单选题
The Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station in New York
provided Fleming with his best meal in America. The oyster stew he liked so much
is made separately for each customer; part of the charm of the place is to
observe the off-hand expertise of the silent chefs as they stir the oysters, the
cream, the Worcester sauce, the paprika, bring them to the boil and allow them
to simmer before slipping the rich, white-foamed, sea-scented stew into your
private bowl. Fleming usually came here on his own for a
solitary treat, as he did at the beginning of March, 1953, just after he had
written his second novel. He had a title for it already--Live and Let Die and
was particularly pleased because it had taken him twelve days fewer to
write than Casino Royale and was 12,000 words longer. As he sat there finishing
his stew and sipping his beer, he had his first chance since he had left Jamaica
to read through the last few chapters. He was pleased and still slightly
surprised at what he had done. For in this new book he had gone
one vital step beyond Casino Royale. There he had drawn on the past, it was a
nostalgic book, but now he had discovered a way of making life itself fit into
his dream, of seeing the present through the eyes of James Bond and then working
it back into the plot in any shape he wanted. Suddenly in this book James Bond
became a means for Fleming of observing the world around and of making it more
truly his than it had ever been before. For instance, his own arrival in New
York had been spoiled by finding that the wrong car had been sent to meet him.
Now he had put the whole mistake right with that splendid arrival scene of James
Bond's at Idlewild. He did Bond proud: he was met by an official of the U. S.
Department of Justice, sidestepping Customs and Immigration, offered a thousand
dollars spending money, and chauffeured away to the best hotel in New
York. As a fictional character Bond remains shadowy and unreal.
It is almost impossible to visualize him; the only time we catch a glimpse of
the physical Bond is when he looks in a mirror and then we see how closely
Fleming identifies himself with his hero. The black hair, and high cheekbones,
and gray-blue eyes are unmistakable. The other characters are basically the same
as in all the other books: Mr. Big remains the same lumbering and obscene
father-figure as Le Chiffre, and Solitaire the same insufferable bed-fellow as
Vesper Lynd. But the tone of zest and enjoyment makes this the most engaging of
all his novels.
单选题
Fleming often went to this Oyster Bar ______.
A. to behave as if he were alone
B. because he enjoyed going there if he was lonely
C. because he liked watching the cooks
D. because he enjoyed being alone there
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 见文章第一段和第二段开头。
单选题
In the story, the official of the U. S. Department of Justice ______.
A. gave Bond permission not to go through Customs and Immigration
B. gave him 1,000 dollars pocket money
C. took him in his car to the best hotel in New York
D. was more helpful than is possible in real life
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 见文章第三段结尾。
单选题
The author thinks Fleming does not make the character of Bond come to
life although ______.
A. Bond has the human weakness of always looking into mirrors
B. he is such a shadowy figure that it is difficult to imagine him
C. he described his own appearance when writing about Bond's
D. he had no clear idea of anything but his physical appearance
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 见文章最后一段。
单选题
Although the author thinks Mr. Big and Solitaire are badly drawn
characters, he thinks ______.
A. Fleming enjoyed writing Live and Let Die more than his other books
B. this is the most attractive of his books because he enjoyed writing
it
C. this is the most charming and energetic of his books
D. this is the book that most holds the attention of the reader
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 见文章末尾。
单选题
What is the discoursal arrangement of the passage?
A. Criticize first and then introduce new idea.
B. Describe first and then criticize.
C. Introduce the main idea and then make discussion.
D. Introduce the expertise of the chefs and then start to talk about new
books.