LANGSTON HUGHES

1 Among the many talented African American writers connected with the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s, Langston Hughes was the most popular in his time. His two most important achievements were the incorporation of the rhythms of black music into his poetry and the creation of an authentic black folk speaker in the character of Jesse B. Semple. Through both poetry and storytelling, Hughes captured in written form the dominant oral and improvisatory traditions of black culture.
2 Langston Hughes was born in Missouri in 1902. He began to write poetry in high school and later attended Columbia University in New York. After one year at university, Hughes commenced a nomadic life in the United States and Europe. He shipped out as a merchant marine and worked in a Paris nightclub, all the while writing and publishing poetry. His prolific literary career was launched in 1926 with the publication of his first book, The Weary Blues, a collection of poems on African American themes set to rhythms from jazz and blues. His first novel appeared in 1930, and from that point on Hughes was known as "the bard of Harlem."
3 In the activist 1930s, Hughes was a public figure. He worked as a journalist, published works in several media, and founded African American theaters in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Hughes's concern with race, mainly in an urban setting, is evident in his poetry, plays, screenplays, novels, and short stories. His poetry includes lyrics about black life and black pride as well as poems of racial protest. His major prose writings are those concerned with the character Jesse B. Semple, a shrewd but supposedly ignorant Harlem resident nicknamed Simple. Simple was a wise fool, an honest man who saw through sham and spoke plainly. The Simple stories were originally published as newspaper sketches and later collected in five book volumes.
4 By the 1960s, readers preferred themes that reflected the struggles of the times, and Hughes's writings were overshadowed by those of a younger generation of black poets. However, in more recent decades, scholars and readers have rediscovered Hughes and regard him as a major literary and social influence. His poetry and stories remain an enduring legacy of the Harlem Renaissance, and for this reason his position in the American canon is secure.

单选题 It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that the Harlem Renaissance is the name of
A. a university
B. a literary movement
C. a newspaper
D. a book of poems

单选题 The word prolific in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
A. surprising
B. transitory
C. mature
D. productive

单选题 What is significant about The Weary Blues?
A. It expressed themes of protest and unrest.
B. Hughes wrote it when he was in high school.
C. It put the rhythms of black music into poetry.
D. Hughes performed it in a Paris nightclub.

单选题 According to the passage, Langston Hughes did all of the following EXCEPT
A. teach university courses
B. write novels and screenplays
C. start theater companies
D. set poetry to jazz and blues

单选题 The word sham in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to
A. falsehood
B. the media
C. blindness
D. literature

单选题 The word overshadowed in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to
A. copied
B. respected
C. performed
D. dominated

单选题 Which sentence below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in paragraph 4?
A. The writings of Hughes, although still well known, are not as relevant today as they were at the time of the Harlem Renaissance.
B. Hughes attained prominence in American literature because his writings represent the accomplishments of the Harlem Renaissance.
C. Today Hughes is most remembered for the humorous poetry and stories that made Americans feel secure in the 1930s.
D. Americans like the old-style rhythms of Hughes's poems and stories, and this is why a musical composition was dedicated to him.

填空题 Look at the four squares, , , , and , which indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?
The success of this book helped finance Hughes's further edueation at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.
Langston Hughes was born in Missouri in 1902. He began to write poetry in high school and later attended Columbia University in New York. After one year at university, Hughes commenced a nomadic life in the United States and Europe. He shipped out as a merchant marine and worked in a Paris nightclub, all the while writing and publishing poetry. His prolific literary career was launched in 1926 with the publication of his first book, The Weary Blues, a collection of poems on African American themes set to rhythms from jazz and blues. His first novel appeared in 1930, and from that point on Hughes was known as "the bard of Harlem./