A
Over the course of his long and amazing career, W. Somerset Maugham( 1874-1965) achieved great success as a novelist and a playwright. Not happy with just being a writer, Maugham was also a spy. But this was less of a success than his writing.
Dec 15, 2016 marked 51 years since his death, and Maugham’s works have never been out of print. Of Human Bondage(1915) was his masterpiece. The title comes from the great 17th century Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The philosopher thought that human beings were slaves to what they wanted and needed. That’s exactly what Philip Carey, the hero of the novel, experiences.
Carey is a slave to his emotional needs. He doesn’t get much love when he is a child, so he looks for love later. After losing both his parents early in his life, Carey is raised by a paternal uncle who is emotionally cold. In his adult life, he goes from woman to woman and job to job, as he finds it a struggle to find either personal happiness or the right job for his talents. Not wanting to become a lawyer, he is eventually trained and qualified as a physician.
But true love is much harder to find. He finds that he attracts women he has no feelings for and falls in love with those who have no interest in him or, worse, try to take advantage of him. He is torn apart by the pain of his helpless love of a waitress and not being able to return the love of a young artist.
Although Maugham tried to hide it, the book is about his own life. Carey’s loveless childhood and romantic troubles were Maugham’s own. However, he managed to turn these painful details into a story that would interest readers who share his characters’ feeling.
Maugham does not just write about his life in the novel. He writes about deeply personal things in a way that speaks to everyone about their wants and needs.
【文章大意】本文讲述Maugham的杰作, 至今Maugham的作品仍然很受读者欢迎。
1. In which field did Maugham achieve great success?
A. Politics. B. Writing.
C. Sport. D. Philosophy.
【解析】选B。推理判断题。根据第一段“But this was less of a success than his writing. ”可知, Maugham在写作领域取得了巨大的成功。故选B。
2. What can we infer from Paragraph 2?
A. Maugham’s works may never appear in print.
B. Maugham’s works become a big hit overnight.
C. Maugham’s works don’t top the best-seller list.
D. Maugham’s works are still popular among readers.
【解析】选D。推理判断题。根据第二段“Dec 15, 2016 marked 51 years since his death, and Maugham’s works have never been out of print. ”可知, Maugham的作品仍然很受读者欢迎。故选D。
3. The hero, Carey, in Of Human Bondage .
A. is the master of his own emotions
B. thinks it’s much easier to find true love
C. has strong emotional needs for lack of love
D. rescues himself from being a slave to his needs
【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据第三段“Carey is a slave to his emotional needs. He doesn’t get much love when he is a child, so he looks for love later. ”可知, 在《人性枷锁》中, 主人公凯里对爱情的缺乏有着强烈的情感需求。故选C。
4. What is the article mainly about?
A. Maugham’s masterpiece.
B. Maugham’s beliefs.
C. Maugham’s love for writing.
D. Maugham’s popularity.
【解析】选A。主旨大意题。根据最后一段“Maugham does not just write about his life in the novel. He writes about deeply personal things in a way that speaks to everyone about their wants and needs. ”可知, 本文讲述的是Maugham的杰作。故选A。
【知识拓展】长难句分析
He finds that he attracts women he has no feelings for and falls in love with those who have no interest in him or, worse, try to take advantage of him.
分析: that引导宾语从句。从句中有两个并列谓语“attracts; falls in love with”。另外宾语从句中有两个定语从句: he has no feelings for 修饰women, 而who have no interest in him or, worse, try to take advantage of him修饰those。
翻译: 他发现自己吸引来的都是他没有感觉的女人, 而他爱上的那些女人, 对他没有兴趣, 或者更糟的是, 试图利用他。
