Part One Early and Medieval English Literature

Ⅰ. Fill in the blanks.

1. In 1066, ____, with his Norman army, succeeded in invading and defeating England.

A. William the Conqueror B. Julius Caesar C. Alfred the Great D. Claudius

2. In the 14th century, the most important writer (poet) is ____ .

A. Langland B. Wycliffe C. Gower D. Chaucer 3. The prevailing form of Medieval English literature is ____.

A. novel B. drama C. romance D. essay 4. The story of ___ is the culmination of the Arthurian romances.

A. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight B. Beowulf

C. Piers the Plowman D. The Canterbury Tales 5. William Langland’s ____ is written in the form of a dream vision.

A. Kubla Khan B. Piers the Plowman C. The Dream of John Bull D. Morte d’Arthur

6. After the Norman Conquest, three languages existed in England at that time. The Normans spoke _____.

A. French B. English C. Latin D. Swedish

7. ______ was the greatest of English religious reformers and the first translator of the Bible.

A. Langland B. Gower C. Wycliffe D. Chaucer

8. Piers the Plowman describes a series of wonderful dreams the author dreamed, through which, we can see a picture of the life in the ____ England. A. primitive B. feudal C. bourgeois D. modern

9. The theme of ____ to king and lord was repeatedly emphasized in romances.

A. loyalty B. revolt C. obedience D. mockery

10. The most famous cycle of English ballads centers on the stories about a legendary outlaw called _____.

A. Morte d’Arthur B. Robin Hood C. The Canterbury Tales D. Piers the Plowman

11. ______, the “father of English poetry” and one of the greatest narrative poets of England, was born in London in about 1340.

A. Geoffrey Chaucer B. Sir Gawain C. Francis Bacon D. John Dryden 12. Chaucer died on October 25th, 1400, and was buried in ____.

A. Flanders B. France C. Italy D. Westminster Abbey 13. Chaucer’s earliest work of any length is his _____, a translation of the French Roman de la Rose by Gaillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meung, which was a love allegory enjoying widespread popularity in the 13th and 14th centuries not only in France but throughout Europe.

A. The Romaunt of the Rose B. “A Red, Red Rose” C. The Legend of Good Women D. The Book of the Duchess

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14. In his lifetime Chaucer served in a great variety of occupations that had impact on the wide range of his writings. Which one is not his career? ____. A. engineer B. courtier C. office holder D. soldier E. ambassador F. legislator (议员)

15. Chaucer composes a long narrative poem named _____ based on Boccaccio’s poem “Filostrato”.

A. The Legend of Good Women B. Troilus and Criseyde C. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight D. Beowulf

Key to the multiple choices： 1-5 ADCAB 6-10 ACBAB 11-15 ADAAB

Ⅱ. Questions

1. What are the features of Beowulf?

2. Comment on the social significance and language in The Canterbury Tales.

Part Two The English Renaissance

Ⅰ. Match the writer and his works. 1. Thomas More A. Apology for Poetry 2. Holinshed B. Miscellany of Songs and Sonnets 3. Hakluyt C. Utopia 4. Richard Tottel D. Discovery of Guiana 5. Philip Sidney E. Principal Navigations, Voyages and Discoveries 6. Walter Raleigh F. Chronicles

The key: (1—C 2—F 3—E 4—B 5—A 6—D)

Ⅱ. Choose the best answer.

1. _____ founded the Tudor Dynasty, a centralized monarchy of a totally new type,

which met the needs of the rising bourgeoisie.

A. Henry V B. Henry VII C. Henry VIII D. James I

2. The first complete English Bible was translated by _______, “the morning star of

the Reformation” and his followers.

A. William Tyndal B. James I

C. John Wycliffe D. Bishop Lancelot Andrews

3. The progress in industry at home stimulated the commercial expansion abroad.

____ encouraged exploration and travel, which were compatible with the interests of the English merchants.

A. Henry V. B. Henry VII

C. Henry VIII D. Queen Elizabeth

4. Except being a victory of England over ___, the rout of the fleet “Armada”

(Invincible) was also the triumph of the rising young bourgeoisie over the

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declining old feudalism.

A. Spain B. France C. America D. Norway

5. Those, both traders and pirates like ____, established the first English colonies.

A. Francis Drake B. Lancelot Andrews C. William Caxton D. William Tyndal

6. ____ was a forerunner of classicism in English literature.

A. Ben Johnson B. William Shakespeare C. Thomas More D. Christopher Marlowe 7. The most gifted of the “university wits” was ____.

A. Lyly B. Peele C. Greene D. Marlowe 8. Morality plays appeared after_____.

A. miracle plays B. mystery plays C. interlude D. Classical plays 9. _____ is used to say and do good things.

A. Mercy B. Folly C. Vice D. Peace 10. _____is one of the forerunners of modern socialist thought.

A. Phillip Sidney B. Edmund Spenser C. Thomas More D. Walter Raleigh

11. _____ is not a famous translator in the English Renaissance.

A. Thomas North B. Thomas Wyatt C. George Chapman D. John Florio

12. ____ had supplied Shakespeare with the material for Julius Caesar.

A. Lives of Greek and Roan Heroes《希腊罗马名人传》 B. Miscellany of Songs and Sonnets C. Don Quixote D. History of the World

13. ____ was one of the first to see the relation between wealth and poverty to

understand that the rich were becoming richer by robbing the poor. A. John Wycliffe B. William Caxton C. Geoffrey Chaucer D. Thomas More 14. Utopia was written in the form of _____.

A. prose B. drama C. essay D. dialogue 15. One of the popular morality plays was ____.

A. The Shepherds B. Everyman

C. The Play of the Weather D. Gammer Gurton’s Needle

16. Shakespeare’s plays written between _____ are sometimes called “romances” and

all end in reconciliation and reunion.

A. 1590 and 1594 B. 1595 and 1600 C. 1601 and 1607 D. 1608 and 1612 17. Miranda is a heroine in Shakespeare’s ______.

A. Pericles B. Cymbeline C. The Winter’s Tale D. The Tempest 18. In _____ appeared Shakespeare’s Sonnet，Never before Imprinted（《莎士比亚十

四行诗》“迄今从未刊印过”）which contains 154 sonnets. A. 1606 B. 1607 C. 1608 1609 19. Shakespeare is one of the founders of ____.

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A. romanticism B. realism C. naturalism D. classicism

20. Among many poetic forms, Shakespeare was especially at home (good at) with

the _______.

A. dramatic blank verse B. song C. sonnet D. couplet 21. In the plays, Shakespeare used about ______words.

A. 15000 B. 16000 C. 17000 D. 18000 22. _____has been called the summit of the English Renaissance.

A. Christopher Marlow B. Francis Bacon C. W. Shakespeare D. Ben Johnson

Key to the multiple choices:

1-5 BCDAA 6-10 DDCBA 11-15 BDADA 16-22 ACBADDB

Ⅲ. Fill in the blanks.

1. The ____ was universally used by the Catholic Churches.

2. The English translation of the Bible emerged as a result of the struggle between

____ and ___.

3. The Bible was notably translated into English by the ____.

4. The first complete English Bible was translated by ____, “the morning star of the

_____”.

5. _____ translated the New Testament and portions of the Old Testament, which is

known as Tyndale’s Bible.

6. After Tydale’s Bible, then appeared the ______, which was made in 1611 under

the auspices of _____. And so was sometimes called the ____.

7. Apart from the religious influence, the Authorized Version has had a great

influence on English ___ and ____.

8. With the widespread influence of the English Bible, the standard modern English

has been _____ and _____.

9. A great number of ____and phrases have passed into daily English speech as

household words.

10. The ____and ____ language of the Authorized Version has colored the style of

the English prose for the last 300 years. 11. ____ was the first English printer.

12. William Caxton was a prosperous merchant himself, but he was fond of ___ , and

his interest was turning to ____.

13. He translated The Recuyell of Historyes of Troy into English from French which

was the ___ book printed in English.

14. The Recuyell served as a source for ____ Troilus and Cressida. 《特洛埃勒斯与

克雷雪达》

15. After having established his printing press, William Caxton devoted himself to

the career of a ____ and _____.

16. William Caxton published about ____ books, ___ of which were translated by

himself.

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17. By rendering (翻译) French books into English, Caxton exercised the youthful

language in the airs (曲调), the graces, the crafts of the elder and contributed to the development of the style of ___ century English ____.

18. The influence of Caxton’s publications is also great in fixing a ____ language in

England.

19. As the first English printer, Caxton invented in England the profession of ____,

which in fact has had a lasting significance to the development of English ___ as a whole.

20. The Renaissance started in the ______ century and ended in the ______century. 21. The word, “renaissance” means ________, which was stimulated by a series of

historical events, such as ________.

22. In the Renaissance, the humanist thinkers and scholars tried to get rid of those old

____in medieval Europe, to introduce new ideas that expresses ____ of the rising bourgeoisie, and to recover the ____of the early church from the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church.

23. ____ is the theme of the English Renaissance, which emphasized the capacities of

____and the achievements of ____.

24. ____ Stanza is a verse form created by _____ for his poem, ______, in which the

rhyme scheme is ____.

25. The Wars of the Roses (1455—1485) between the House of ___ and the House of

___ struggling for the Crown continued for 30 years.

26. Because of the conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and the King of

England, the far-reaching movement of ___ took place in England, started by Henry VIII.

27. After ___ in England, the helpless, dispossessed peasants, being compelled to

work at a low wage, became hired laborers for the merchants. These laborers were the fathers of modern English ___.

28. The introduction of ___ to England by William Caxton (1476) brought classical

works within reach of the common multitude.

29. The 16th century in England was a period of the breaking up ____of relations and

the establishing of the foundations of ____.

30. Because the wool trade was rapidly growing in bulk, it was a time when,

according to Thomas More, “___”.

31. ____ broke off with the Pope, dissolved all the monasteries and abbeys in the

country, confiscated their lands and proclaimed himself head of the Church of England.

32. Together with the development of bourgeois relationships and formation of the

English national state this period is marked by a flourishing of national culture known as ____.

33. ____, in his translation of Virgil’s Aeneid, wrote the first English blank verse. 34. Richard Tottel’s Miscellany of Songs and Sonnets contained _____ poems by

______ and _____ by _____.

35. Philip Sidney thought that _____ had superiority over philosophy and history. 36. _____ is a picture of contemporary England with forcible exposure of the ___

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