In 1885 Owen Wister (1850-1938) recorded that “it won’t be a century before the west is simply the true America, with thought, type, and life of its own” and he wanted “to be the hand that once, for all, chronicled and laid bare the virtues and the ices of this extraordinary phase of American social progress.” He never became that self-envisioned Tolstoi of the old West, but in 1902 The Virginian was published. It won instant success and sky-rocketed its author to fame. It is still the most popular “western” novel ever published and the master design for the fiction of the Wild West.
The Virginian established a literary form, a formula popularly known as “horse opera”, whose conventions, cliches, and values have reappeared in novels and short stories, in movies and television serials, ever since. The romantic cowboy is the hero and gentleman, one of those “good men in the humbler walks of life”, who seems through shams, defends justice and a lady’s honor, shoots it out with the villain and conquers evil. Because of The Virginian, Wister created a character who is the original type for the western folk hero. He represents the embodiment of certain American ideals—a man who is equal to all occasions who shows independence of action, a man who keeps his word who is a broad-gauge fellow living among narrow-gauge fold”. But the literary device and cowboy code which Wister established dictated that the hero must kill the head man. This necessity for sanctioning murder and romanticizing of the cowboy as a gentleman prohibited. The Virginian and the genre it created from becoming serious fiction, or even an authentic product of the western experience. Instead of achieving his ambition, therefore, Wister gave us a sort of American folk epic, the cowboy story.
1. Owen Wister believed ______.
2. Stylistically, The Virginian is noted for the fact that it ______.
3. The popularity which was accorded The Virginian indicates that Wister ______.
4. The author of the article believes that ______.
问题1选项
A.the way of life in the west in 1885 was a passing phase
B.the cowboy in 1885 symbolized the typical American mode
C.the west would be always isolated from the rest of the country by its moral code
D.none of these
问题2选项
A.was written according to a pre-established formula
B.established the formula known as “horse opera”
C.followed the literary conventions of the day.
D.abandoned American conventions in favor of foreign ones
问题3选项
A.had written an account of the cowboy which appealed to American aspirations
B.gave us an authentic account of the western experience
C.became the American Tolstoi
D.realized his stated ambition
问题4选项
A.The Virginian did not deserve the success it won
B.Wister was a hack
C.Wister made a definite contribution to American literature
D.cowboy stories should be considered serious fiction
第1题:
【选项释义】
Owen Wister believed ______. 欧文•威斯特相信______。
A. the way of life in the west in 1885 was a passing phase A. 1885年西部的生活方式只是一个过去的阶段
B. the cowboy in 1885 symbolized the typical American mode B. 1885年的牛仔象征着典型的美国模式
C. the west would be always isolated from the rest of the country by its moral code C.由于道德准则，西部将永远与这个国家的其他地区隔离开来
D. none of these D.以上都不是
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】A、B、C选项都不是正确答案，所以本题选D。
【干扰项排除】
A选项，根据第一段第一句：…it won’t be a century before the west is simply the true America…（……用不了一个世纪，西方就会成为真正的美国……）可知选项A错误，属于曲解原文；
B选项在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
C选项，文中没有提及，属于无中生有，且根据常识可以排除。
第2题:
【选项释义】
Stylistically, The Virginian is noted for the fact that it ______. 从文体上看，《维吉尼亚人》因其______而闻名。
A. was written according to a pre-established formula A. 是按照预先确定的公式写的
B. established the formula known as “horse opera” B. 建立了一个“马戏团”公式
C. followed the literary conventions of the day. C. 遵循了当时的文学惯例。
D. abandoned American conventions in favor of foreign ones D. 放弃了美国的传统而选择了外国的传统
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】第二段第一句提到：The Virginian established a literary form, a formula popularly known as “horse opera”...（维吉尼亚人建立了一种文学形式，一种被普遍称为“马戏”的模式。）选项B与原文描述一致，所以正确。
【干扰项排除】A、C、D选项在文中没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
The popularity which was accorded The Virginian indicates that Wister ______. 《维吉尼亚人》受到的欢迎表明，威斯特______。
A. had written an account of the cowboy which appealed to American aspirations A. 曾经写过一篇关于牛仔的文章，这篇文章吸引了美国人的热情
B. gave us an authentic account of the western experience B. 给了我们西方经历的真实写照
C. became the American Tolstoi C. 成为美国的托尔斯泰
D. realized his stated ambition D. 实现了他的既定目标
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】第二段最后一句提到：Instead of achieving his ambition, therefore, Wister gave us a sort of American folk epic, the cowboy story.（威斯特没有实现他的抱负，而是给我们讲述了一部美国民间史诗，牛仔的故事。）可知，通过这本书，我们对西方的经历有了真实的了解，所以选项B正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
C选项，文中提到：He never became that self-envisioned Tolstoi of the old West（他从未成为那个自认为是老西部的托尔斯泰）可知属于反向干扰；
D选项，根据解析可知，威斯特没有实现目标，属于反向干扰。
第4题:
【选项释义】
The author of the article believes that ______. 文章的作者认为，______。
A. The Virginian did not deserve the success it won A. 《维吉尼亚人》不配得到它所赢得的成功
B. Wister was a hack B. 维斯特是一个写手
C. Wister made a definite contribution to American literature C. 威斯特对美国文学做出了明确的贡献
D. cowboy stories should be considered serious fiction D. 牛仔故事应该被认为是严肃的小说
【考查点】观点态度题
【解题思路】文中最后提到Instead of achieving his ambition, therefore, Wister gave us a sort of American folk epic, the cowboy story.（威斯特没有实现他的抱负，而是给我们讲述了一部美国民间史诗，牛仔的故事。）可知威斯特给美国文学留下了一部美国文学史诗，故C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项，根据第一段倒数第二句：...The Virginian was published. It won instant success and sky-rocketed its author to fame.（《维吉尼亚人》出版了。这本书立刻获得了成功，作者也因此一举成名）可知选项A错误；
B选项在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项文中提到：The Virginian and the genre it created from becoming serious fiction, or even an authentic product of the western experience.（《维吉尼亚人》和它所创造的流派无法成为严肃的小说，甚至无法成为西部经验的真实产物。）可知属于反向干扰。
