Herman Melville, an American author best known today

Herman Melville, an American author best known today

Đề bài: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheer to indicaretha correct answer to each of the questions from 1 to 5.

Herman Melville, an American author best known today for his novel Moby Dick, was actually more popular during his lifetime for some of his other works. He traveled extensively and used the knowledge gained during his travels as the basis for his early novels. In 1837, at the age of eighteen, Melville signed as a cabin boy on a merchant ship that was to sail from his Massachusetts home to Liverpool, England. His experiences on this trip served as a basis for the novel Redburn (1849). In 1841 Melville set out on a whaling ship headed for the South Seas. After jumping ship in Tahiti, he wandered around the islands of Tahiti and Moorea. This South Sea island sojourn was a backdrop to the novel Omoo (1847). After three years away from home, Melville joined up with a U.S. naval frigate that was returning to the eastern United States around Cape Horn. The novel White-Jacket (1850) describes this lengthy voyage as a navy seaman. With the publication of these early adventure novels, Melville developed a strong and loyal following among readers eager for his tales of exotic places and situations. However, in 1851, with the publication of Moby Dick, Melville's popularity started to diminish. Moby Dick, on one level the saga of the hunt for the great white whale, was also a heavily symbolic allegory of the heroic struggle of man against the universe. The public was not ready for Melville's literary metamorphosis from romantic adventure to philosophical symbolism. It is ironic that the novel that served to diminish Melville's popularity during his lifetime is the one for which he is best known today.

Câu 1: The main subject of the passage is _______.

A. Melville's travels

B. Melville's personal background

C. the popularity of Melville's novels     

D. Moby Dick

Câu 2: The passage implies that Melville stayed in Tahiti because __________ .

A. he had unofficially left his ship     

B. he was on leave while his ship was in port

C. he had finished his term of duty

D. he had received permission to take a vacation in Tahiti

Câu 3: How did the publication of Moby Dick affect Melville's popularity?

A. His popularity increased immediately.      

B. It had no effect on his popularity.

C. It caused his popularity to decrease.            

D. His popularity remained as strong as ever.

Câu 4: According to the passage, Moby Dick is _________ .

A. a romantic adventure        

B. a single-faceted work

C. short story about a whale            

D. symbolic of humanity fighting the environment

Câu 5: The word "metamorphosis" is closest in meaning to ________ .

A. change

B. circle

C. mysticism

D. descent

Lời giải:

Đáp án:

Giải thích:

1. Thông tin: Herman Melville, an American author best known today for his novel Moby Dick, was actually more popular during his lifetime for some of his other works. (Herman Melville- nhà văn người Mĩ nổi tiếng nhất hiện nay với tiểu thuyết Moby Dick, ông càng được biết tới rộng rãi hơn qua một vài tác phẩm khác trong suốt cuộc đời của mình.)

2. Thông tin: In 1841 Melville set out on a whaling ship headed for the South Seas. After jumping ship in Tahiti, he wandered around the islands of Tahiti and Moorea. (Vào năm 1841, Melville bắt đầu chuyến hành trình trên 1 con tàu săn cái voi tiến về vùng biển phía Nam. Sau khi xuống tàu ở Tahiti, ông đã đi lang thang khắp các đảo ở Tahiti và Moorea)

3. Thông tin: However, in 1851, with the publication of Moby Dick, Melville's popularity started to diminish. (Dù vậy, vào năm 1851, cùng với sự xuất bản của Moby Dick thì danh tiếng của Melville đã bắt đầu sụt giảm)

4. Thông tin: Moby Dick, on one level the saga of the hunt for the great white whale, was also a heavily symbolic allegory of the heroic struggle of man against the universe. (Moby Dick - cuốn tiểu thuyến trường thiên kể về các cuộc săn cá voi trắng khổng lồ, đồng thời cũng là một câu chuyện ngụ ngôn mang tính biểu tượng về cuộc đấu tranh anh dũng của loài người chống lại vũ trụ.)

5. metamorphosis (sự biến đổi) ~ change (sự thay đổi)