Exercise Two of Book II
A. Multiple-choice questions:
(Each of the statements below is followed by four alternative answers. Choose the one that would best complete the statement and put the letter in the brackets.)
1. In Hard Times, Dickens attacks ______that rules over the English educational system and destroys young hearts and minds.
A. bourgeois commercialism
B. religious hypocrisy
C. the utilitarian principle
D. political corruptness
2. ______is the first important governess novel in the English literary history.
A. Jane Eyre B. Emma C. Wuthering Heights D. Middlemarch
3. Which of the following best describes the nature of Hardy's later novels?
A. Sentimentalism. B. Surrealism. C. Comic sense. D. Tragic sense.
4. ______is the most representative Victorian poet whose poetry voices the doubt and the faith, the grief and the joy of English people in an age of fast change.
A. Robert Browning B. Alfred Tennyson
C. George G. Byron D. Thomas Hardy
5. Which of the following statements is not a typical feature of Charles Dickens?
A. He sets out a large-scale criticism of the inhuman social institutions and the decaying social morality.
B. His works are characterized by a mingling of humor and pathos.
C. The characters portrayed by Dickens are often larger than life.
D. He shows a human being not at moments of crisis, but in the most trivial incidents of everyday life.
6. "As for society, he was carried every other day into the hall where the boys dined, and there socially flogged as a public warning and example". What figure of speech is used in the above sentence?
A. Simile. B. Metaphor. C. Irony. D. Overstatement.
7. "I will drink /life to the lees." In the quoted line Ulysses is saying that he ______till the end of his life.
A. will keep traveling and exploring
B. will go on drinking and being happy
C. would like to toast to his glorious life
D. would like to drink the cup of wine
8. " She smiled, no doubt,/ Whene'er I passed her.../... This grew; I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together." The quoted lines imply that she ______.
A. obeyed his order and stopped smiling at everybody, including the duke
B. obeyed his order and stopped' smiling at anybody except the duke
C. refused to obey the order and never smiled again
D. was murdered at the order of the duke
9. A contemporary of Alfred Tennyson, ______is acknowledged by many as the most original and experimental poet of the time.
A. Thomas Carlyle B, Thomas B. Macaulay
C. Robert Browning D.T.S. Eliot
10. Most of Hardy's novels are set in ______, the fictional primitive and crude rural region that is really the home place he both loves and hates.
A. Yorkshire B. Wessex C. London D. Manchester
11. "The floating pollen seemed to be his notes made visible, and the dampness of the garden the weeping of the garden's sensibility." The quoted sentence is suggestive of ______.
A. the richness of the music in the garden
B. the beauty of the scenery in the garden
C. the great power of the music in affecting the environment
D. the harmony and oneness of the music, the garden and the heroine Tess
12. In the statement "--oh, God! would you like to live with your soul in the grave?" the term "soul" apparently refers to______.
A. Heathcliff himself B. Catherine C. one's spiritual life D. one's ghost
13. "I have talked, face to face, with what I reverence; with what I delight in--with an original, a vigorous, an expanded mind." Here in the quoted passage, Jane is really saying that she has talked face to face with ______.
A. God who appears in her dreams
B. the reverent priest
C. Mr. Rochester
D. Miss Ingrain
14. In the clause "As Mr. Gamfield did happen to labor under the slight imputation of having bruised three or four boys to death already... ", the word "slight" is used as a(n) ______.
A. simile B. metaphor C. irony D. overstatement
15. Dickens takes the French Revolution as the background of the novel ______.
A. Great Expectations B. A Tale of Two Cities
C. Bleak House D. Oliver Twist
16. The Victorian Age was largely an age of ______, eminently represented by Dickens and Thackeray.
A. poetry B. drama C. prose D. epic prose
17. The title of Alfred Tennyson's poem "Ulysses" reminds the reader of the following except ______.
A. the Trojan War B. Homer C. quest D. Christ
18. The character Rochester in Jane Eyre can be well termed as a ______.
A. conventional hero B. Byronic hero
C. chivalrous aristocrat D. Homeric hero
19. Mr. Micawber in David Copperfield and Sam Well in Pickwick Paper are perhaps the best ______characters created by Charles Dickens.
A. comical B. tragic C. round D. sophisticated
20. The typical feature of Robert Browning's poetry is the ______.
A. bitter satire
B. larger-than-life caricature
C. Latinized diction
D. dramatic monologue
21. In Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy resolutely makes a seduced girl his heroine, which dearly demonstrates the author's ______of the Victorian moral standards.
A. blind fondness B. total acceptance
C. deep understanding D. mounting defiance
22. In Hardy's Tess of the D’Urbervilles, the heroine's tragic ending is due to ______.
A. her weak character
B. her ambition
C. Angel Clare's selfishness
D. a hostile society
23. "The dehumanizing workhouse system and the dark, criminal underworld life" are the right words to sum up the main theme of ______.
A. David Copperfield B. A Tale of Two Cities
C. Oliver Twist D. Bleak House
24. "For a week after the commission of the impious and profane offence of asking for more, Oliver remained a close prisoner in the dark and solitary room to which he had been consigned by the wisdom and mercy of the board. "
In the above passage quoted from Oliver Twist, Dickens uses the words "wisdom" and "mercy" ______.
A. ironically B. carelessly C. nonchalantly D. impartially
25. "... and then how they met I hardly saw, but Catherine made a spring, and he caught her, and they were locked in an embrace ..." In the quoted passage, Emily Bronte tells the story in ______point of view.
A. first person B. second person
C. third person limited D. third person omniscient
B. Blank-filling:
(Complete each of the following statements with proper words or phrases according to the textbook.)
1. Dickens' best-depicted characters are those innocent, virtuous, helpless ______characters, those horrible and grotesque characters and those broadly humorous or ______ones.child comical
2. Charlotte Bronte's works are famous for the depiction of the lifeof the middle-class working women, particularly ______.governess
3. WutheringHeights is the ______novel written by Emily Bronte.only
4. A contemporary of Alfred Tennyson, ______is acknowledged by many as the most original and experimental poet of the time.Robert Browning
5. ______, Tennyson's greatest work, is presumably an elegy on the death of a dear friend.In Memoriam
6. In her study of human life, George Eliot paid particular attention to the relationship between the individual personality and the ______.
social environment
7. Thomas Hardy is often regarded as a ______writer, in whose works we see the influence from both the past and the present, both the traditional and the modern.transitional
8. The major novelists of the Victorian period made bitter and strong ______of the inhuman social institutions and the decaying social morality.criticism
9. The Victorian Age in English literature was largely an age of prose, especially of the ______.novel
10. The typical feature of Robert Browning's poetry is the ______.
dramatic monologue
C. T-F statements:
(Decide whether the following statements are true or false and write your answers in the brackets.)
( ) 1. All of Dickens' later works present a criticism of the fundamental social institutions and morals of the Victorian England.F
( ) 2. Browning's greatest contribution to English poetry is his invention and development of dramatic monologue.F
( ) 3. The short poem, "Crossing the Bar" is an expression of the poet's desire to go and seek new knowledge until the end of his life.F
( ) 4. The most representative works of Hardy as both anaturalistic and critical realist novelist are those "novels of character arid environment".T
( ) 5. The important part of George Eliot's determinism is that an individual's destiny is determined by some mysterious supernatural force, which is very powerful, half-blind, and uncaring to the individual's will, hope, passion or suffering.F
( ) 6. Charlotte Bronte is a writer of realism combined with romanticism.T
( ) 7. The greatest and most distinctive achievement of the Victorian literature is drama.F
( ) 8. William Thackeray felt most at home when he portrayed the lower-middle class people and the poor people.F
( ) 9. Like Charles Dickens, George Eliot writes both for entertainment and for the discussions of serious social problems.F
( ) 10. In Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte presents a vivid narration with some of her subtle comments here and there.T
( ) 11. Much of Dickens' humor is due to his larger-than-life caricatures.T
( ) 12. Drama and poetry were the most common literary genres used by the Victorian writers.F
( ) 13. Bleak House by Charles Dickens presents a criticism of the legal system and practices that aim at devouring every penny of the clients.T
( ) 14. The major novelists of the Victorian period made bitter and strong criticism of the inhuman social institutions and the decaying social morality.T
( ) 15. The reality and spirit of the Victorian Age are truthfully represented in the form of drama.F
D. Work-author pairing-up:
( C ) 1. The Return of the Native A. Charles Dickens
( A ) 2. A Tale of Two Cities B. Charlotte Bronte
( B ) 3. Jane Eyre C. Thomas Hardy
( E ) 4. The Mill on the Floss D. Emily Bronte
( A ) 5. Great Expectations E. George Eliot
( D ) 6. WutheringHeights F. William Thackeray
( G ) 7. The Ring and the Book G. Robert Browning
( H ) 8. Idylls of the King H. Alfred Tennyson
( F ) 9. Vanity Fair
( C ) 10. Tess of the D'Urbervilles
E. Define the literary terms listed below:
1. George Eliot's determinism
2. Chartist Movement
3. Dramatic Monologue
4. Naturalism
F. Reading comprehension:
(For each of the quotations listed below please give the name of the author and the title of the literary work from which it is taken and then briefly interpret it.)
1. "Let it not be supposed by the enemies of 'the system', that during the period of his solitary incarceration, Oliver was denied the benefit of exercise, the pleasure of society, or the advantages of religious consolation."
2. "Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? --You think wrong! --I have as much soul as you--and full as much heart... I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, or even of mortal flesh:--it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal--as we are!"
3. "He flung himself into the nearest seat, and on my approaching hurriedly to ascertain if she had fainted, he gnashed at me, and foamed like a mad dog, and gathered her to him with greedy jealousy. I did not feel as if I were in the company of a creature of my own species..."
4. "Tho'/We are not now that strength which in old days/Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;/One equal temper of heroic hearts, /Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will/To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
5. "Marriage, which was to bring guidance into worthy and imperative occupation, had not yet freed her from the gentlewoman's oppressive liberty; it had not even filled her leisure with the ruminant joy of unchecked tenderness."
6. "I repeat, /The Count your master's known munificence/Is ample warrant that no just pretense/Of mine for dowry will be disallowed; /Though his fair daughter's self, as I avowed/As starting, is my object."
G. Questions:
(For each of the following questions you are asked to give a brief answer, explaining what you know about it. You should use no more than 100 words for each answer, and, therefore, concentrate on those essential points.)
1. Why are Dickens' later works generally regarded as more mature than his earlier ones?
2. What're the major features of Browning's work?
3. How do you explain Thomas Hardy's being "intellectually advanced and emotionally traditional"?
4. What are the major artistic features of Charles Dickens?
5. Tennyson is a real artist. What are the major artistic features of his poetry?
6. What's the moral of George Eliot's novel, Silas Marner?
H. Essay questions :
(In this part you are asked to write a short essay on each of the given topics. You should write no more than 150 words on each one. Therefore, you should concentrate on those most important points, try your best to be logical in your essay, and keep your writing clear and tidy.)
1. Comment on the superb description of the extraordinary passion between Catherine and Heathcliff in the selected reading.
2. Read the poem "Break, Break, Break" and comment on Tennyson's poetic art.
3. Comment the theme(s) of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.
4. Comment on the psychoanalysis of Dorothea in the selected reading.
5. Comment on the use of dramatic monologue in "My Last Duchess".
V. Key to the exercises
A. Multiple-choice questions:
1--25 CADBD CADCB DBCCB CDBAD DDCAC
B. Blank-filling:
1. child, comical 2. governess 3. only/sole/single
4. Robert Browning 5. In Memoriam 6. social environment
7. transitional8. criticism 9. novel
10. dramatic monologue
C. T-F statements:
1--15 FFFTF TFFFT TFTTF
D. Work-author pairing-up:
1. C 2. A3. B 4. E 5. A 6. D 7. G
8. H 9. F 10. C
E. Define the literary terms listed below:
F. Reading comprehension:
1. The sentence is taken from Charles Dickens' early novel, Oliver Twist. It is a typical example of irony. The words "benefit", "pleasure", and "advantages" actually mean the opposite. For the "benefit" of exercise, Oliver was whipped every morning in a stone yard; for the "pleasure" of society, he was carried every other clay into the dining hall and flogged as a public warning and example to the boys; and as for the "advantages" of religious consolation, he was kicked into the same apartment every evening at prayer time and listened to the boys' prayer to be guarded against his sins and vices. The ironic statement is, in fact, a bitter denunciation and fierce attack at the brutal, inhuman treatment of the poor orphan by the workhouse authority.
2. The statement is taken from Charlotte Bronte's masterpiece, Jane Eyre. In this famous declaration, Jane proves herself a new, unconventional woman, a woman who believes in the basic human rights, in the independence and equality of people of all social classes. She is courageous enough to defy the social conventions that discriminate against the poor and the unfortunate and deprive them of their right to equality. It is not just a personal protest and declaration a governess makes to her master, but a declaration made on behalf of all the unfortunate middleclass working women, and of all the poor people in the world.
3. The sentences are taken from Emily Bronte's WutheringHeights. It is a description of the mad, desperate love between Catherine and Heathcliff in her death scene. Heathcliff, seeing his love on the verge of death, was heart-broken. Though they two tortured each other with many a false charge, they were eager to cling to each other at this last moment. Heathcliff, in his eagerness to have her all to himself, now behaved like an animal greedily and jealously guarding his dear one or treasured prey.
The terms "gnashed" and "foamed", simple action words, vividly presents the image of a man desperate in his desire to take possession of his beloved and in his anxiety that someone would come and take her away from him.
4. These lines are taken from Alfred Tennyson's "Ulysses". In this poem, the old Ulysses is trying to persuade his old followers into setting upon further adventure with him again. In these lines, he argues that although they are all old and weak now and do not have the great strength they used to have in their past glorious days, they still have the same strong will and the same heroic spirit to go on struggling and seeking new knowledge until the end of their life. His undying heroic spirit is admirable, indeed.
5. This is taken from the novel Middlemarch by George Eliot. Dorothea had hoped, through marriage, to use Casaubon as her guide onto some noble cause. She had hoped to be an aid in his so-called big research project on the essence of Greek mythology. But her voluntary help was refused by Casaubon; she was told to amuse herself with some womanly occupations such as playing the piano and sewing, which she disliked. With nothing asked of her, nothing to engage her mind and energy, she found her "freedom" oppressive. What's more, she was not even comforted, in her leisure, by the happy memories of tender love between the newly-weds. Casaubon was too old and too busy to be tender to her.
6. These lines are taken from Robert Browning's " My Last Duchess". The main idea is that even though, as I said at the very beginning, my real interest in the marriage is his beautiful daughter (It should be his niece) herself, my claim of the money and property that must come with the bride can't be refused by your master, the Count, because he is such a rich man. The statement reveals the Duke's unashamed greediness for wealth. From his word, the reader can easily come to the conclusion that his real purpose of the second marriage is not for love, but for money. The marriage is conditioned by his demand for profit. The sacred marriage between people has been commercialized by him.