问答题 This passage is an excerpt from Ernest Hemingway"s short story "The Killer". Read it and answer the following questions:"Talk to me, bright boy," Max said. "What do you think is going to happen?" George did not say anything."I"ll tell you," Max said, "We"re going to kill a Swede. Do you know a big Swede named Ole Andreson?" "Yes.""He comes here to eat every night. Doesn"t he?" "Sometimes he comes here," "He comes here at six o"clock, doesn"t he?""If he comes.""We know all that bright boy," Max said. "Talk about something else. Ever go to the movies?""Once in a while.""You ought to go to the movies more. The movies are fine for a bright boy like you." "What are you going to kill Ole Andreson for? What did he ever do to you?" "He never had a chance to do anything to U. S. He never even seen U. S." "And he"s only going to see U. S. once," Al said from the kitchen. "What are you going to kill him for, then?" George asked. "We"re killing him for a friend. Just to oblige a friend, bright boy." "Shut up," said Al from the kitchen. "You talk too goddamn much."

问答题 Could you summarize the plot in this section? (3 points)

【正确答案】正确答案：This section gives a conversion between Max the killer and George the waiter. Max wants to kill Ole Anderson the Swede and asks George for Ole"s regular time of visiting the restaurant. George asks for the reason, only to get the answer that the killing is to "oblige a friend".

【答案解析】解析：本题考查作者对海明威小说《杀手》的理解，节选的故事内容比较简单，概括起来不是很复杂。

问答题 What is the writing style shown in this section? (4 points)

【正确答案】正确答案：This section is typical of Hemingway"s "Iceberg Principle , one that gives given top priority to simplicity and economy of word use. In Hemingway"s own words, "If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of the iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. The writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing." The language used in the section is concise but clear, more telegraph-like than conventional greetings.

【答案解析】解析：本题考查小说的写作风格，其实也即海明威的写作风格。节选故事中简练的语言风格反映了海明威的“冰山原则”。

问答题 Comment on the construction of the killers" image. (4 points)

【正确答案】正确答案：The characterization of the section is reflected from the dialogues. The tone of the protagonists and the employment of slangs depict the vulgar and rough images of gangsters. Killer Max is talkative but silly, for he is about to give away the plan. The writer intentionally calls him "clever boy" to intend the effect. Killer Al, on the contrary, is calm and cautious, seeming to be the leader. He speaks only twice in the excerpt but his words are important clues to understand the plot. His first sentence explains the reason for the killing and his second sentence stops Max from revealing the plan.

【答案解析】解析：本题考查杀手形象的塑造。由于节选的主题是对话，因此考生需要对人物对话要仔细揣摩。首先，从杀手说话的语气以及俚语的使用可以看出杀手们态度比较蛮横粗鲁。其次，对迈克斯(Max)而言，他天性笨拙，在乔治的询问下，几欲把杀人计划和盘托出，却毫不知觉地称乔治“聪明的家伙”(bright boy)，从中看出作者使用了反讽(irony)，对于艾尔(Al)，他却比较谨慎地制止了麦克斯的行为。