Theendoftheyearisdrawingnear,andwinterisinfullswing....

问题详情：

    The end of the year is drawing near, and winter is in full swing. The season brings along with it strong winds and snow — an environment that’s never comfortable to be in.

This unpleasant and even frightening aspect of winter can often be seen in literature. In Shakespeare’s King Lear (1606), the king has given away his kingdom and been rejected by his two ungrateful daughters. He is out in the winter cold，suffering things that are usually reserved for the poorest and most unfortunate human beings.

The winter is bad enough for Lear，but being abandoned by his family is worse. A song from another Shakespeare play, As You Like It(1599), is fitting for this poor old man's situation: "Blow，blow，thou winter wind/Thou art not so unkind /As ma's ingratitude (忘恩负义)". Here, winter is used to bring out the ugliness of inhumanity (无人*). There aren't many things that are worse than winter, according to Shakespeare.

Once winter became less of a threat to human beings, literary works featuring it became more positive. Since Charles Dickens, the representation of the season in literature has often featured happy Christmas celebrations.

The cold of the winter weather provides a contrast to the fun going on indoors.

Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843) was the start of this, but Christmas is still a common, cheery element (元素)in stories that feature winter scenes today. Consider the joy felt by Harry Potter and his friends in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) as they sit down for their festive meal：

"Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat，roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce".

It is almost as much a pleasure to read about the meal as it might have been to eat it.

Although winter still isn’t the most cheerful season in novels and poems, it’s safe to say that writers have certainly "warmed up" since Shakespeare’s days.

81．What’s the author’s main purpose in writing this article?

A．To recommend some winter stories in literature.

B．To explain what winter is like in literary works.

C．To describe certain customs that are related to winter.

D．To tell us why winter is described as unpleasant in literature.

82．What can we learn from Shakespeare’s works?

A．Shakespeare didn’t like winter for its bad weather.

B．King Lear was forced to give up being a king in a cold winter.

C．It’s in winter when King Lear drove his two daughters off.

D．Winter is compared with the ugly side of humanity.

83．Why does the author mention Charles Dickens in the passage?

A．Because a lot of his works are related to winter.

B．Because he is the most popular author of winter stories.

C．Because he started a new way of representing winter.

D．Because his works make people feel cheerful in winter.

84．The example of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is used mainly to show      .

A．traditional Christmas food makes the winter cheery

B．Christmas is still a symbol of joy in modern stories

C．it’s a pleasure to read Christmas-related books in winter

D．winter has become the happiest season in literary works

【回答】

81．B

82．D

83．C

84．B

【分析】

本文是一篇说明文。介绍了冬季的令人不快甚至是令人恐惧的方面经常在文学作品中看到，但随着时间的推移，文学作品中冬天的含义也在发生变化。

81．推理判断题。根据文章第二段第一句"This unpleasant and even frightening aspect of winter can often be seen in literature"可知，人们经常可以在文学中看到冬季的令人不快甚至是令人恐惧的方面。随后，作者描述了冬天在不同作家的作品中的不同方面。由此推知，作者写本文是为了解释文学作品中的冬天是什么样子的。故选B。

82．细节理解题。由文章第三段最后两句话“Here, winter is used to bring out the ugliness of inhumanity (无人*). There aren't many things that are worse than winter, according to Shakespeare.”可知，在莎士比亚的戏剧《皆大欢喜》中，冬天被用来展现人*的丑陋。莎士比亚认为，没有什么比冬天更糟糕的了。故选D。

83．推理判断题。由文章第四段内容可知，自狄更斯以来，在文学中这个季节的表现常常是圣诞快乐的庆祝活动。由此可知，作者在文中提到查尔斯·狄更斯是因为他开启了一种描写冬天的新方式。故选C。

84．推理判断题。由文章第五段内容可知，寒冷的冬季天气与室内的乐趣形成了对比。再根据第六段第二句话可知，在J. K. Rowling的《哈利•波特与魔法石》中，哈利•波特和他的朋友们在享用圣诞大餐时是快乐的。作者通过这个例子说明在现代故事中圣诞仍然是快乐的象征。故选B。

知识点：文学艺术

题型：阅读理解