第四十九篇
The Beginning of American Literature
American has always been a land of beginnings. After Europeans‘discovered' America in the fifteenth century, the mysterious New World became for many people a genuine hope of a new life, an escape from poverty and persecution, a chance to start again. We can say that, as nation, America begins with that hope. When, however, does American literature begin?
American literature begins with American experiences. Long before the first colonists arrived, before Christopher Columbus1, before the Northmen who 'found' America about the year 1,000, Native Americans lived here. Each tribe's literature was tightly woven into the fabric of daily life and reflected the unmistakably American experience of lining with the land2. Another kind of experience, one filled with fear and excitement, found its expression in the reports that Columbus and other explorers sent home in Spain, French and English. In addition, the journals of the people who lived and died in the New England wilderness3 tell unforgettable tales of hard and sometimes heartbreaking experiences of those early years.
Experience, then, is the key to early American literature. The New World provided a great variety of experiences, and these experiences demanded a wide variety of expressions by an even wider variety of early American writers. These writers included John Smith, who spent only two-and-a-half years on the American continent. They included Jonathan Edwards and William Byrd, who thought of themselves as British subjects, never suspecting a revolution that would create a United States of America with a literature of its own. American Indians, explorers,
Puritan ministers, frontier wives, plantation owner - they are all the creators of the first American literature.
詞匯：
colonist n. 殖民者
subject n.臣民
Puritan adj.清教徒的
注釋：
1. Christopher Columbus 克里斯托弗·哥倫布，美洲新大陸的發(fā)現(xiàn)者
2. Each tribe's literature was tightly woven into the fabric of daily life and reflected the unmistakably American experience of lining with the land. 每個部落的文學(xué)都緊密地交織到日常生活的架構(gòu)中去，反映了和土地密切相連的確鑿無疑的美洲生活經(jīng)歷。
3. New England wilderness 新英格蘭的荒原，新英格蘭指如今美國東北部的幾個州，為來自歐洲的殖民者最早定居的地區(qū)。
練習(xí)：
1. What does 'that hope' in the first paragraph refer to?
A) The hope that America would be discovered.
B) The hope to start a new life.
C) The hope to see the mysteries of the New World.
D) The hope to find poverty here.
2. When did American literature begin?
A) Before the American natives lived there.
B) When Columbus and other explorers sent reports back home
C) When the Northmen found America in about 1,000.
D) Long before the year 1,000.
3. What can we learn from the literature of the tribes of the native Americans?
A) About the everyday life of the native Americans.
B) About the arrival of Columbus.
C) About the experience of the first European settlers.
D) About the experience of those who died in the New England wilderness.
4. The main purpose of the last paragraph is to tell the readers that
A) in the early days most American writers were from Great Britain.
B) people with rich life experiences became writers.
C) there were many writers in the early days of American history.
D) early-day experience provided the foundation for American literature
5. According to the last paragraph, which of the following statements is true about American literature? ~
A) Some British writers started American literature.
B) Early-day American literature is a reflection of the boring life then.
C) Some British writers had doubts about the future of American literature.
D) Some British writers had great confidence in the future of American literature.
答案與題解：
1. B 這里的that hope 就是指上一句中的a genuine hope 0f a new life
2. D 答案在第二段的第二句。早在1000年前北歐人聲稱發(fā)現(xiàn)了美洲大陸之前，這塊土地上就有美洲印第安人居住，每周文學(xué)早在那時就已經(jīng)產(chǎn)生。
3. A 答案在第二段的第三句話。從美洲土著部落的文學(xué)中，我們可以找到他們?nèi)粘Ｉ畹膶懻铡?BR> 4. D 這一段的第一句是本段的主題句，而D則是該主題句的釋義。
5. D 本題答案的依據(jù)是下面這句話：They included Jonathan Edwards and William Byrd,who thought of themselves as British subjects, never suspecting a revolution that would create a United States of America with a literature of its own.這兩位自認(rèn)為是大英帝國臣民的英國作家對一場將會創(chuàng)造出一個擁有自己文學(xué)的美利堅合眾國的革命從來沒有任何懷疑。
The Beginning of American Literature
American has always been a land of beginnings. After Europeans‘discovered' America in the fifteenth century, the mysterious New World became for many people a genuine hope of a new life, an escape from poverty and persecution, a chance to start again. We can say that, as nation, America begins with that hope. When, however, does American literature begin?
American literature begins with American experiences. Long before the first colonists arrived, before Christopher Columbus1, before the Northmen who 'found' America about the year 1,000, Native Americans lived here. Each tribe's literature was tightly woven into the fabric of daily life and reflected the unmistakably American experience of lining with the land2. Another kind of experience, one filled with fear and excitement, found its expression in the reports that Columbus and other explorers sent home in Spain, French and English. In addition, the journals of the people who lived and died in the New England wilderness3 tell unforgettable tales of hard and sometimes heartbreaking experiences of those early years.
Experience, then, is the key to early American literature. The New World provided a great variety of experiences, and these experiences demanded a wide variety of expressions by an even wider variety of early American writers. These writers included John Smith, who spent only two-and-a-half years on the American continent. They included Jonathan Edwards and William Byrd, who thought of themselves as British subjects, never suspecting a revolution that would create a United States of America with a literature of its own. American Indians, explorers,
Puritan ministers, frontier wives, plantation owner - they are all the creators of the first American literature.
詞匯：
colonist n. 殖民者
subject n.臣民
Puritan adj.清教徒的
注釋：
1. Christopher Columbus 克里斯托弗·哥倫布，美洲新大陸的發(fā)現(xiàn)者
2. Each tribe's literature was tightly woven into the fabric of daily life and reflected the unmistakably American experience of lining with the land. 每個部落的文學(xué)都緊密地交織到日常生活的架構(gòu)中去，反映了和土地密切相連的確鑿無疑的美洲生活經(jīng)歷。
3. New England wilderness 新英格蘭的荒原，新英格蘭指如今美國東北部的幾個州，為來自歐洲的殖民者最早定居的地區(qū)。
練習(xí)：
1. What does 'that hope' in the first paragraph refer to?
A) The hope that America would be discovered.
B) The hope to start a new life.
C) The hope to see the mysteries of the New World.
D) The hope to find poverty here.
2. When did American literature begin?
A) Before the American natives lived there.
B) When Columbus and other explorers sent reports back home
C) When the Northmen found America in about 1,000.
D) Long before the year 1,000.
3. What can we learn from the literature of the tribes of the native Americans?
A) About the everyday life of the native Americans.
B) About the arrival of Columbus.
C) About the experience of the first European settlers.
D) About the experience of those who died in the New England wilderness.
4. The main purpose of the last paragraph is to tell the readers that
A) in the early days most American writers were from Great Britain.
B) people with rich life experiences became writers.
C) there were many writers in the early days of American history.
D) early-day experience provided the foundation for American literature
5. According to the last paragraph, which of the following statements is true about American literature? ~
A) Some British writers started American literature.
B) Early-day American literature is a reflection of the boring life then.
C) Some British writers had doubts about the future of American literature.
D) Some British writers had great confidence in the future of American literature.
答案與題解：
1. B 這里的that hope 就是指上一句中的a genuine hope 0f a new life
2. D 答案在第二段的第二句。早在1000年前北歐人聲稱發(fā)現(xiàn)了美洲大陸之前，這塊土地上就有美洲印第安人居住，每周文學(xué)早在那時就已經(jīng)產(chǎn)生。
3. A 答案在第二段的第三句話。從美洲土著部落的文學(xué)中，我們可以找到他們?nèi)粘Ｉ畹膶懻铡?BR> 4. D 這一段的第一句是本段的主題句，而D則是該主題句的釋義。
5. D 本題答案的依據(jù)是下面這句話：They included Jonathan Edwards and William Byrd,who thought of themselves as British subjects, never suspecting a revolution that would create a United States of America with a literature of its own.這兩位自認(rèn)為是大英帝國臣民的英國作家對一場將會創(chuàng)造出一個擁有自己文學(xué)的美利堅合眾國的革命從來沒有任何懷疑。