英国文学史习题 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
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
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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. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Thomas More Holinshed Hakluyt Richard Tottel Philip Sidney Walter Raleigh
A. Apology for Poetry
B. Miscellany of Songs and Sonnets C. Utopia
D. Discovery of Guiana
E. Principal Navigations,Voyages and Discoveries F. Chronicles
The key:(1—C 2—F 3—E 4—B 5—A 6—D) Ⅱ.Choose the best answer. 1.
_____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_______,“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.____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___,the rout of the fleet“Armada”(Invincible)was also the triumph of the rising young bourgeoisie over the declining old feudalism. A.Spain B.France C.America D.Norway 5.
Those,both traders and pirates like____,established the first English colonies. A.Francis Drake B.Lancelot Andrews C.William Caxton D.William Tyndal 6.
____was a forerunner of classicism in English literature. A.Ben Johnson B.William Shakespeare C.Thomas More D.Christopher Marlowe 7. 8. 9.
The most gifted of the“university wits”was____. A.Lyly B.Peele C.Greene D.Marlowe Morality plays appeared after_____.
A.miracle plays B.mystery plays C.interlude D.Classical plays _____is used to say and do good things. A.Mercy B.Folly C.Vice D.Peace
10. _____is one of the forerunners of modern socialist thought.
A.Phillip Sidney B.Edmund Spenser C.Thomas More D.Walter Raleigh
11. _____is not a famous translator in the English Renaissance.
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A.Thomas North B.Thomas Wyatt C.George Chapman D.John Florio
12. ____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. ____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_____.
A.prose B.drama C.essay D.dialogue 15. One of the popular morality plays was____.
A.The Shepherds B.Everyman
C.The Play of the Weather D.Gammer Gurton’s Needle
16. Shakespeare’s plays written between_____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______.
A.Pericles B.Cymbeline C.The Winter’s Tale D.The Tempest
18. In_____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.romanticism B.realism C.naturalism D.classicism
20. Among many poetic forms,Shakespeare was especially at home(good at)with the_______.
A.dramatic blank verse B.song C.sonnet D.couplet 21. In the plays,Shakespeare used about______words.
A.15000 B.16000 C.17000 D.18000
22. _____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. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
The____was universally used by the Catholic Churches.
The English translation of the Bible emerged as a result of the struggle between____and___. The Bible was notably translated into English by the____.
The first complete English Bible was translated by____,“the morning star of the_____”.
_____translated the New Testament and portions of the Old Testament,which is known as Tyndale’s Bible. After Tydale’s Bible,then appeared the______,which was made in 1611 under the auspices of_____.And so was sometimes called the____.
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7. 8. 9.
Apart from the religious influence,the Authorized Version has had a great influence on English___and____. With the widespread influence of the English Bible,the standard modern English has been_____and_____. A great number of____and phrases have passed into daily English speech as household words. 300 years.
10. The____and____language of the Authorized Version has colored the style of the English prose for the last 11. ____was the first English printer.
12. William Caxton was a prosperous merchant himself,but he was fond of___,and his interest was turning
to____.
13. He translated The Recuyell of Historyes of Troy into English from French which was the___book printed in
English.
14. The Recuyell served as a source for____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____and_____. 16. William Caxton published about____books,___of which were translated 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___century English____. 18. The influence of Caxton’s publications is also great in fixing a____language in England.
19. As the first English printer,Caxton invented in England the profession of____,which in fact has had a lasting
significance to the development of English___as a whole.
20. The Renaissance started in the______century and ended in the______century.
21. The word,“renaissance”means________,which was stimulated by a series of historical events,such
as________.
22. In the Renaissance,the humanist thinkers and scholars tried to get rid of those old____in medieval Europe,to
introduce new ideas that expresses____of the rising bourgeoisie,and to recover the____of the early church from the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church.
23. ____is the theme of the English Renaissance,which emphasized the capacities of____and the achievements
of____.
24. ____Stanza is a verse form created by_____for his poem,______,in which the rhyme scheme is____. 25. The Wars of the Roses(1455—1485)between the House of___and the House of___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___took place in England,started by Henry VIII.
27. After___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___.
28. The introduction of___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____of relations and the establishing of the
foundations of____.
30. Because the wool trade was rapidly growing in bulk,it was a time when,according to Thomas More,“___”. 31. ____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____. 33. ____,in his translation of Virgil’s Aeneid,wrote the first English blank verse.
34. Richard Tottel’s Miscellany of Songs and Sonnets contained_____poems by______and_____by_____.
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35. Philip Sidney thought that_____had superiority over philosophy and history.
36. _____is a picture of contemporary England with forcible exposure of the___among the laboring classes. 37. More points out that the root of poverty is the_________of social wealth. 38. Sonnets contain_____sonnets and____sonnets.
39. The highest glory of the English Renaissance was unquestionably its____. 40. The“miracles”were simple plays based on______stories.
41. There are significant touches of_____life in the play titled The Shepherds. 42. A morality play presented the_____of good and_____with_____personages. 43. Vice was the predecessor of the modern_____. 44. Through
the
revival
of
classical
literature,English
playwrights
came
into
contact
with______and______drama.
45. From the contact with Greek and Latin drama,English playwrights learned all the important rules
in____and____,the more exact conception of____and____.
46. English comedies and tragedies on classical models appeared in the middle of the____century. 47. The first English comedy is______. 48. The first English tragedy is_____.
49. Miracle plays,morality plays,interludes and classical plays paved the way for the flourishing of____. 50. In the 16th century_____became the centre of English drama. 51. By____,professional actors were organized into companies.
52. ____were wooden buildings,usually circular in form,with tiers（一排排）of galleries surrounding a roofless
pit（楼下剧场）.
53. In the Elizabethan Theater,there were no____and women’s parts were always taken by____.
54. Shakespeare’s narrative poem,Venus and Adonis,is full of vivid images of the______,and aphorisms(格言、
警句)on life.
55. Shakespeare was a great____of the English language.
56. Shakespeare’s dramatic creation often used the method of_____. 57. Shakespeare’s drama becomes a monument of the English______. 58. Shakespeare was a_____for play-writing.
59. Shakespeare’s_____people represent all the complexities and implications of real life. Key to the blanks: 1. Latin Bible
2. Protestantism;Catholicism 3. Protestants
4. John Wycliffe;Reformation 5. William Tyndal 6. Authorized
James Bible. 7. Language;literature 8. fixed;confirmed 9. Bible coinages 10. simple;dignified 11. William Caxton 12. Reading;literature 13. First
Version,James
I;King
14. Shakespeare 15. Printer;publisher 16. 100;24 17. 15th;prose 18. National 19. Publisher;culture 20. 14th;17th
21. Religious reformation 22. feudalist ideas;interests;purity 23. Humanism;human mind;human culture 24. Spenserian;Edmund
Queene;ababbcbcc 25. Lancaster;York 26. The Reformation
Spenser;The
Faerie
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