Many people seem to think that science fiction is typified by the covers of some of the old pulp magazines; the Bug-Eyed Monster embodying every feature that most people find repulsive. This is unfortunate because it demeans and degrades a worthwhile and even important literary endeavor. The basic interest of science fiction lies in the relation between man and his technology and between man and the universe. Science fiction is a literature of change and a literature of the future, and while it would be foolish to claim that science fiction is a major literary genre at this time, the aspects of human life that it considers make it well worth reading and studying—for no other literary form does quite the same things.
The question is: what is science fiction? And the answer must be, unfortunately, that there have been few attempts to consider this question at any length or with much seriousness; it may well be that science fiction will resist any comprehensive definition of its characteristics. To say this, however, does not mean that there are no ways of defining it nor that various facets of its totality cannot be clarified. To begin with, the following definition should be helpful: science fiction is a literary subgenre which postulates a change (for human beings) from conditions as we know them and follow the implications of these changes to a conclusion. Although this definition with necessarily be modified and expanded, and probably changed, in the course of this exploration, it covers much of the basic groundwork and provides a points of departure.
The first point—that science fiction is a literary subgenre—is a very important one, but one which is often overlooked or ignored in most discussions of science fiction. Specifically, science fiction is either a short story or a novel. There are only a few dramas which could be called science fiction, with Karel Capek’s RUR (Rossum’s Universal Robots) being the only one that is well known; the body of poetry that might be labeled science fiction is only slightly large. To say that science fiction is a subgenre of prose fiction that is to say that it has all the basic characteristics and serves the same basic functions in much the same way as prose fiction in general—that is, it shares a great deal with all other novels and short stories.
Everything that can be said about prose fiction in general applies to science fiction. Every piece of science fiction, whether short story or novel, must have a narrator, a story, a plot, a setting characters, language, and theme. And like any prose, the themes of science fiction are concerned with interpreting man’s nature and experience in relation to the world around him. Themes in science fiction are constructed and presented in exactly the same ways that themes are dealt with in any other kind of fiction. They are the result of a particular combination of narrator story, plot, character, setting, and language. In short, the reasons for reading and enjoying science fiction, and the ways of studying and analyzing it, are basically the same as they would be for any other story or novel.
1. Science fiction is called a literary subgenre because ______.
2. The view of science fiction encouraged by pulp magazines, while wrong, is nevertheless ______.
3. An appropriate title for the passage would be ______.
4. The author’s definition suggests that all science fiction deals with ______.
5. One implication of the final sentence in the passage is that ______.
问题1选项
A.it is not important enough to be a literary genre
B.it cannot be made into a dramatic presentation
C.to call it a “genre” would subject it to literary jargon
D.it shares characteristics with other types of prose fiction
问题2选项
A.popular
B.deranged
C.elegant
D.accurate
问题3选项
A.On the Inaccuracies of Pulp Magazines
B.Man and the Universe
C.Toward a Definition of Science Fiction
D.A Type of Prose Fiction
问题4选项
A.the same topics addressed by novels and short stories
B.the unfamiliar or unusual
C.Karel Capek’s well-known postulate
D.the conflict between science and fiction
问题5选项
A.there are reasons for enjoying science fiction
B.the reader should turn next to commentaries on general fiction
C.there is no reason for any reader not to like science fiction
D.those who can read and analyze fiction can also do so with science fiction
第1题:D
第2题:A
第3题:C
第4题:B
第5题:D
第1题:
【选项释义】
Science fiction is called a literary subgenre because ________. 科幻小说被称为文学的一个子类型，因为________。
A. it is not important enough to be a literary genre A. 它不够重要而不能成为文学类型
B. it cannot be made into a dramatic presentation B. 它无法被戏剧化呈现
C. to call it a “genre” would subject it to literary jargon C. 称其为“类型”会使其陷入文学术语争议
D. it shares characteristics with other types of prose fiction D. 它与其他类型的散文体小说有共同的特点
【答案】D
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词a literary subgenre可以定位到文章第三段和第四段，明确指出科幻小说是散文体小说（prose fiction）的子类型（subgenre），因为它共享所有散文体小说的基本特征和功能“science fiction is a subgenre of prose fiction that is to say that it has all the basic characteristics and serves the same basic functions in much the same way as prose fiction in general”（科幻小说是散文体小说的子类型，具有所有基本特征并以相同方式服务于相同功能）。第四段进一步强调“Everything that can be said about prose fiction in general applies to science fiction”（所有关于散文体小说的论述都适用于科幻小说）。因此D选项“它与其他类型的散文体小说有共同的特点”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“它不够重要而不能成为文学类型”，第一段提到科幻小说“is well worth reading and studying”（值得阅读和研究），并承认它可能不是“major literary genre”（主要文学类型），但这并非它被归类为子类型的原因；核心原因是其共享特征，属于曲解原文；
B选项“它无法被戏剧化呈现”，第三段提到科幻小说以短篇或长篇小说为主，戏剧作品较少，但这是结果而非原因，属于出处错位；
C选项“称其为‘类型’会使其陷入文学术语争议”在文中并未提及，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
The view of science fiction encouraged by pulp magazines, while wrong, is nevertheless ________. 通俗杂志鼓励科幻小说的观点虽然是错误的，但仍然是________。
A. popular A. 受欢迎的
B. deranged B. 疯狂的
C. elegant C. 高雅的
D. accurate D. 准确的
【答案】A
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】文章开头指出“Many people seem to think that science fiction is typified by the covers of some of the old pulp magazines”（许多人似乎认为科幻小说由老式通俗杂志封面代表），并强调这种观点是“unfortunate”（不幸的）且“demeans”（贬低）科幻小说。作者暗示这种误解广泛存在（many people），因此它具有流行性（popular）。因此A选项“受欢迎的”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“疯狂的”，文中仅批评该观点错误且有害，但并未用极端词汇如“疯狂”描述，属于无中生有；
C选项“高雅的”，作者明确反对该观点，称其基于“Bug-Eyed Monster embodying every repulsive feature”（体现所有令人厌恶特征的眼球怪物），与“优雅”矛盾，属于反向干扰；
D选项“准确的”，文中直接斥责该观点错误（this is wrong），因为它忽略了科幻小说的核心主题（人类与技术/宇宙的关系），属于曲解原文。
第3题:
【选项释义】
An appropriate title for the passage would be ________. 这篇文章的合适标题是________。
A. On the Inaccuracies of Pulp Magazines A. 论通俗杂志的不准确性
B. Man and the Universe B. 人类与宇宙
C. Toward a Definition of Science Fiction C. 科幻小说的定义
D. A Type of Prose Fiction D. 一种散文体小说
【答案】C
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】文章核心围绕定义科幻小说展开：第二段直接提问“what is science fiction?”（什么是科幻小说？），并提出初步定义；后文分析其作为文学子类型的特征（第三段）、与散文体小说的共性（第四段），并强调定义需完善（this definition will be modified and expanded）。标题需反映这一探索性过程。因此C选项“科幻小说的定义”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“论通俗杂志的不准确性”，杂志观点仅在开头作为反面例子引入，并非全文焦点，属于以偏概全；
B选项“人类与宇宙”，第一段提到科幻关注“man and his technology and between man and the universe”（人类与技术、人类与宇宙的关系），但这只是主题的一部分，而非全文核心，属于以偏概全；
D选项“一种散文体小说”，第三段将科幻归为散文体小说子类型，但文章重点是其独特定义（postulates a change），而非简单归类，属于曲解原文。
第4题:
【选项释义】
The author’s definition suggests that all science fiction deals with ________. 作者的定义表明，所有的科幻小说都涉及________。
A. the same topics addressed by novels and short stories A. 与小说和短篇主题相同
B. the unfamiliar or unusual B. 不熟悉或不寻常的事物
C. Karel Capek’s well-known postulate C. 卡雷尔·恰佩克的著名假设
D. the conflict between science and fiction D. 科学与虚构的冲突
【答案】B
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词all science fiction可以定位到文章第二段，作者定义科幻小说为“a literary subgenre which postulates a change from conditions as we know them”（一种假设人类从已知条件发生改变的文学子类型）。“Change from known conditions”（从已知条件变化）直接指向不熟悉或不寻常的事物（the unfamiliar or unusual）。第一段也强调科幻是“literature of change and future”（关于变化和未来的文学）。因此B选项“不熟悉或不寻常的事物”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“与小说和短篇主题相同”，第四段指出科幻主题与其他小说一致（如人性解读），但定义的核心是“变化”（change），主题共性是其作为子类型的特征，而非定义本质，属于曲解原文；
C选项“卡雷尔·恰佩克的著名假设”，第三段提到恰佩克的戏剧《RUR》作为科幻戏剧例子，但作者的定义独立于此，并未引用其假设，属于曲解原文；
D选项“科学与虚构的冲突”，文中并未将科幻定义为科学与虚构的冲突；核心是“人类与技术的关系”及“变化的影响”，属于曲解原文。
第5题:
【选项释义】
One implication of the final sentence in the passage is that ________. 文章最后一句话的含义是________。
A. there are reasons for enjoying science fiction A. 存在享受科幻小说的理由
B. the reader should turn next to commentaries on general fiction B. 读者应转向一般小说评论
C. there is no reason for any reader not to like science fiction C. 读者没有理由不喜欢科幻小说
D. those who can read and analyze fiction can also do so with science fiction D. 那些能读懂和分析小说的人也能读懂科幻小说
【答案】D
【考查点】语义推断题。
【解题思路】最后一句明确“the reasons for reading and enjoying science fiction, and the ways of studying and analyzing it, are basically the same as for any other story or novel”（阅读、享受、研究和分析科幻小说的原因及方法与其他小说基本相同）。这隐含了掌握一般小说分析能力的人可同样应用于科幻小说。因此D选项“那些能读懂和分析小说的人也能读懂科幻小说”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“存在享受科幻小说的理由”虽是该句的部分内容，但句子核心是比较分析方法（ways of studying and analyzing），而非单纯列举理由，属于曲解原文；
B选项“读者应转向一般小说评论”，该句并未建议读者转向其他内容；相反，它主张科幻可被同样分析，属于曲解原文；
C选项“读者没有理由不喜欢科幻小说”，该句并未讨论读者偏好；它强调分析方法相同，但并未断言所有人必须喜欢科幻，属于无中生有。
