1 . The books written and published in the 1920s remain on the “best ever” lists. Here are 4 books that everyone should read.
The Great Gatsby
The themes in the novel reflect the sudden change in the character of America itself, and in some ways it’s among the first major modern novels produced in this country. The novel also makes a new and powerful concept clear at the time: The American Dream, the idea that self-made men and women could make themselves into anything in this country.
A Farewell to Arms
The story is one of a love affair interrupted and dogged by events beyond the lovers’ control, and a central theme is the pointless struggle of life — that we spend so much energy and time on things that finally don’t matter. Hemingway masterfully combines a realistic description of war with some abstract literary techniques, which is one reason why this book endures as a classic.
Ulysses
When people make lists of the most difficult novels, Ulysses is almost certainly on them. The one thing almost everyone knows about Ulysses is that it employs “stream of consciousness”, a literary technique that seeks to show the inner monologue of a person. James Joyce wasn’t the first writer to use this technique, but he was the first writer to attempt it on the scale as he did.
Mrs. Dalloway
It takes place on a single day in the life of the main character, and it employs a dense and tricky stream-of-consciousness technique, roaming (漫游) around to other characters and point of view. Mrs. Dalloway is concerned with using these techniques to make the characters clear and definite. The use of stream of consciousness is deliberately disorienting in the way it skips through time.
1. Which book shows us the truth of daily life conflicts?| A．Ulysses. | B．Mrs. Dalloway. |
| C．The Great Gatsby. | D．A Farewell to Arms. |
| A．They share the same literary technique. |
| B．They show a new and powerful concept. |
| C．They describe the daily life of the character. |
| D．They are on the list of the most difficult novels. |
| A．In a biography. | B．In a history book. |
| C．In a travel brochure. | D．In a literature magazine. |
In recent years, Chinese online literature has been recognized increasingly from home and abroad. For example, the British Library
Good Spring Time is one of the
Hearing of the news
“Today, when I heard that the British Library is collecting Chinese online literature, I’m
3 . The Costa Book Awards consistently pick winners that are both of the moment and subsequently endure. It's our pleasure to confirm this year’s Category Winners.
First Novel Award Winner
Book: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Author: Gail Honeyman
Eleanor is 31 years old; work finishes on a Friday and begins again on a Monday. Between, her only company will be two bottles of vodka and her own solitary, unique wit (机智). It is contentment, of a kind, but an unexpected shared experience suddenly opens the door to possibility. Challenging reader expectations with a living, breathing character, Gail Honeyman’s debut (初次登台、开张)is a funny and moving diamond.
Biography Award Winner
Book: In the Days of Rain
Author: Rebecca Stott
The Exclusive Brethren were a closed community who believed the world is ruled by Satan. Into this is born Rebecca. Her father had been an influential Brethren Minister. As her father lay dying, he begged her to help him write the memoir. He wanted to tell the story of their family who for generations had all been members of a fundamentalist Christian sect.
Poetry Award Winner
Book: Inside the Wave
Author: Helen Dunmore
To be alive is to be inside the wave, always travelling until it breaks and is gone. These poems are concerned with the borderline between the living and the dead — the underworld and the human living world – and the acutely intense being of both.
Children's Award Winner
Book: The Explorer
Author: Katherine Rundell, Hannah Horn
Four children survive their aircraft plunging into the Amazon jungle, but for Fred and his friends it’s only the beginning of a cruel battle for survival. Brimming with adventure and a real command of character and incident, Rundell has few peers in superb children's fiction.
1. What kind of life does Eleanor lead?| A．boring and lonely. | B．funny and touching. |
| C．exciting and complex. | D．ordinary and happy. |
| A．To introduce beliefs of the Exclusive Brethren. |
| B．To help her father fulfill his last wish. |
| C．To share the life of fundamentalist Christians. |
| D．To pass on her family traditions. |
| A．Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine | B．In the Days of Rain |
| C．Inside the Wave | D．The Explorer |
4 . Last year, the most-read children' s books at least in UK were almost all fantasy novels. But why is this the case? What. exactly does fantasy offer to young readers？
What' s important to point out here is that fantasy writing has come to be considered as belonging to popular culture, and is therefore generally regarded as being of lower quality than realism.
This idea was formed in me during childhood by my mother, who believed that fantasy was "rubbish". She was always trying to persuade my two brothers to let go of their dog-eared copies of American author David Eddings' books and read something "proper".
I had also met some people who were against reading fantasy. While living in Finland, where I joined a book club, I was told at my first meeting that the club didn't read "genre" books, which meant that realism was in", but everything else including fantasy was " When it comes to the subject of children, discussions about which books are "better" for them often focus on the fantasy and realism debate, causing Professor John Stephens to write that: one of the more curious sides to the criticism of children's literature is the strong wish to separate fantasy and realism into competing types, and to state that children prefer one or the other, or "progress" from fantasy to realism or vice versa（反之亦然).
A quick survey of the big children's publishing trends over the past ten years confirms that fantasy is as popular as ever in the children' s book scene. From the 450 million copies of Harry Potter books sold over this period to the more recent Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, it would seem that children are as enthusiastic about fantasy as ever before and rather than "progressing" out of fantasy, the popularity of fantasy in the young adult market would suggest just the opposite.
1. What was the author's mother's attitude towards fantasy?| A．Uncaring. | B．Cautious. |
| C．Unfavorable. | D．Enthusiastic. |
| A．didn't have a realistic aim |
| B．was always full of people in and out |
| C．had a tense atmosphere in most cases |
| D．was not acceptive of various literature styles |
| A．want to separate children into different groups. |
| B．want to divide fantasy and realism into separate groups |
| C．aim to get children to progress from fantasy to realism |
| D．wish to explore the difference between fantasy and realism |
| A．Fantasy books are and continue to be popular among children. |
| B．Realism books are the bestsellers of the present time. |
| C．Young readers are moving away from fantasy . |
| D．Fantasy books are better than realism ones. |
