Twentieth century poetry represents many schools of writing. During this century poetry incorporated traditional ideas as well as modern thinking. American writers began deviating from traditional 19th century style to create a new style which provided an enormous shower of verse reflective of New World, rather than Old World, ideas.
? Robert Frost was one of America"s leading twentieth century poets. [■] Many of Frost"s poems focused on rural New England but his poems also contained philosophical ideas that encompassed all regions of America. [■] He wrote traditional verse but he also used rhythm and meter and vocabulary of everyday speech. As a result, Frost"s poetry is thought to be both traditional and experimental. Frost was born in California but moved to Massachusetts as a young man when his father died. [■] Frost wrote for several years on a part-time basis, supplementing his income by teaching school and operating a farm which his grandfather had purchased for him. Although he wrote numerous poems during this time, rarely were any of his writings published. [■] At the age of 38, he sold the farm and devoted his time to full-time writing. Successful results were almost immediate. Frost moved to England and continued writing. A London publisher purchased his book A Boy"s Will, and it was this book"s publication that gained Frost recognition as a poet in the United States and abroad. Frost returned to America, taught and lectured at universities, served as "poet in residence" at a university in Canada, and continued publishing poetry. He was awarded four Pulitzer Prizes for his poetry. The Road Not Taken and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening are two poems which demonstrate Frost"s ability to combine visions of rural settings and philosophical ideas into beautiful lyrical verse.
? Carl Sandburg, another twentieth century poet, was the second of seven children born to a working class family of Swedish immigrants who lived in Illinois. Carl completed eight years of school before he began working to support himself. He delivered milk, threshed wheat, laid brick, shined shoes and then began traveling as a hobo. At the age of twenty, Sandburg volunteered to serve in the Spanish-American War and was sent to Puerto Rico where he battled mosquitoes and heat rather than enemy soldiers. When he returned to Illinois, he entered college and worked as a fireman to support himself. Sandburg left school in his senior year but his college years were instrumental in helping him shape his political views and literary talents. Adopting socialist views, Sandburg was concerned about the plight of the American worker and the poor. He worked as a reporter for the Chicago Daily News for several years and covered the current labor issues. Sandburg did not become well known as a writer until 1914 when several of his poems appeared in a national poetry magazine. Two years later his book of Chicago poems was published and he found himself in the international spotlight. A book that Sandburg wrote about fanciful children"s tales prompted his publisher to suggest he write a biography of Abraham Lincoln for children. The result was a well-researched two-volume biography of Lincoln for adult readers. His second volume, Abraham Lincoln, The War Years , won him a Pulitzer Prize. Sandburg completed four more volumes in the Lincoln series and continued to publish poems, a novel, volumes of folk songs, and an autobiography. Sandburg died in 1967.
? Langston Hughes, a black American writer and another prolific twentieth century writer, also died in 1967. Hughes was born in Missouri into an abolitionist family and grew up in Kansas and Ohio. As an eighth grader, Hughes was selected as the "Class Poet" because of the many poems he had written. Hughes loved writing but his father encouraged him to pursue the more practical career of engineering. Hughes began the study of engineering and, although he was an excellent student, he dropped out of Columbia University to continue writing his poetry. The Negro Speaks of Rivers was Hughes" first published poetry and it was one of his most famous. Hughes enjoyed music, especially blues and jazz. During the 1920s, he traveled to Africa and Europe. When he returned to Harlem, New York in 1924, he wrote poetry which reflected on his earlier experiences. Hughes returned to college and graduated in 1929 and devoted his life to writing and lecturing. He wrote sixteen books of poems, two novels, several collections of short stories, editorial and documentary fiction, plays, operas, and three autobiographies. As one of the most important writers of the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes" writings promoted African American culture and spirituality.

verse: a poem, or piece of poetry
volume: a collection of written sheets bound together and constituting a book
autobiography: a history of a person"s life written or told by that person

单选题 The phrase for several years in paragraph 3 of the passage refers to

单选题 The word enemy in paragraph 3 of the passage is closest in meaning to

单选题 What is Harlem Renaissance believed to indicate?

单选题 Why does the author make reference, in paragraph 2, to A Boy"s Will?

单选题 What can be inferred from paragraph 2 about Robert Frost?

单选题 Why does the author mention that twentieth century writers represented many schools of writing?

单选题 The word incorporated in the passage is closest in meaning to

单选题 According to paragraph 4, what is the significance of the word "abolitionist"?

单选题 According to paragraph 2, why was Frost a leading twentieth century poet?

单选题 According to paragraph 3, Carl Sandburg succeeded as a writer because

单选题 According to paragraph 4, why did Hughes study engineering?

填空题 Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
He attended college for a short time but quit school to teach and work part-time for a newspaper.
Where would the sentence best fit?
Click on a square[■] to add the sentence to the passage.

填空题 Directions: Complete the table by matching the phrases below, Select the appropriate phrases from the answer choices and match them to the appropriate poet. TWO of the answer choices will NOT be used. This question is worth 4 points.
Drag your answer choices to the spaces where they belong. To remove an answer choice, click on it. To review the passage, click on View Text.
Carl Sandburg
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Langston Hughes
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Answer Choices:
A. writing for children
B. the writer of The Road Not Taken
C. ambivalent qualities of poetry
D. influence of race
E. finally graduating from college
F. an important figure of a college literary trend
G. having a part-time job while in college
H. winning a prestigious award