Question

Today, we complete our story about the influential English writer William Shakespeare. He wrote plays and poems during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, which remain very popular today.

During earlier times, people would probably have learned several ancient Roman and Greek plays. It was not unusual for writers to produce more current versions of these works. For example, in Shakespeare's play "The Comedy of Errors"（《错误的喜剧》）Shakespeare borrowed certain details from the ancient Roman writer Plautus. For his play "Macbeth"（《麦克白》）, Shakespeare most likely used a work on Scottish history by Raphael Holinshed for information. Shakespeare might have borrowed from other writers, but the intensity（强度）of his imagination and language made the plays his own. While many plays by other writers of his time have been forgotten, Shakespeare and his art live on.

Shakespeare was also influenced by the world around him. He described the sights and sounds of London in his plays. His works include observations about political struggles, the fear of diseases, and the popular language of the city’s tradesmen. Shakespeare's knowledge of the English countryside is also clear. His works include descriptions of deep forests, local flowers, and the ancient popular traditions of rural people.

It would be impossible to list all of the ways in which Shakespeare’s works have influenced the world culture. But the first and greatest example would be his great influence on the English language. During his time, the English language was changing. Many new words from other languages were being added. Shakespeare used his sharp mind and poetic inventiveness to create hundreds of new words and rework old ones. For example, he created the noun forms of "critic", "mountaineer” and "eyeball". Many common expressions in English come from his plays, including "pomp and circumstance（装腔作势）"from "Othello"（《奥赛罗》）, "full circle（绕圈子地）" from "King Lear"（《李尔王》）, etc. The list of cultural creations influenced by Shakespeare is almost endless. From paintings to television to music and dance, Shakespeare was well represented. Shakespeare's plays have been translated into every major language in the world.

Shakespeare became a well-known writer during a golden age of theater. His years of hard work paid off.

1.What can we infer from the passage？

   A. Many of Shakespeare's works were influenced by earlier writings.

   B. Shakespeare was hard­working when he was a student.

   C. The experience of living in London helped a lot with Shakespeare's works.

   D. Shakespeare became rich later because of the popularity of his works.

2.Shakespeare might have learnt some information from ancient Roman works in 　　　　 .

   A."King Lear"     B."The Comedy of Errors"   C. "Macbeth"    D."Othello"

3.Shakespeare's greatest influence should be on　　　　.

A. the English language  B. paintings       C. television    D. music and dance

4.The passage is mainly about 　　　　.

   A. an introduction to Shakespeare’s life and his works

   B. the main features and styles of Shakespeare's plays

   C. how culture influenced Shakespeare and he influenced culture.

   D. Shakespeare’s greatest influence on the world culture.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.A

2.B

3.A

4.C

【解析】略