I could have gone my entire life without ever reading Moby Dick, but unfortunately, I have read it. Twice, I’ve had to read it twice.
I can trace it as far back as middle school — the teachers’ desire to push classic literature on students as much as possible. And it makes sense, in some ways. There are benefits of being well read — a more robust (强大的) vocabulary, concentration and understanding of literary reference in the world. But at the same time, being well read doesn’t necessarily mean only reading classics for the sake of reading classics.
This isn’t to say that classic novels serve no purpose in a curriculum or in the literary world — classics are, in many ways, vital to a well-rounded education in literature. But so are pieces of contemporary (现代的) literature and books from centuries ago that haven’t been coined classics. So yes, there’s room for classic novels. But right now, there’s too much room for classic novels.
There are also many modern sayings that come from classics — like “Big brother is watching you,” from George Orwell’s 1984, and “Tomorrow is another day,” from Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind. It’s worth something to be well read in texts that have had an influence on the construction of modern-day language. But at the same time, when classic novels are included into the high school curriculum, they should be selected with care.
And as far as contemporary literature goes, there seems to be an opinion that it doesn’t offer as much wisdom and has less value and, therefore, we can’t learn as much from it. I’ve found this to be most untrue. After all, we tend to learn best from things that we can connect to, and contemporary literature is often the most relatable. And though it hasn’t had the time to become a classic，the structure and syntax (句法) holds its own. It’s different from classic work, but it’s not less valuable.
So let’s take a step back from the classics. We think that they’re pushing us forward, when, really, they might be standing in our way.
1. Why did the author read Moby Dick twice?| A．To enlarge her vocabulary. | B．To meet her teachers’ requirement. |
| C．To satisfy her desire to read classics. | D．To have a better understanding of classics. |
| A．To prove classics are worthy of being read. |
| B．To show some classic novels are out of date. |
| C．To compare classics with contemporary literature. |
| D．To advise schools to select classic works carefully. |
| A．They are not as valuable as classics. |
| B．They are more important than classics. |
| C．They should not be looked down upon. |
| D．They will become classics in the future. |
| A．Avoid reading them. | B．Treat them seriously. |
| C．Promote them at high school. | D．Reconsider their importance. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】We know that reading is good for children. Now, a new study suggests that just being around books has its benefits. A team of researchers in Australia finds that growing up with a large library at home improves literacy (读写能力)，number-sense, and even technological skills in later life. It appeared in the journal Social Science Research.
The researchers were exploring the advantages of scholarly culture. They were interested in a curious observation that some call the “radiation effect”. “Radiation effect is a situation where children grow up around books, but they don't read books. But somehow books benefit them, even though they don't read them as much as their parents wish them to.” Joanna Sikora, a sociologist in Australia. Joana and her colleagues analysed data collected between 2011 and 2015 by the Organization for Economic Development. The survey assessed the literacy, numeracy(计算能力), and technological competency of more than 160 ,000 adults from 31 countries. And it included a question about how many books participants had in their homes during adolescence. “What we were able to make clear was that people growing up around books had better literacy, numeracy and digital problem-solving skills than people who had fewer books growing up but had similar education levels, similar jobs, and even similar adult habits in terms of reading or working at various numeracy-improving activities.”
In fact, teens who only made it through high school but were raised in a bookish environment did as well in adulthood as college graduates who grew up in a house without books. Now, how might mere exposure lead to intellectual improvement? “If we grow up in a house, in a home where parents enjoy books，where books are given as birthday presents and valued, this is something that becomes a part of our identity and gives us this lifelong urge to always come close to books and read more than we would.”
So keep shelves piled with books. Your kids will not only be grateful, they’ll be more likely to be able to spell grateful correctly as well.
1. What's “radiation effect” according to the passage?| A．The terrible effect of radiation on the persons and things. |
| B．The good influence of bookish environment on adolescents. |
| C．The beneficial effect of reading books on adolescents. |
| D．The bad effect of the environment without books on adolescents. |
| A．Books bring a sense of identity and eagerness to read more. |
| B．Books helps to provide a chance to come close to the society. |
| C．Books are always given to adolescents as valuable presents. |
| D．Books will offer the teens an urge to make great achievements. |
| A．opposed. | B．neutral. |
| C．unclear. | D．supportive. |
| A．A travel brochure. | B．A biology textbook. |
| C．A science magazine. | D．A history discovery. |
【推荐2】Franz Kafka wrote that “a book must be the ax for the frozen sea inside us”. I once shared this sentence with a class of seventh graders, and it didn’t seem to require any explanation.
We’d just finished John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. When we read the end together out loud in class, my toughest boy, a star basketball player, wept a little, and so did I. “Are you crying?” one girl asked, as she got out of her chair to take a closer look. “I am,” I told her, “and the funny thing is I’ve read it many times.”
But they understood. When George shoots Lennie, the tragedy is that we realize it was always going to happen. In my 14 years of teaching in a New York City public middle school, I’ve taught kids with imprisoned parents, abusive parents, irresponsible parents; kids who are parents themselves; kids who are homeless; kids who grew up in violent neighborhoods. They understand, more than I ever will, the novel’s terrible logic —the giving way of dreams to fate.
For the last seven years, I have worked as a reading enrichment teacher, reading classic works of literature with small groups of students from grades six to eight. I originally proposed this idea to my headmaster after learning that a former excellent student of mine had transferred out of a selective high school-one that often attracts the literary-minded children of Manhattan’s upper classes into a less competitive setting. The daughter of immigrants, with a father in prison, she perhaps felt uncomfortable with her new classmates. I thought additional “cultural capital” could help students like her develop better in high school, where they would unavoidably meet, perhaps for the first time, students who came from homes lined with bookshelves, whose parents had earned Ph.D.’s.
Along with Of Mice and Men, my groups read: Sounder, The Red Pony, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. The students didn’t always read from the expected point of view.
About The Red Pony, one student said, “it’s about being a man, it’s about manliness.” I had never before seen the parallels between Scarface and Macbeth, nor had I heard Lady Macbeth’s soliloquies read as raps, but both made sense; the interpretations were playful, but serious. Once introduced to Steinbeck’s writing, one boy went on to read The Grapes of Wrath and told me repeatedly how amazing it was that “all these people hate each other, and they’re all white.” His historical view was broadening, his sense of his own country deepening. Year after year, former students visited and told me how prepared they had felt in their first year in college as a result of the classes.
Year after year, however, we are increasing the number of practice tests. We are trying to teach students to read increasingly complex texts, not for emotional punch but for text complexity. Yet, we cannot enrich the minds of our students by testing them on texts that ignore their hearts. We are teaching them that words do not amaze but confuse. We may succeed in raising test scores, but we will fail to teach them that reading can be transformative and that it belongs to them.
1. The underlined words in Paragraph 1 probably mean that a book helps to ________.| A．awake our emotions | B．give support to our life |
| C．smooth away difficulties | D．realize our dreams |
| A．Because they spent much time reading it. |
| B．Because they had read the novel before. |
| C．Because they came from a public school. |
| D．Because they had similar life experiences. |
| A．she was a literary-minded girl | B．her parents were immigrants |
| C．she couldn’t fit in with her class | D．her father was then in prison |
| A．introduce classic works of literature |
| B．advocate teaching literature to touch the heart |
| C．argue for equality among high school students |
| D．defend the current testing system |
【推荐3】When I was small，my mother and I would walk to our local library in Franklin Square. As we didn't always have access to a reliable car，walking hand in hand was the most convenient way to get anywhere. It was at story time for children that both my mother and I made lasting friendships.
Today，I am fortunate to live around the corner from the Cold Coast Public Library in Glen Head and a short walk to the Sea Cliff Children's Library. My 18-imonth-old son，Colin，and I find ourselves in Sea Cliff several times a week，meeting and making friends. Well，that is what many people don't understand-a library is more than books；it's a community.
Sure，the library in Franklin Square was the place where I was introduced to Judy Blume novels. But it was also the place where I got my first email address in 1997. At the library，friends and I learned how to research colleges and search for scholarships on the Internet. The library was the place where we sometimes giggled（咯咯笑）too loudly，and where the librarians knew us by name. Their knowing our names wasn't a bad thing. When I came home from my first term at Binghamton University，Mary LaRosa，the librarian at the Franklin Square library，offered me my first teaching job.
I now teach reading at Nassau Community College. My students are often amazed that they can check out books via their smartphones and virtually（虚拟地）visit a variety of Long Island libraries. The app used by Nassau and Suffolk county public libraries，as well as the college library，makes their homework easier by helping them find resources. Even though they can't always easily visit their local libraries，the library is always with them.
1. Why does the author consider herself lucky today？| A．She has become her mother's best friend. |
| B．She has access to a reliable car now. |
| C．She can meet friends at the library. |
| D．She lives close to libraries. |
| A．Socializing in a library. |
| B．Reading books in a library. |
| C．Visiting a library with a family member. |
| D．Building parent-child friendship in a library. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Favorable. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．To discuss why libraries are important. |
| B．To express her deep love for libraries. |
| C．To explain how libraries change. |
| D．To introduce her favorite libraries. |
【推荐1】Man’s Existential Dilemma
We always knew that there was something peculiar about man, something deep down that characterized him and set him apart from the other animals.
We might call this existential paradox the condition of individuality within finitude (有限性). Man has a symbolic identity that brings him sharply out of nature. He is a symbolic self, a creature with a name, a life history.
The lower animals are, of course, spared this painful contradiction, as they lack a symbolic identity and the self-consciousness that goes with it. They merely act and move reflexively as they are driven by their instincts. They live in a world without time, pulsating, as it were, in a state of dumb beings. This is what has made it so simple to shoot down whole herds of buffalo or elephants. The animals don’t know that death is happening and continue gazing while others drop alongside them. The knowledge of death is reflective and conceptual, and animals are spared it. They live and they disappear with the same thoughtlessness: a few minutes of fear, a few seconds of anguish, and it is over.
Quoted from Ernest Becker’s The Denial of Death
| A．But to live a life with the fate of death haunting one’s dreams makes a huge difference. |
| B．He is a creator with a mind that soars out the speculate about atoms and infinity. |
| C．Man’s body was a curse of fate and culture was built upon repression not because he was a seeker of pleasure, but because he was primarily an avoider of death. |
| D．Yet at the same time, man is a worm and food for worms. |
| E．Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. |
| F．It was something that had to go right to his core, something that made him suffer his peculiar fate, that made it impossible to escape. |
【推荐2】The woods are turning orange. Drifts of dry leaves are growing on forest floors and flying into street corners. From a distance, it is beautiful. But the air is still warm and summery. This turning and leaf fall is not the usual gradual preparation for winter in temperate zones (温带) but a stress response by trees trying to preserve water. We are now in a false autumn, caused by heat and drought. And it feels wrong.
There is, therefore, something deeply disturbing about such a graphic alteration of familiar rhythms. Droughts are not unknown to the UK, of course, and too many parts of the world are certainly familiar with far more severe versions. But increasingly they are occurring in the context of a climate emergency, and record-breaking heat. And the beauty of a false autumn, specifically, has an emotional effect, a deep weirdness, something mysteriously suggestive of evil or danger.
Cultures across the world contain ceremonies for the propitiation (宽恕) of the weather; a sense of responsibility for the natural world- and the belief that it will punish us if we fail it—is as old as humanity. One of the reasons why the Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 1798 poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is so effective is the directness with which it links the shooting of an albatross (信天翁)—the destruction of innocent wildlife—to a terrible change in the weather: no rain, just burning, death-dealing sun. We may not understand the mechanism, but at an instinctual (本能的) level it feels right.
And in a similar way it has not really been a surprise to hear that birds are struggling. In London, young swifts (雨燕) were seen falling out of the sky. Fewer—and too early—nuts and berries mean some animals will not live through this winter. Older trees, with their longer roots, will hopefully survive, but young trees may not—all that promises further warming. There will always be a degree of uncertainty about the causes of specific weather events, but we cannot deny that we have not taken care of the albatross. Now we must hope we are doing enough to make sure that these fearful golden days can be an autumn of autumns.
1. According to the passage, what is a disturbing sign of “a false autumn”?| A．Tree leaves are turning orange and fall gradually in winter. |
| B．Birds are struggling to fall out of the sky in London. |
| C．People worldwide are careless of droughts and heat in the UK. |
| D．Nuts and berries ripen earlier but yield less than before. |
| A．Because people across the world sympathize with the albatross. |
| B．Because it directly links destruction of wildlife to extreme weather. |
| C．Because we are certain about how the weather shifts instinctually. |
| D．Because he is an established Romantic poet curious about nature. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Concerned. | C．Humorous. | D．Ironic (讽刺的). |
【推荐3】I had to say something after reading The Anxious Generation. It is going to sell well , because Jonathan Haidt is telling a scary story about children’s development many parents are led to believe. However, the book’s repeated suggestion that digital technologies are rewiring our children’s brains and causing the epidemic (流行病) of mental illness is unsupported by science. Worse , the rude proposal that social media is to blame might distract (分心) us from effectively responding to the real causes of the current mental-health crisis in young people.
Researchers have searched for the effects suggested by Haidt. Our efforts have produced a mix of no, small and mixed associations. Most data are correlative. When associations over time are found, they suggest not that social-media use predicts or causes depression, but that young people who already have mental-health problems use such platforms more often or in different ways from their healthy peers.
We are not alone here. Several analyses and systematic reviews centralize on the same message. An analysis done in 72 countries shows no consistent or measurable associations between well-being and social media globally. Moreover, studies from some authorities finds no evidence of intense changes associated with digital-technology use.
As a psychologist studying children’s and adolescents’ mental health, I appreciate parents’ frustration (沮丧) and desire for simple answers. As a parent of adolescents, I would also like to identify a simple source for the pain this generation is reporting. There are, however, no simple answers. The beginning and development of mental disorders are driven by a complex set of genetic and environmental factors.
More young people are talking openly about their mental-health struggles than ever before. But insufficient services are available to address their needs. In the United States, there is, on average, one school psychologist for every 1,119 students. We have a generation in crisis and in desperate need of the best of what science and evidence-based solutions can offer. Unfortunately, our time is being spent telling stories that are unsupported by research and that do little to support young people who need, and deserve, more.
1. What is presented in The Anxious Generation?| A．Scary stories affect children’s brains. |
| B．Parents are responsible for children’s health. |
| C．Teen’s mental illness results from screen time. |
| D．The epidemic of mental illness is unavoidable. |
| A．Many countries do research in mental health. |
| B．Well-being and social media are closely related. |
| C．The young are trapped in the mental-health crisis, |
| D．Social media don’t necessarily cause mental illness. |
| A．Effective actions need to be taken. | B．Positive stories should be shared. |
| C．Financial support needs to be provided. | D．Broader research should be done. |
| A．To suggest ways to help those in need. |
| B．To encourage parents to brave the crisis. |
| C．To recommend a newly-published book. |
| D．To give a voice to children’s mental issues. |
FOUR BOOKS YOU SHOULD READ | |
 | Cruel Beautiful World Written by Caroline Leavitt At age 16, Lucy is a lonely orphan living with older sister Charlotte and devoted aunt Iris in Waltham, Massachusetts. On the last day of school, she runs away with her 30-year-old teacher, William, and settles in a hillside cottage in rural Pennsylvania, near his new teaching job. Though Lucy feels increasingly isolated, William won't allow her any outlet. Leavitt draws upon a real-life crime that involved a girl she knew in high school. She tells her story from multiple viewpoints, building tension and sympathy for Lucy and Charlotte as tragedy swallows them. |
 | By Gaslight Written by Steven Price Price, an award-winning Canadian poet, achieves an extraordinary achievement of Dickensian storytelling in his weighty second novel. His hero is William Pinkerton, son of the founder of the legendary detective agency, who finds clues in his late father's safe to the case of William Shade. This mythic thief had disturbed and upset his father. William tracks a Shade accomplice (共犯), Charlotte Reckitt, to London, only to find she's been found dead in the Thames. Price ably arranges dozens of interlinking plotlines as he spans three continents and several decades, from American Civil War battlefields to Scotland Yard at the end of the 19th Century. |
 | The Invisibility Cloak Written by Ge Fei Beijing-based Ge Fei (pen name for Liu Yong) won the 2015 Mao Dun Literature Prize for fiction “describing the changing spirit of Chinese society” over the past century. The Invisibility Cloak, his first English publication, revolves around Cui, a divorced man who creates customized hi-fi speakers for Beijing's newly wealthy and a few intellectuals. Beijing's rapid expansion has left Cui longing for an invisible life away from the city. His chance comes when he agrees to build a world-class sound system for a gangster (匪徒). Ge Fei's nice work, translated from the Chinese by Canaan Morse, should find many fans. |
 | Messy Written by Tim Harford The temptation to be neat and tidy may be powerful, but “we would be better served by embracing a degree of mess,” Harford argues. His defense of the creative potential of the imperfect, random, vague, difficult, diverse and even dirty is refreshing. Reaching into the arts, politics, business, science and technology, Harford makes an appealing case for opening up to disorder and luck. |
| A．Caroline Leavitt. | B．Steven Price. |
| C．Ge Fei. | D．Tim Harford. |
| A．Cruel Beautiful World | B．By Gaslight |
| C．The Invisibility Cloak | D．Messy |
| A．buy newly-published books at a discount |
| B．market latest books to friends and family |
| C．know what books are worthwhile to read |
| D．understand the current trend in literature |
【推荐2】Ernest Hemingway,like all writers,means different things to different people.To some,he represents a hunting,drinking,smoking,and aggressive male.To my high school mind,he was just some old white guy going on about a fisherman desperate to catch a large sea fish—though Ms.Frederieks,my English teacher,had forced us to read The Old Man and the Sea,I didn't come to appreciate it,nor any of Hemingway's books,until much later.But in my early 20s,someone mailed me a dusty copy of Hemingway's first novel,The Sun Also Rises.I'd never read anything quite like it—and haven't since.
Today marks the 90th anniversary of the publication of that book,A masterpiece of the form,The Sun Also Rises is a rare achievement in its power.Its brief yet evocative(引起共鸣的)sentences made a strong impression as I was beginning to develop my own love of words;“Don't you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you're not taking advantage of it?”one character asks narrator Jake,an American newspaper reporter.“Do you realize you've lived nearly half the time you have to live already?”
None of Hemingway's other works,though some were good and even great,quite expressed the idea of desire and longing that his first novel does.But there's also an obvious sadness that affects the entire novel,which,in truth,is what attracted me more than anything.How could these depressed and often insufferable characters be drawn so beautifully?And how on earth could such simple,undecorated writing carry this kind of emotional weight?Nathaniel Hawthorne says it best:"Easy reading is extremely hard writing."
But for me,it's much more than that.When I read?The Sun Also Rises-and I go back to it every few yeas-I'm instantly transported to Pamplona,where Hemingway's characters go to watch the bullfights.I visited Pamplona as a kid with my family,and I too watched the bullfights with my father—who randomly sent me this wonderful book.
1. What did the author think of Hemingway when he way in high school?| A．A puzzle | B．A specialist. | C．A legend. | D．A passer-by. |
| A．It is a best seller. | B．It was published a century ago. |
| C．Its simple words are appealing. | D．It's Hemingway's most popular novel. |
| A．He is crazy about travelling. | B．He was greatly affected by the book |
| C．He attached importance to reading. | D．He enjoyed looking back on old days. |
| A．Review. | B．News. | C．Anecdote. | D．History. |
【推荐3】Based on a true story, the novel Safe as Houses by Eric Walters is an amazing book. It is about a 13—year—old girl named Elizabeth Hardy who babysits the McBride children David and Suzie. One rainy, stormy evening they walk home from school. When they arrive home, water floods (淹没) the backyard, cuts the power and floods roads, which stops Mr. and Mrs. McBride from coming home. Soon the flooding begins to invade the McBrides' home and Elizabeth, David, Suzie and their dog Daisy try very hard to escape and survive the flood,
My favorite character is David because I find him very funny and brave, and although he can be stubborn and rude at times, he is still a nice and friendly person. As much as I want to be like David I could never be like him. At least, I don't think I could ever do something as brave as he does.
I think Eric Walters does a great job in describing the characters and telling the story. I really feel like this all just happened in front of my eyes. Ever since I started reading Safe as Houses I never wanted to put the book down, and considering I was not a big fan of reading that did not happen very often. Safe as Houses changed my opinion in regard to reading and now I enjoy reading very much.
Eric Walters' writing career (生涯) all started in 1993 when Eric was teaching a grade 5 class. His students were not good readers and did not like reading, so Eric created a book called Stand Your Ground for his students and used some of the students' names to create the story. Ever since Eric published (出版) that book he has become a big time writer and has published many amazing different books like Camp X, Tiger Trap, Camp 30, We All Fall Down and Flyboy.
1. What happened on that particular evening?| A．A 13—year—old girl got lost. |
| B．A terrible rainstorm broke out. |
| C．Three children were trapped on the way home |
| D．The McBrides' home was completely destroyed by floods. |
| A．His creativity. | B．His great skill. |
| C．His personality. | D．His good behavior. |
| A．He is a man full of courage. |
| B．He used to enjoy reading very much. |
| C．He is very like David in Safe as Houses. |
| D．He has been greatly affected by Safe as Houses. |
| A．To record his students stories. | B．To encourage his students to read. |
| C．To state the importance of reading. | D．To teach his students they can be writers. |
