1 . Every day around the world, thousands of people with little or no scholarly training in art history walk into museums. They may or may not read notice boards that share relevant information of the artworks or artists. Imagine, before being permitted to direct their eyeballs to the art on the walls, museum visitors were required to read a 15-or 20- page introduction to each piece or each artist. How many people would go to museums if that were the case?
Yet this seems to be the expectation when it comes to reading classic literature. Classic novels typically come with 15- or 20-page introductions, which often include spoilers, assuming that readers do not come to classic books to discover, be absorbed in, and be surprised by the story world. Also, evidently, we mustn’t read classics alone, without experts guiding our experiences.
However, classic literature is in a unique position to show us that we’re not alone in our pains and joys. By taking us out of our time, classic books free us to see beyond the set of beliefs we stick to and to connect human experiences that remain alive across time and place. What could be more grounding, more comforting, than seeing ourselves in the battles, longings, and pleasures that have played out across hundreds, thousands of years of human history? Our personal engagement (参与) is the first step of a longer journey of discovery that deepens our knowledge and understanding of ourselves and our world. We may, for example, feel for Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter though we feel hopeless of the world she lived in.
While we’re letting go of things, let’s stop worrying about understanding everything. We can’t. It will be fun if we embrace (拥抱) curiosity, the pleasure of working out a mystery, and our common relationships as humans. We can feel, for example, the power of self-sacrifice (牺牲) in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities even when we lack full understanding of the cultural references and language.
1. Most museum goers ________.| A．enjoy reading notice boards | B．understand the artworks well |
| C．lack professional art knowledge | D．share common interest in artworks |
| A．Story writers. | B．Readers’ expectations. |
| C．Guiding experts. | D．Content given away in advance. |
| A．Showing curiosity about the writers. | B．Letting go of things. |
| C．Trying to understand everything. | D．Working out mysteries. |
| A．We should find more fun from classics. |
| B．Reading classics is a personal exploration. |
| C．Experts need to give readers better guidance. |
| D．Classic literature benefits readers a great deal. |
2 . Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were two young men from Germany who loved a good story. As university students, they became interested in folktales—traditional stories that people memorized and told again and again. They began to collect traditional folktales from storytellers all over Germany. Many were similar to stories told in France, Italy, Japan, and other countries. Between 1812 and 1814, the brothers published two books in German.These included stories like "Hansel and Gretel" and "Little Red Riding Hood."
Despite the fact that Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are often associated with Snow White and Rapunzel, the brothers didn’t actually write any of those stories. In fact, the stories existed long before the two men were born in Germany in the mid 1780s. The fairy tales, in fact, were part of a rich oral tradition—passed down from generation to generation, often by women seeking to pass the time during household chores. In 1812, Jacob and Wilhelm published the stories as part of a collection titled Nursery and Household Tales, or what is now known as Grimm’s Fairy Tales.
The Grimm brothers’ tales were about traditional life and beliefs. For example, forests are common in Germany, and this image often appears in the Grimms’ stories. In the past, many people believed forests were dangerous places. In the Grimms’ stories, a forest is the home of evil witches, talking animals, and other magical beings.
Although most people today think of these stories as fairy tales for children, the brothers first wrote them for adults. Many of their early tales were dark and a little scary. Later, the brothers changed the text of some of the original stories. They "softened" many of the tales and added drawings. This made them more appropriate(合适的) for children. Like the early tales, though, each story still has a moral: work hard, be good, and listen to your parents.
Actually, university-trained philologists (语言学者) and librarians, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published more than fairy tales. They wrote books about mythology, and published scholarly works on linguistics and medieval studies.
1. What is the main purpose of the reading?| A．To compare the Grimms’ stories to modern children's stores. |
| B．To explain why storytelling is important in Germany. |
| C．To examine two of the Grimms' fairy tales. |
| D．To give information about the Grimm brothers and their stories. |
| A．They invented the fairy tales in their books. |
| B．They wrote their books in different languages. |
| C．They became interested in folktales as students. |
| D．They traveled to many countries to collect stories. |
| A．interest | B．text |
| C．story | D．message |
| A．The later stories had morals, like the early ones. |
| B．The early stories were written for children. |
| C．The early stories had a lot of drawings. |
| D．The later stories reflected German life, but the early ones didn't. |
