juliet so much that he thinks that the love can protect him from harm anddissolve the hatred between their families.
Sonnet 18
1. How does the poetanswer the question he puts forth in the first line?
Key: The poet thinks thathe should not “compare thee to a summer’s day”, because “Thou art more lovelyand more temperate”. And, in the following part, he gives his reasons.
2. What makes the poetthink that “thou” can be more beautiful (fair) than summer and immortal?
Key: Because the poetthinks that summers will go away and everything in the summer will fade, but“thy eternal summer shall not fade”.
