Question

Published in 1896 and one of the most memorable horror stories ever written, Dracula, by Irish writer Bram Stoker,is the story of a vampire（吸血鬼）,someone who lives on human blood. Stoker wrote the book after reading stories about Central European vampires and set his novel in Transylvania. Even today,there are readers of the book who believe that Transylvania is a mythical（神话的）country,a figment（虚构）of Stoker’s imagination. Nothing could be further from the truth. Transylvania is part of modern-day Central European country Romania,and the country does indeed have a history of mythological vampires.

However,Romanians are always puzzled by the description of the novel’s central character, Count Dracula,a tall,elegant aristocrat（贵族）with impeccable（完美的）manners who also happens to speak very good English. This is a world away from the images of vampires that they have grown up with. Romanian vampires are half-human creatures who live solitary lives in the forests,not aristocrats living in castles with well-stocked libraries.

So where did Stoke get the image for his Dracula? The answer becomes clearer when one learns of his relationship with a man called Henry Irving,the greatest British stage actor of his time.

Stoker was working as a civil servant in his home city of Dublin when he first met Irving. Bored with his tedious life and work, Stoker took every opportunity to visit the theatre and for a while was the drama critic for the Dublin Evening Mail. One of the reviews he wrote was of a performance of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet,with Irving in the lead role.

Irving was so pleased with Stoker’s review of his performance that he asked to meet him. Stoker couldn’t believe his luck when one night,he was invited to a dinner party where Irving was the guest of honour. Irving entertained the assembled dinner guests with some renditions（表演）of famous poems and speeches from Shakespeare.

Stoker was already writing the first chapters of Dracula and began to base the central character on Irving,in the vain hope that if it ever became a stage play, Irving would play the central character. Sadly,Irving never did,but the two men became close friends,and in 1878 Stoker left the civil service and became Irving’s manager in London.

1.Bram Stoker set his novel in Transylvania because       .

A．it is in modern-day Romania

B．Transylvania is a mythical country

C．he wanted to tell a true story

D．he had read stories about vampires from the area

2.The central character of the novel       .

A．is very similar to the vampires that Romanians know about

B．Is completely different from the vampires Romanians know about

C．Has impeccable manners,like a real Romanian vampire

D．Is puzzled by the comparison with Romanian vampires

3.What was Stoker’s hope?

A．That the book would become a stage-play.

B．That Irving would play the central character in the stage play.

C．That he could live in London.

D．That Irving would work for him.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.D

2.B

3.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文介绍了作者Bram Stoker写的一部小说关于吸血鬼的故事，作者在读了一些关于吸血鬼的故事后，开始构思他的吸血鬼的内容，他笔下的吸血鬼是贵族偶像路线，他们往往相貌英俊，举止潇洒，谈吐间散发出邪恶的迷人魅力。

1.细节理解题。根据Stoker wrote the book after reading stories about Central European vampires他在读了一些关于吸血鬼的故事后， 故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据Count Dracula,a tall,elegant aristocrat（贵族）with impeccable（完美的）manners who also happens to speak very good English. This is a world away from the images of vampires that they have grown up with. Romanian vampires are half-human creatures who live solitary lives in the forests,not aristocrats living in castles with well-stocked libraries.两个小说的人物完全不同，故选B。

3.细节理解题。根据in the vain hope that if it ever became a stage play, Irving would play the central character.他希望Irving 给他当主演，故选B。

考点：历史类短文阅读。

点评：在快速阅读的过程中，要掌握主旨大意，要有阅读的整体意识，避免那种“只见树木，不见森林”的逐字逐句的阅读习惯。接着是寻读，确定“信息源”，找出问题的相关信息出自文章何处，跟哪些段落或句子有关，仔细比较所给选项与文中细节一点一滴的区别，在准确理解细节的前提下，最后确定最佳答案，这样对细节理解题的处理基本做到了有根有据，提高了判断的正确性。