The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American
Ⅰ.Reading comprehension.
Fielden Hughes A Wet Sunday In A Country Inn
1. Baldwin left America because all of the following reason except ________ .
A.He was afraid he might not able to survive the fury of the color problem
B.He suffered a kind of nervous breakdown there
C.He wanted to find out how his special experience as a Negro could help to connect him with other people instead of dividing him form them
D.He wanted to prevent himself from becoming merely a Negro or even just a Negro writer
2. In Baldwin’s eyes, America is mobile society and __________.
A. nothing is fixed
B. A land of unprecedented opportunities and unlimited possibilities
C. The individual must fight for his identity
D. All of the above-mentioned
3. It was in __________ that Baldwin realized that he was a very patriotic American.
A. Europe
B. Switzerland
C. Paris
D. America
4. According to the text, which of the following statements is NOT true ?
A. In Europe, the actor and the waiter can have a freer and more genuinely friendly relationship than they are likely to have in America
B. In Europe, everybody thinks that he has status and at the same time, everyone becomes uneasy as to just what his status is
C. Bessie Smith’s beautiful song would not help to reconcile the writer to being a nigger if he still stayed in America
D. Very often an American writer has to leave his own country to achieve his first breakthrough in a dangerous, unending and unpredictable battle
5. “ The story of what can happen to an American Negro writer in Europe simply illustrates, in some relief, what can happen to any American writer there…” In this sentence, the underlined part means ________.
A. feeling relieved
B. in some picture
C. sharply
D. briefly
Ⅱ.Determine whether the following statements are true or false. Put a “T”, if the statement is true and put a “F”, if false.
1. In Europe, both white and black would no longer need to adhere to the shame and bitterness which had divided them so long.
2. The European writers have a very deep- rooted distrust of real intellectual effort.
3. Though American society is less stable than Europe’s, it is easier to cut across social and occupational lines in America than it is in Europe.
4. An European can be as proud of being a good waiter as of being a good actor, and in both case feel threatened.
5. Living in Europe forces the writer to reconsider many things he had always taken for granted.
6. If writer were living in America as an European, he would be living on a different and for less attractive continent.
7. The writer may be forced to leave the group that produced him, but nothing will efface his origins.
8. The American writers have been often charged of not describing society and having no interests in it.
9. The mobile society in which nothing is fixed and in which the individual must fight for his identity creates for the American writer unprecedented opportunities.
10. Every society is really governed by hidden laws, by unspoken but profound assumptions on the part of people except our American.
Ⅲ.Point out what figure of speech is used in each of the following sentences:
1. When it did, I like many a writer before me upon the discovery that his props have all been knocked out from under him, suffered a species of breakdown and was carried off to the mountains of Switzerland.
2. A writer, when he has made his first breakthrough, has simply won a crucial skirmish in a dangerous, unending and unpredictable battle.
3. It is not until he is released from the habit of flexing his muscles and proving that he is just a “regular guy” that he realizes how crippling this habit has been.
4. An American writer fights his way to one of the lowest rungs on the American social ladder by means of pure bullheadedness and indescribable series of odd jobs.
5. He probably has been a “regular fellow” for much of his adult life, and it is not easy for him to step out of that lukewarm bath.
6. It is as though he suddenly came out of a dark tunnel and found himself beneath the open sky.
7. He needs sustenance for his journey and the best models he can find.
8. In this endeavor to wed the vision of the Old World with that of the New, it is the writer, not the statesman, who is our strongest arm
Ⅳ.Choose the word or phrase which best completes each sentence.
1. There was a great deal of ________ about the decision of that semi-barbaric king’s daughter.
A prediction
B aspiration
C contemplation
D hesitation
2. The twin brothers showed great ________ to their elder sister, who had acted as sole parent to them since their parents died during the American Civil War.
A allegiance
B devotion
C compliance
D admiration
3. The town maintains very many Chinese tradition which are among the highest achievements of those who created the ________ we now enjoy.
A heritage
B inheritance
C genetics
D estate
4. It’s impossible to _______ these two points of view because they are too different.
A compromise
B unite
C reconcile
D combine
5. Many countries in the suburban areas have now succeeded in ________ malarial mosquitoes.
A effacing
B abolishing
C eradicating
D. alternative
6. The surly insolence of the waiters drove him into a _____, and he flung her serviette to the floor and stalked out of the restaurant
A rage
B fury
C indignant
D anger
7. Night patrols were sent out to engage the enemy in a series of small _______.
A battle
B fight
C skirmish
D clash
8. Robert Smith’s reputation was established with eth publication of his first poem in 1938 and was ______ by his splendid short stories for children.
A reinforced
B revived
C obscured
D enhanced
9. By then the 4-2-1 ________, i.e., the type of family made up of four helpless grandparents, two demanding parents and one frustrated child, will have become commonplace.
A symptom
B synchronization
C syndrome
D symbiosis
10. During the Romantic period it was fashionable in literature to have a ______ outlook on the world and to turn one’s back on liveliness and joy
A depressed
B disconsolate
C lugubrious
D melancholy
11. The exiled lived for years in a ________ state of fear and never reveal their real identity to the public.
A lasting
B permanent
C perpetual
D durable
12. Arguing world only give further ________ to his allegations
A substance
B sustenance
C subsistence
D surveillance
13. The old building has an ________ air of sadness about it.
A insurmountable
B insuperable
C intangible
D insufferable
14. His lecture was readily ________ to all the students.
A intellectual
B intelligen
C integrated
D intelligible
15.Her husband is an ________ gambler and stay outside all day long.
A incorrigible
B inconceivable
C incompatible
D incongruous
16. The old man’s _________ will contribute a lot to his final victory in fighting against the sea.
A inescapable
B inexorable
C inevitable
D inextricable
17. Arriving early gave him the ________ of an unhurried dinner.
A right
B liberty
C privilege
D freedom
18. He is a teacher of high ________ but of little ________ among his colleagues.
A position, rank
B rank, status
C status, position
D rank, position
19. Louisa May Alcott based the ______ characters of her book Little Women on her sisters and herself.
A principal
B complex
C original
D many
20. Is a woman to be more highly ________ for her talent or for her beauty?
A estimated
B evaluated
C esteemed
D reckoned
Ⅴ. Put the following words and phrases into the appropriate blanks in the following sentences.
2. Simon feels very on a horse.
3. After her mother’s death, Sara her aunt more than ever.
4. The main character is a journalist from a failed marriage.
5. The snow-capped mountain stood out against the blue sky.
6. He stood on the side of the pool,
7. Opinion on this issue traditional political boundaries.
8. There findings are what is going on in the rest of the country.
9. It was gradually that defeat was inevitable.
10. Protest marchers were held to the proposed law
11. They have successfullythe ________ old ________ the new in this building.
12. He was immediately the other prisoners for he was prone to attack everyone.
Ⅵ. Fill in each blank with a suitable word taken from the list at the head of the group, giving alternatives where this is possible
inheritance ， bequest ， birthright， heritage， legacy， patrimony，
1. In our country, education is every child’s
2. The of race hatred is left to America by the institution of slavery.
3. We are shocked by the squandered of untainted streams and virgin forest land.
4. The precious of freedom guaranteed us by the constitution.
5. The miser man stipulated that a number of small were to go to several close friends.
6. The rival of Athenian democracy and Spartan authoritarianism are still viable.
7. We all cherish our inalienable of free speech.
8. The cathedrals are regarded as part of England’s invaluable
9. A new honesty about sexual matters is the of Freud, Ellis and others
10. Physical characteristics are determined by genetic
11. A U.N. Declaration names four specific freedoms as every person’s
12. Future generations will be left with a of pollution and destruction.
intelligent ， intelligible ， intellectual ，unintelligent ， unintelligible ， intellect ，
13. We don’t expect everyone to be an expert in philosophy. But at least his writing should be
14. It is said that the manuscripts of many famous writers are except to their secretaries.
15. She was one of the most formidable of her time.
16. By “ people”, we mean those who lack the power to use their minds successfully when demands are made upon them.
17. World Property Organization is an international organization designed to promote the worldwide protection of both industrial property (inventions, trademarks, and designs) and copyrighted materials (literary, musical, photographic, and other artistic works)
18. The scientist realized sadly that he had been completely defeated by the ingenuity of the life forms existing beyond our solar system.
19. The customer’s explanation seemed to me, but evidently conveyed something to the salesgirl who searched shelf after shelf for the new product.
20. An
Ⅶ. For each blank in the following passage, choose the most suitable word from the list of words provided below. Each work can be used once only. Write your choice of words in its proper form in the corresponding blanks in the passage.
Ⅷ Translation：