Charles Dickens was born in 1812. He was the 1 of a clerk in a government office. When Charles was still a little boy, his father was sent to prison for 2 . In those days, men who 3 quite small amounts had to stay in 4 until the debt was paid.
When Charles was 12, he had to work in a factory. The only formal education he 5 was a two-year schooling at a school for 6 children. His career as a 7 of novels began in 1833 with short stories and essays(散文)in periodicals, and in 1837, when he was 25, his short stories were 8 into the novel The Pickwick Papers, which made him the most 9 author of his time in England.
Charles Dickens had 10 of the unhappy life of many poor people. In years of hard work in various 11 jobs, Charles met many people, young and old, rich and poor, happy and 12 . He had unusual energy and unusual powers of observation.
Dickens’ 13 were much better or much worse than they would be in real life. The novels of Dickens are 14 of life, observation, and energy, and his own energy seemed 15 . Many of his novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, 16 attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over a hundred years ago. Dickens was loved by the broad mass of the people.
A Tale of Two Cities is one of his famous novels. It was 17 in 1859. In this novel Dickens gives a vivid description of the French Bourgeios Revolution that 18 in 1789.
His sudden death in 1870 19 thousands of people who were waiting for his next book. Instead, they bought and wept over(为……哭泣)a picture called The Empty Chair, 20 the desk and chair that he would no longer use.
【语篇概述】本文记叙了查尔斯·狄更斯的生平及他的主要作品。
1. A. friend B. son
C. writer D. daughter
【解析】选B。Charles Dickens出生于1812年, 从下文可知他是一个政府职员的儿子。
2. A. murder B. debt C. crime D. stealing
【解析】选B。从下文特别是“. . . until the debt was paid”. 可知, “……他爸爸因欠债而被关进了监狱”。
3. A. earned B. made C. owed D. stole
【解析】选C。由下文可知, 此处是“当时, 哪怕是欠很少数目的债也要蹲监狱直到还清债务”。
4. A. prison B. school
C. street D. church
【解析】选A 。stay in prison意为“蹲监狱”。
5. A. accepted B. received
C. returned D. gained
【解析】选B。这里谈论的是Charles接受的教育。“他所接受的在校的正式教育只有两年”。receive education意为“接受教育”; 是习惯搭配。
6. A. normal B. unusual
C. disabled D. poor
【解析】选D。由文章内容可知, Charles小的时候, 家里很穷。
7. A. reader B. writer C. inventor D. critic
【解析】选B。由下文可知, 此处说的是他作为小说作家的职业始于1833年。
8. A. collected B. translated
C. published D. changed
【解析】选A。在1837年, 他25岁时, 他的短篇小说被收集整理成小说The Pickwick Papers。
9. A. interesting B. instructive
C. popular D. unknown
【解析】选C。小说The Pickwick Papers使他成为他那个时代英国最受欢迎(popular)的作家。
10. A. experiences B. stories
C. times D. materials
【解析】选A。由上下文可推知, “Charles Dickens有着与众多穷人一样的不幸的生活经历(experience)”。
11. A. unimportant B. unfair
C. unpleasant D. unlucky
【解析】选C。由unhappy life, hard work等来看, 此处说的是Dickens在各种各样艰难的(unpleasant)工作中, 他结识了很多人……这些为他后来的创作提供了素材。
12. A. poor B. suffering
C. old D. miserable
【解析】选D。通过上文的young and old, rich and poor可推知此处说的是“幸福的和不幸的”。在这4个词中只有miserable与happy相对。
13. A. novels B. characters
C. works D. actors
【解析】选B。前面说Dickens在多年的劳动中结识了各种各样的人, 此处说的是Dickens笔下的人物要么比真实中的更好, 要么比真实中的更差。
14. A. full B. tired C. careful D. afraid
【解析】选A。从上下文来看, 此处说的是Dickens的小说充满了生活气息、观察力和活力……
15. A. limited B. endless C. great D. poor
【解析】选B。前面说“他的小说充满了生活气息, 充满了观察力和活力”, 由此可断定“他本人的精力似乎是无穷无尽的”。endless是形容词, 意为“无边的; 没有穷尽的”。
16. A. drew B. asked C. devoted D. fixed
【解析】选A。他的很多小说像《雾都孤儿》《大卫·科波菲尔》和《远大前程》所关注的是一百多年前在英国所存在的令人不满意的社会环境。draw attention to固定搭配, 意为“关注; 让人去注意”。
17. A. published B. come out
C. reviewed D. collected
【解析】选A。《双城记》是在1859年“出版”的。
18. A. broke away B. broke down
C. broke out D. broke up
【解析】选C。“《双城记》生动描写了爆发于1789年的法国资产阶级革命”。break out意为“爆发”; 不能用于被动语态中。break away意为“逃脱, 背叛”; break down意为“抛锚; 破裂”; break up意为“分解; 破碎”; 都不符合语境。
19. A. struck B. shocked
C. terrified D. disappointed
【解析】选B。句意为“正当人们盼望着他的下一部作品问世时, 他的突然离世震惊了成千上万的人”。
20. A. insisting B. watching
C. realizing D. showing
【解析】选D。他们恸哭并购买了称作“The Empty Chair”的画, 这幅画表现的是他不再使用的桌椅。
