9. Mark Twain had gradually changed from __________ to __________ by the turn of the century, which could be felt in his books The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and The Mysterious Stranger.( )
A. an almost despairing pessimist ...an optimist
B. an optimist ... an almost despairing pessimist
C. a local colorist ... a naturalist
D. a naturalist ... a local colorist
10. Which of the following is not written by Henry James?( )
A. The Portrait of A Lady and The Europeans
B. The Wings of the Dove and The Ambassadors
C. The Golden Bowl and The Gilded Age
D. What Maisie Knows and The Bostonians
11. Which of the following statements is not right about the heroine in the novel Daisy Miller?( )
A. She has become a celebrated cultural type who embodies the spirit of the New World.
B. She comes from the new world but remains traditional and conservative.
C. Her innocence turns out to be an admiring but a dangerous quality in the new word.
D. The author’s sympathy for her, a tender flower crushed by the harsh winter in Rome was easily felt.
12. The subjects of Emily Dickinson’s poems are mainly about __________. ( )
A. religion B. death and immortality
C. love and nature D. all of the above
13. In her quiet and solitary life, Emily Dickinson makes enchanting poetry out of __________.( )
A. a happy and active life
B. adventurous experiences
C. a single household and an inactive life
D. a hard and suffering life
14. About the novel Sister Carrie , which of the following statements is right?( )
A. The story is about a young sailor, who struggles to reach the upper society but soon gets disillusioned.
B. It is about a Southern aristocratic woman, who refuses to come to terms with the present.
C. It tells a story of a country girl, who strives to gain her material rise in big cities but soon gets tired of her success.
D. It is about a young vain girl, who indulges herself in grand parties and luxurious trips but soon becomes penniless.
15. The Civil War had transformed America from __________ to __________.( )
A. an agrarian community ... a society of freedom and equality
B. an agrarian community ... an industrialized and commercialized society
C. an industrialized and commercialized society ... a highly developed society
D. a poor and backward society ...an industrialized and commercialized society
16. At the end of the 19th century, the realists rejected the portrayal of idealized characters and events and, instead, sought to __________.( )
A. describe the wide range of American experience
B. present the subtleties of human personality
C. show animal nature of human beings
D. both A and B
17. About the first few decades of the 20th century, which of the following is right?( )
A. There was a rise in moral standard and it was best described as a spiritual land of promise
B. Individual power and hope became part of the American experience as a result of the First World War.
C. There was a decline in social standard and it was described as a spiritual wasteland.
D. all of the above.
18. Eugene O’Neill is remembered for his tragic view of life and most of his plays are about__________. ( )
A. the root, the truth of human desires and human frustrations
B. the moral nature of the modern mankind
C. the relationship between man and nature as well as man and woman
D. the inner contradiction of men before the real world
19. In general terms, much serious American literature written from 1912 onwards attempted to convey __________. ( )
A. a vision of social breakdown and moral decay
B. a vision of social continuity and harmony
C. the continuity and discontinuity between the past and the modern time
D. all of the above
20. Which of the following is not said about Pound’s The Cantos?( )
A. It traces the rise and fall of eastern and western empires.
B. It reflects the moral and social chaos of the modern world.
C. It concerns particularly the corruption of America after the heroic time of Jefferson.
D. all of the above
21. In his poetic creation, Robert Frost looked upon nature as__________.( )
A. the opposite of human society
B. a storehouse of analogies and symbols
C. a contrast to human civilization
D. an ennobling force to purify human soul
22. Which of the following is not said about the thematic concerns of Robert Frost ?( )
A. The terror and tragedy in nature as well as its beauty
B. The relationship between man and society
C. His love of life and his belief in a serenity coming from working