3.2　考研真题与典型题详解

I. Fill in the blanks.

1．The English great writer Geoffrey Chaucer was born in 1343 and died in 1400. His most important work is ______, a long poem made up of a general introduction and 24 stories. （南开大学2007研）

【答案】The Canterbury Tales

【解析】乔叟的代表作是《坎特伯雷故事集》，是一首由一篇序言和24个故事组成的长诗。

2．______ is Chaucer’s longest complete poem (about 8,000 lines) and his greatest artistic achievement.

【答案】Troilus and Criseyde

【解析】《特洛伊罗斯与克瑞西达》是乔叟最长的一首完整诗篇，长达8000多行。

3．The Canterbury Tales is Chaucer’s greatest work and the greater part of it was written in ______ couplets.

【答案】heroic

【解析】《坎特伯雷故事集》大部分采用的是英雄双韵体。

4．In the 14th century, the two most important writers are ______ and Langland.

【答案】Geoffrey Chaucer

【解析】乔叟和朗格兰是英国14世纪两位最重要的作家。

5．Chaucer’s work ______ gives us a picture of the condition of English life of his day, such as its work and play, its deeds and dreams, its fun and sympathy.

【答案】The Canterbury Tales

【解析】在《坎特伯雷故事集》中，乔叟淋漓尽致地揭露了宗教的腐败，贵族的骄奢以及当时社会的其他丑恶现象，同时也表达了他的人文主义思想。

6．Critics tend to divide Chaucer’s literary career into three periods: the ______ period, the ______ period and the ______ period.

【答案】French, Italian, English

【解析】乔叟的诗歌创作分为三个时期：①法国影响时期（1359—1372）：主要翻译并仿效法国诗人的作品。②意大利影响时期（1372—1386）：诗人接触了资产阶级人文主义的进步思想。③英语时期（1386—1400）：乔叟在这最后15年里从事《坎特伯雷故事集》的创作。

7．When Chaucer died on the 25th of October 1400, he was the first to be buried in ______.

【答案】Westminster Abbey

【解析】乔叟死后被葬在威斯敏特教堂，从此威斯敏特教堂的一角便成为大诗人安息的“诗人角”。

II. Explain the following term.

heroic couplet （中国人民大学2006研；厦门大学2007研；北航2010研）

Key: A heroic couplet is a traditional form for English poetry, commonly used for epic and narrative poetry; it refers to poems constructed from a sequence of rhyming pairs of iambic pentameter lines. The rhyme is always masculine. The use of the heroic couplet was first pioneered by Geoffrey Chaucer in The Legend of Good Women and The Canterbury Tales, and was perfected by John Dryden in the Restoration Age.

III. Read the following quotation and answer the questions.

Questions 1 to 3 are based on the following passage of The Canterbury Tales. （南开大学2009研）

1．What does the fact that the knight owns fine horses indicate?

2．What does the clothes he wears indicate?

3．What does Geoffrey Chaucer want to show through these details?

Key: 1. The fact indicates that the knight represents a real knight and the ideal of a medieval Christian man-at-arms.

2．The knight wears a fustian tunic stained and dark with smudges, which indicates that he has recently returned from an expedition.

3．Through these details, Chaucer wants to show that the knight is brave, experienced, devout and prudent. The Knight rides at the front of the procession described in the “General Prologue”, and his story is the first in the sequence. The Host clearly admires the Knight, as does the narrator.

IV. Short answer questions

1．Why is the Knight first in the General Prologue to tell a tale in The Canterbury Tales? （北京航空航天大学2009研）

Key: According to Chaucer’s words before he introduces the pilgrims, he judges each one by whom they are, what is their degree and their arriving sequence. At that time, the upper class or nobility is represented chiefly by the Knight and his Squire, which means that the Knight has the highest degree among the pilgrims. They are noble for their bravery in the battles and their loyalty to the woman. The Knight tells his tragic love story which was treasured by people at that time. So the Knight is the first to tell a tale. This shows the social class at that time.

Secondly, according to Chaucer’s description, the Knight is in the front of the other entire persons.

2．What is Chaucer’s contribution to the English language?

Key: (1) Chaucer’s language is vivid and exact. His words are easy to understand.

(2) He introduced from France the "heroic couplet" to English poetry.

(3) Though influenced by French, and Italian literature models, he is the first important poet to write in the current English language. His production of so much excellent poetry was an important factor in establishing English as the literary language of the country.

V. Essay question

How did Chaucer’s creative work reflect the changes of the English society in the second half of the 14th century? How much was Chaucer influenced by foreign authors such as Dante or Boccaccio? What are some of the significances of such influences? （中国人民大学2007研）

Key: At that time, the feudal system had already begun to crumble. His work，for the first time in English literature，created a comprehensive realistic picture of the medieval English society and created a whole gallery of vivid characters from all walks of life. For example, his masterpiece The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims from all walks of life when they were on their way to Canterbury. His characterization is very vivid and the true side of society at that time is revealed.

Dante and Boccaccio not only had direct influence on Chaucer’s poem in form and content, but also had determined effects on his world value. Since then, his literary activities turned into an active and creative phase which is marked by his two long poems, The House of Fame and Troilus and Criseyde. Chaucer mainly wrote three longer poems using the heroic stanza of seven lines. From the perspective of newly citizen class, he held positive attitude towards love and individual happiness and rejected feudalism and religious abstinence.

Chaucer’s poetry traces out a path to the literature of English Renaissance. Chaucer’s poem marks a new step in the author’s progress to maturity and is distinguished for its profound delineation of characters and truthful description of human relations. Chaucer chose the metrical poetry which laid the foundation of the English tonico-syllabic verse. He did much in making the dialect of London.