大学英语四级阅读理解题文章精选－8
Passage Eight
Wakefield Master's Realism
Moreover, insofar as any interpretation of its author can be made from the five or six plays attributed to him, the Wake field Master is uniformly considered to be a man of sharp contemporary observation. He was, formally, perhaps clerically educated, as his Latin and music, his Biblical and patristic lore indicate. He is, still, celebrated mainly for his quick sympathy for the oppressed and forgotten man, his sharp eye for character, a ready ear for colloquial vernacular turns of speech and a humor alternately rude and boisterous, coarse and happy. Hence despite his conscious artistry as manifest in his feeling for intricate metrical and stanza forms, he is looked upon as a kind of medieval Steinbeck, indignantly angry at, uncompromisingly and even brutally realistic in presenting the plight of the agricultural poor.
Thus taking the play and the author together, it is mow fairly conventional to regard the former as a kind of ultimate point in the secularization of the medieval drama. Hence much emphasis on it as depicting realistically humble manners and pastoral life in the bleak hills of the West Riding of Yorkshire on a typically cold bight of December 24th. After what are often regarded as almost “documentaries” given in the three successive monologues of the three shepherds, critics go on to affirm that the realism is then intensified into a burlesque mock-treatment of the Nativity. Finally as a sort of epilogue or after-thought in deference to the Biblical origins of the materials, the play slides back into an atavistic mood of early innocent reverence. Actually, as we shall see, the final scene is not only the culminating scene but perhaps the raison d'etre of introductory “realism.”
There is much on the surface of the present play to support the conventional view of its mood of secular realism. All the same, the “realism” of the Wakefield Master is of a paradoxical turn. His wide knowledge of people, as well as books indicates no cloistered contemplative but one in close relation to his times. Still, that life was after all a predominantly religious one, a time which never neglected the belief that man was a rebellious and sinful creature in need of redemption, So deeply （one can hardly say “naively” of so sophisticated a writer） and implicitly religious is the Master that he is less able （or less willing） to present actual history realistically than is the author of the Brome “Abraham and Isaac”. His historical sense is even less realistic than that of Chaucer who just a few years before had done for his own time costume romances, such as The Knight's Tale, Troilus and Cressida, etc. Moreover Chaucer had the excuse of highly romantic materials for taking liberties with history.
1. Which of the following statements about the Wakefield Master is NOT True?
[A]. He was Chaucer's contemporary.
[B]. He is remembered as the author of five or six realistic plays.
[C]. He write like John Steinbeck.
[D]. HE was an accomplished artist.
2. By “patristic”, the author means
[A]. realistic. [B]. patriotic
[C]. superstitious. [C]. pertaining to the Christian Fathers.
3. The statement about the “secularization of the medieval drama” refers to the
[A]. introduction of mundane matters in religious plays.
[B]. presentation of erudite material.
[C]. use of contemporary introduction of religious themes in the early days.
4. In subsequent paragraphs, we may expect the writer of this passage to
[A]. justify his comparison with Steinbeck.
[B]. present a point of view which attack the thought of the second paragraph.
[C]. point out the anachronisms in the play.
[D]. discuss the works of Chaucer.
Vocabulary
1. clerically educated 受过教会教育的
2. lore 口头传说，口头文字
3. patristic 有关早期基督教领袖的
4. vernacular 方言
5. boisterous 喧闹的
6. metrical 韵律的
7. stanza 诗节
8. medieval 中世纪的
9. plight 悲惨的命运
10. secularization 世俗化，脱离教会
11. pastoral 乡村的
12. bleak 荒凉的
13. documentary 记录文献的
14. monologue 独白
15. burlesque 诙谐或游戏诗文的，讽刺或滑稽的
16. Nativity 基督的诞生
17. epilogue 收场白
18. deference 敬意，尊重
19. atavistic 返祖的，隔代遗传的
20. slide back to 滑回，这里指返回
21. raison d'etre 存在的理由
22. all the same 即便如此
23. paradoxical turn 自相矛盾的说法
24. cloistered 隐居的
25. contemplative 好冥想的人（如僧侣）
26. the contemplative life 宗教上冥想的生涯
27. redemption 赎罪
28. mundane 世俗的，现世的
29. erudite 博学的，饱学之士
30. anachronism 时代错误，与时代不合的事物
难句译注
1. Moreover, insofar as any interpretation of its author can be made from the five or six plays attributed to him, the Wake field Master is uniformly considered to be a man of sharp contemporary observation.
[结构简析] insofar 义：只能，在……范围，常和as 连用。Attributed 过去分词，这里指属于韦克菲尔德大师写的剧本。
[参考译文] 再则，就以五六本，被认为是韦克菲尔德?马斯脱所写的剧本为依据来分析说明这位作者，他是一位公认为对时代具有敏锐洞察力的戏剧作家。
写作方法和文章大意
这是一篇文学评论，评韦克菲尔德?马斯脱的戏剧。他是乔叟的同时代人，采用对比手法，作者对比了他和别的批评家对韦评价之差异来论证韦克菲尔德本人的观点，立场和作品的文体，语言，内容等各个方面。然后把他跟同时代人乔叟作比较，指出他的不足。
答案祥解
1. C. 他象斯坦贝克一样写。第一段作者说他是一位公认的对当时代具有敏锐洞察力的作家。现在仍然享有盛名。主要在于“他对被压迫和被遗忘的人民的同情，有着对人物性格了解的犀利眼光，对日常方言的曲折转意的”耳朵“。他的幽默粗放而又喧闹，粗鲁而又愉快。因此，尽管他有意识的艺术效果（性），明显表现在他对复杂韵律和诗节的感受力上，人们仍然尊他为中世纪的斯坦贝克，对贫苦农民悲惨命运的疾首愤怒，给以毫不妥协地甚至野性地真实描述”。这段话说明，文内两位作家之共同点是在内容观点上。而不是指一样的艺术形式上。韦克菲尔德写的是诗歌形式——韵文，而斯坦贝克是小说和散文剧。所以说他像斯坦贝克那样写就错了。故选C.
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