阅读理解

Directions: There are 3 passages in this part each passage is followed by some questions unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice. Write your answers on the answer sheet.

Passage Two

Thomas Hardy’ s impulses as a writer, all of which he indulged in his novels, were numerous and divergent, and they did not always work together in harmony. Hardy was to some degree interested in exploring his characters’ psychologies, though impelled less by curiosity than by sympathy. Occasionally he felt the impulse to comedy (in all its detached coldness) as well as the: impulse to farce, but he was more often inclined to see tragedy and record it. He was also inclined to literary realism in the several senses of that phrase. He wanted to describe ordinary human beings; he wanted to speculate on their dilemmas rationally (and, unfortunately, even schematically) ; and he wanted to record precisely, the material universe. Finally, he wanted to be more than a realist. He wanted to transcend what he considered to be the banality of solely recording things exactly and to express as well his awareness of the occult and the strange.

In his novels these various impulses were sacrificed to each other inevitably and often. Inevitably, because Hardy did not care in the way that novelists such as Flaubert or James cared, and therefore took paths of least resistance. Thus, one impulse often surrendered to a fresher one and, unfortunately, instead of exacting a compromise, simply disappeared. A desire to throw over reality a light that never was might give way abruptly to the desire on the part of what we might consider a novelist-scientist to record exactly and concretely the structure and texture of a flower. In this instance, the new impulse was at least an energetic one, and thus its indulgence did not result in a relaxed style. But on other occasions Hardy abandoned a perilous, risky, and highly energizing impulse in favor of what was for him the fatally relaxing impulse to classify and schematize abstractly. When a relaxing impulse was indulged, the style—that sure index of an author’ s literary worth—was certain to become verbose. Hardy’ s weakness derived from his apparent inability to control the comings and goings of these divergent impulses and from his unwillingness to cultivate and sustain the energetic and risky ones. He submitted to first one and then another, and the spirit blew where it listed; hence the unevenness of any one of his novels. His most controlled novel, Under the Greenwood Tree, prominently exhibits two different but reconcilable impulses—a desire to be a realist-historian and a desire to be a psychologist of love—but the slight interlockings of plot are not enough to bind the two completely together.

Thus even this book splits into two distinct parts. 

单选题 Which of the following is the most appropriate title for the passage, based on its content?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】本文第一段讲了哈代写作源于的各种冲动。 第二段讲了哈代写作时新的冲动会代替原来的冲动， 他无法控制各种冲动的转变， 这是他的缺点。 因此， 全文讲的是作家托马斯• 哈代写作时的冲动。
单选题 The passage suggests that the author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements about literary realism?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】由literary criticism定位至第一段第四句。 第五句He wanted to describe ordinary human beings; he wanted to speculate on their dilemmas rationally (and, unfortunately, even schematically) ; and he wanted to record precisely, the material universe. 就是对现实主义文学的三种解释。 因此， 现实主义文学不仅仅只有一个定义。
单选题 The author of the passage considers a writer’ s style to be.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】由第二段倒数第四句中the style—that sure index of an author’ s literary worth可知， 作者认为写作风格是衡量作家文学文学价值的指标， 即标准。
单选题 Which of the following words could best be substituted for “relaxed” (line 37) without substantially changing the author’ s meaning?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】由第二段倒数第四句When a relaxing impulse was indulged, the style—that sure index of an author’ s literary worth—was certain to become verbose. 可知， 一旦有放松的冲动， 作品就会变得冗长。 verbose指冗长的， 长篇大论的。 故选wordy， 也表示冗长的。
单选题 The passage supplies information to suggest that, its author would be most likely to agreewith which ofthe following statements about the novelists Flaubert and James?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】由Flaubert and James定位至第二段第二句Hardy did not care in the way that novelists such as Flaubert or James cared, and therefore took paths of least resistance.说明这两位作家与哈代的风格是不同的。 而由第三句Thus, one impulse often surrendered to a fresher one and, unfortunately, instead of exacting a compromise, simply disappeared可知， 哈代写作时， 原有的冲动会被新的冲动所取代（而不是协调好两种冲动） ， 遗憾地消失了。 所以推断这两位作家写作时会协调好两种冲动。