THE BRONTE FAMILY
Yorkshire, England was the setting for two great novels (小说) of the 19th century. These were Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. The youngest sister, Anne, was also a gifted novelist, and her books have the same extmaordinary, quality as her sisters'.
Their father was Patrick Bronte born in Ireland. He moved with his wife, Maria Bronte, and their six small children to Haworth in Yorkshire in 1820. Soon after, Mrs. Bronte and the two eldest children died, leaving the father to care for the remaining three girls and a boy.
Charlotte was born in 1816. Emily was born in 1818 and Anne in 1820. Their brother Branwell was born in 1817. Left to themselves, the children wrote and told stories and walked over the hills. They grew up largely self-educated. Branwell showed a great interest in drawing. The girls were determined to earn money for his art education. They took positions as teachers or taught children in their homes.
As children they had all written many stories. Charlotte, as a young girl, alone wrote 22 books, each with 60 to 100 pages of small handwriting. Therefore, they turned to writing for income. By 1847, Charlotte had written The Professor; Emily, Wuthering Heights; and Anne, Agnes Grey. After much difficulty Anne and Emily found a publisher (出版商), but there was no interest shown in Charlotte's book. (It was not published until 1869. ) However, one publisher expressed an interest in seeing more of her work. Jane Eyre was already started, and she hurriedly finished it.
It was accepted at once; thus each of the sisters bad a book published in 1847.
Jane Eyre was immediately successful; the other two, however, did not do. so well. people did not like Wuthering Heights. They said it was too wild, too animal-like. But gradually it came to be considered one of the finest novels in the English language. Emily lived only a short while after the publication of her book, and Anne died in 1847.
Charlotte published Shirley in 1849, and Villette in 1863. In 1854 she married Arthur Bell Nicholls. But only a year later, she died of tuberculosis (肺结核) as her sisters had.
1. What did the Bronte sisters want to do for Branwell Bronte?
A. Help him write stories.
B. Help him get trained in art.
C. Teach him how to draw well.
D. Teach him how to educate himself.
2. We know from the text that
A. Jane Eyre was published in 1847
B. Charlotte Bronte wrote 22 books in all
C. the Bronte sisters received good education
D. Patrick Bronte helped his daughters with their writing
3. Which of the following was published after the death of its writer?
A. Shirley. B. Villette.
C. Agnes Grey. D. The Professor.
4. The underlined words "the other two" in the 5th paragraph refer to
A. Shirley and Villette
B. The Professor and Agnes Grey
C. Agnes Grey and Wuthering Heights
D. The Professor and Wuthering Heights
5. What do we know about the Bronte sisters from the text?
A. Their novels interested few publishers.
B. None of them had more than two books published.
C. None of them lived longer than 40 years old.
D. Emily was the least successful of the three. Dear Susan.
1.B 2.A 3.D 4.C 5.C
A. Profits enlarging B. Technology developing C. Education investing D. Benefits transferring E. Dominance disappearing F. A nation rising |
The following is an imaginary diary entry written by US president. This diary is part of Global Trends 2025, which was written by the US National Intelligence Council
80
The
81
The
82
Global wealth and economic power will shift from West to East.
83
84
The transition from old fuels to new will be slow, as will the development of new technologies that present feasible alternatives to fossil fuels or help eliminate food and water problems. All current technologies are inadequate, and new ones will probably not be commercially possible by 2025