Part One Early and Medieval English Literature
Ⅰ. Fill in the blanks.
1. In 1066, ____, with his Norman army, succeeded in invading and defeating England.
A. William the Conqueror B. Julius Caesar C. Alfred the Great D. Claudius
2. In the 14th century, the most important writer (poet) is ____ .
A. Langland B. Wycliffe C. Gower D. Chaucer 3. The prevailing form of Medieval English literature is ____.
A. novel B. drama C. romance D. essay 4. The story of ___ is the culmination of the Arthurian romances.
A. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight B. Beowulf
C. Piers the Plowman D. The Canterbury Tales 5. William Langland’s ____ is written in the form of a dream vision.
A. Kubla Khan B. Piers the Plowman C. The Dream of John Bull D. Morte d’Arthur
6. After the Norman Conquest, three languages existed in England at that time. The Normans spoke _____.
A. French B. English C. Latin D. Swedish
7. ______ was the greatest of English religious reformers and the first translator of the Bible.
A. Langland B. Gower C. Wycliffe D. Chaucer
8. Piers the Plowman describes a series of wonderful dreams the author dreamed, through which, we can see a picture of the life in the ____ England. A. primitive B. feudal C. bourgeois D. modern
9. The theme of ____ to king and lord was repeatedly emphasized in romances.
A. loyalty B. revolt C. obedience D. mockery
10. The most famous cycle of English ballads centers on the stories about a legendary outlaw called _____.
A. Morte d’Arthur B. Robin Hood C. The Canterbury Tales D. Piers the Plowman
11. ______, the “father of English poetry” and one of the greatest narrative poets of England, was born in London in about 1340.
A. Geoffrey Chaucer B. Sir Gawain C. Francis Bacon D. John Dryden 12. Chaucer died on October 25th, 1400, and was buried in ____.
A. Flanders B. France C. Italy D. Westminster Abbey 13. Chaucer’s earliest work of any length is his _____, a translation of the French Roman de la Rose by Gaillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meung, which was a love allegory enjoying widespread popularity in the 13th and 14th centuries not only in France but throughout Europe.
A. The Romaunt of the Rose B. “A Red, Red Rose” C. The Legend of Good Women D. The Book of the Duchess
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14. In his lifetime Chaucer served in a great variety of occupations that had impact on the wide range of his writings. Which one is not his career? ____. A. engineer B. courtier C. office holder D. soldier E. ambassador F. legislator (议员)
15. Chaucer composes a long narrative poem named _____ based on Boccaccio’s poem “Filostrato”.
A. The Legend of Good Women B. Troilus and Criseyde C. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight D. Beowulf
Key to the multiple choices： 1-5 ADCAB 6-10 ACBAB 11-15 ADAAB
Ⅱ. Questions
1. What are the features of Beowulf?
2. Comment on the social significance and language in The Canterbury Tales.
Part Two The English Renaissance
Ⅰ. Match the writer and his works. 1. Thomas More A. Apology for Poetry 2. Holinshed B. Miscellany of Songs and Sonnets 3. Hakluyt C. Utopia 4. Richard Tottel D. Discovery of Guiana 5. Philip Sidney E. Principal Navigations, Voyages and Discoveries 6. Walter Raleigh F. Chronicles
The key: (1—C 2—F 3—E 4—B 5—A 6—D)
Ⅱ. Choose the best answer.
1. _____B founded the Tudor Dynasty, a centralized monarchy of a totally new type,
which met the needs of the rising bourgeoisie.
A. Henry V B. Henry VII C. Henry VIII D. James I
2. The first complete English Bible was translated by ____C___, “the morning star
of the Reformation” and his followers.
A. William Tyndal B. James I
C. John Wycliffe D. Bishop Lancelot Andrews
3. The progress in industry at home stimulated the commercial expansion abroad.
_D___ encouraged exploration and travel, which were compatible with the interests of the English merchants.
A. Henry V. B. Henry VII
C. Henry VIII D. Queen Elizabeth
4. Except being a victory of England over __A_, the rout of the fleet “Armada”
(Invincible) was also the triumph of the rising young bourgeoisie over the
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declining old feudalism.
A. Spain B. France C. America D. Norway
5. Those, both traders and pirates like __A__, established the first English colonies.
A. Francis Drake B. Lancelot Andrews C. William Caxton D. William Tyndal
6. _D___ was a forerunner of classicism in English literature.
A. Ben Johnson B. William Shakespeare C. Thomas More D. Christopher Marlowe
7. The most gifted of the “university wits” was _D___.
A. Lyly B. Peele C. Greene D. Marlowe 8. Morality plays appeared after__C___.
A. miracle plays B. mystery plays C. interlude D. Classical plays 9. ___B__ is used to say and do good things.
A. Mercy B. Folly C. Vice D. Peace 10. __A___is one of the forerunners of modern socialist thought.
A. Phillip Sidney B. Edmund Spenser C. Thomas More D. Walter Raleigh
11. ___B__ is not a famous translator in the English Renaissance.
A. Thomas North B. Thomas Wyatt C. George Chapman D. John Florio
12. __D__ had supplied Shakespeare with the material for Julius Caesar.
A. Lives of Greek and Roan Heroes《希腊罗马名人传》 B. Miscellany of Songs and Sonnets C. Don Quixote D. History of the World
13. __A__ was one of the first to see the relation between wealth and poverty to
understand that the rich were becoming richer by robbing the poor. A. John Wycliffe B. William Caxton C. Geoffrey Chaucer D. Thomas More 14. Utopia was written in the form of __D___.
A. prose B. drama C. essay D. dialogue 15. One of the popular morality plays was __A__.
A. The Shepherds B. Everyman
C. The Play of the Weather D. Gammer Gurton’s Needle
16. Shakespeare’s plays written between ___A__ are sometimes called “romances”
and all end in reconciliation and reunion.
A. 1590 and 1594 B. 1595 and 1600 C. 1601 and 1607 D. 1608 and 1612 17. Miranda is a heroine in Shakespeare’s ___C___.
A. Pericles B. Cymbeline C. The Winter’s Tale D. The Tempest 18. In __B___ appeared Shakespeare’s Sonnet，Never before Imprinted（《莎士比亚
十四行诗》“迄今从未刊印过”）which contains 154 sonnets. A. 1606 B. 1607 C. 1608 1609 19. Shakespeare is one of the founders of _A___.
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A. romanticism B. realism C. naturalism D. classicism
20. Among many poetic forms, Shakespeare was especially at home (good at) with
the ___D____.
A. dramatic blank verse B. song C. sonnet D. couplet 21. In the plays, Shakespeare used about ___D__ _words.
A. 15000 B. 16000 C. 17000 D. 18000
22. __B___has been called the summit of the English Renaissance.
A. Christopher Marlow B. Francis Bacon C. W. Shakespeare D. Ben Johnson
Key to the multiple choices:
1-5 BCDAA 6-10 DDCBA 11-15 BDADA 16-22 ACBADDB
Ⅲ. Fill in the blanks.
1. The __ Latin Bible__ was universally used by the Catholic Churches.
2. The English translation of the Bible emerged as a result of the struggle between
__ Protestantism;__ and _ Catholicism__.
3. The Bible was notably translated into English by the __ Protestants__.
4. The first complete English Bible was translated by __ John Wycliffe; _, “the
morning star of the ___ Reformation___”.
5. ___ William Tyndal__ translated the New Testament and portions of the Old
Testament, which is known as Tyndale’s Bible.
6. After Tydale’s Bible, then appeared the __ Authorized Version,____, which was
made in 1611 under the auspices of ___ James I __. And so was sometimes called the __King James Bible__.
7. Apart from the religious influence, the Authorized Version has had a great
influence on English _ Language __ and ___ literature _.
8. With the widespread influence of the English Bible, the standard modern English
has been ___ fixed __ and _ confirmed ____.
9. A great number of __ Bible coinages __and phrases have passed into daily English
speech as household words.
10. The __ simple;__and ___ dignified _ language of the Authorized Version has
colored the style of the English prose for the last 300 years. 11. __ William Caxton __ was the first English printer.
12. William Caxton was a prosperous merchant himself, but he was fond of _ Reading
__ , and his interest was turning to ___ literature _.
13. He translated The Recuyell of Historyes of Troy into English from French which
was the __ First _ book printed in English.
14. The Recuyell served as a source for _ Shakespeare __ Troilus and Cressida. 《特洛
埃勒斯与克雷雪达》
15. After having established his printing press, William Caxton devoted himself to
the career of a ___Printer_ and __ publisher ___.
16. William Caxton published about ___100_ books, _24__ of which were translated
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by himself.
17. By rendering (翻译) French books into English, Caxton exercised the youthful
language in the airs (曲调), the graces, the crafts of the elder and contributed to the development of the style of _15th __ century English _ prose ___.
18. The influence of Caxton’s publications is also great in fixing a __ National __
language in England.
19. As the first English printer, Caxton invented in England the profession of _
Publisher;___, which in fact has had a lasting significance to the development of English _ culture __ as a whole.
20. The Renaissance started in the __14th ____ century and ended in the ____17th
__century.
21. The word, “renaissance” means ____ Religious __, which was stimulated by a
series of historical events, such as ____ reformation ______.
22. In the Renaissance, the humanist thinkers and scholars tried to get rid of those old
__ feudalist ideas __in medieval Europe, to introduce new ideas that expresses __ interests __ of the rising bourgeoisie, and to recover the _ purity ___of the early church from the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church.
23. __ Humanism __ is the theme of the English Renaissance, which emphasized the
capacities of __ human mind;__and the achievements of __ human culture __.
24. __ Spenserian __ Stanza is a verse form created by ___ Edmund Spenser __ for his
poem, ____ The Faerie Queene __, in which the rhyme scheme is __ ababbcbcc __. 25. The Wars of the Roses (1455—1485) between the House of _ Lancaster __ and the
House of _ York __ struggling for the Crown continued for 30 years.
26. Because of the conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and the King of
England, the far-reaching movement of _ The Reformation __ took place in England, started by Henry VIII.
27. After _ the Enclosure Movement __ in England, the helpless, dispossessed peasants,
being compelled to work at a low wage, became hired laborers for the merchants. These laborers were the fathers of modern English _ proletarians __.
28. The introduction of _ printing __ to England by William Caxton (1476) brought
classical works within reach of the common multitude.
29. The 16th century in England was a period of the breaking up __ feudal __of
relations and the establishing of the foundations of __ capitalism __.
30. Because the wool trade was rapidly growing in bulk, it was a time when,
according to Thomas More, “__ sheep devours men _”.
31. __ William VIII __ broke off with the Pope, dissolved all the monasteries and
abbeys in the country, confiscated their lands and proclaimed himself head of the Church of England.
32. Together with the development of bourgeois relationships and formation of the
English national state this period is marked by a flourishing of national culture known as __ Renaissance __.
33. __ Henry Howard,Earl of Surrey __, in his translation of Virgil’s Aeneid, wrote the
first English blank verse.
34. Richard Tottel’s Miscellany of Songs and Sonnets contained __96___ poems by
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