Test 14 on world literature and writers

I. Прочитайте текст и выберите вариант ответа, соответствующий содержанию прочитанных фрагментов (А-D).

A. Alexandre Dumas is a French writer, best known for his numerous historical novels of high adventure. Those have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world. In his childhood his mother's stories of his father's brave military acts during the glory years of Napoleon stirred Alexandre's vivid imagination for adventure and heroes. Although poor, the family still had the father's distinguished reputation and aristocratic connections. Dumas first achieved success as a playwright. After writing successful plays, he turned his efforts to novels. He made extensive use of the aid of numerous assistants and collaborators. One of them outlined the plot of The Count of Monte Cristo and made substantial contributions to The Three Muskeeters and its sequels, as well as several of Dumas's other novels. Anyway, the writer was very prolific and wrote stories and historical chronicles of high adventure that captured the imagination of the French public who eagerly waited to purchase the continuing sagas.

B. Boleslaw Prus is a Polish novelist, short-story writer and journalist. As a 15-year-old soldier the would-be writer took part in the 1863 uprising, in which he suffered severe injuries and imprisonment by Tsarist Russian authorities. At age of 25, he settled into a distinguished 40-year journalist career that helped prepare his compatriots to be competitive in a world increasingly dominated by science and technology. As a sideline, he began writing short stories. Achieving success with the short stories, Prus completed four major novels on great societal questions. Those questions included the destiny of the Polish peasant, the struggle of idealists trying to bring about social reforms, and feminist concerns. Prus' only historical novel, Pharaoh, is undoubtedly the readers' favorite. It is a study of political power; and while reflecting the Polish national experience of the previous century, it also offers a unique vision of ancient Egypt.

C. Arthur Conan Doyle is a Scottish author most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger. He was a prolific writer whose other works include science fiction stories, historical novels, plays and romances, poetry, and non-fiction. He was born in Scotland, to an English father and an Irish mother. Conan Doyle's father was an artist. The young man studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. While studying, he also began writing short stories; his first published story appeared before he was 20. He began to practice medicine, but the practice was initially not very successful; while waiting for patients, he again began writing stories. His first significant work was A Study in Scarlet, which appeared in 1887 and featured the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes. The character was partially modeled after his former university professor. So great was Holmes's popularity that in 1891 Conan Doyle decided to get rid of him "for good and all". The writer thought that detective story writing took his mind from more "important" works – his historical novels. Anyway, the famous Russian film actor Vasily Livanov received an Order of the British Empire for his portrayal of no other character but Sherlock Holmes!

D. Rafael Sabatini is an Italian/British writer of novels of romance and adventure. He was born in Italy to an English mother and Italian father. His parents were opera singers who became teachers. At a young age, Rafael was exposed to many languages, living with his grandfather in England, attending school in Portugal and, as a teenager, in Switzerland. By the time he was seventeen, he was the master of five languages. He quickly added a sixth language — English — to his linguistic collection. He consciously chose to write in his adopted language, because, he said, "all the best stories are written in English." Sabatini wrote short stories in the 1890s, and his first novel came out in 1902. It took Sabatini roughly a quarter of a century of hard work before he attained success with a brilliant novel of the French Revolution which became an international best-seller. It was followed by the equally successful Captain Blood in 1922. In this book, the title character is admiral of a fleet of pirate ships. Sabatini was a prolific writer; he produced a new book approximately every year. The public knew that in picking up a Sabatini book, they could always count upon a good read, and his following was loyal and extensive.

1. Two writers of mixed ancestry are

A. Dumas and Sabatini

B. Doyle and Sabatini

C. Prus and Dumas

D. Doyle and Prus

2. The authors known for their literary productivity are

A. Dumas and Prus

B. Sabatini and Doyle

C. Dumas and Sabatini

C. Dumas, Sabatini and Doyle

3. The author who reputedly used a whole team’s research to create a novel is

A. Sabatini

B. Prus

C. Doyle

D. Dumas

4. The writer who explored social themes in his works is

A. Sabatini

B. Prus

C. Doyle

D. Dumas

5. The men of letters who created universally popular characters are

A. Sabatini and Dumas

B. Prus and Sabatini

C. Doyle and Dumas

D. Dumas and Prus

II. Прочитайте текст. Подберите соответствующий заголовок к каждому абзацу (1-5).

(1) In the 19th century, the USA was still a new country, still trying to find its own distinctive literary and artistic voice, separate from Europe. New authors came into being and of them was Walt Whitman. He was destined to become the first genuinely American poet. He was mostly self-educated, having left school and started work at the age of twelve. He worked as a printer's devil, checking for mistakes and making corrections. The work suited him, for he liked nothing better than reading. He then became a printer and when the business collapsed he went first into teaching, then journalism.

(2) He was in his mid-thirties when he completed his first volume of poetry, Leaves of Grass, which he continued to revise and add to for the rest of his life. It was poetry in anew style, and no established publisher would look at it, so he published it himself. The book did not sell, but it was praised by many critics and intellectuals. The book contained twelve poems, each celebrating the spirit of the self, which for Whitman was the spirit of the American people.

(3) Then, America came of age and Americans found themselves fighting each other in a long and bloody Civil War. Whitman's brother was wounded and Walt went directly to the battlefield hospital to find him. He was shocked by the suffering and conditions of the hospital and volunteered to serve as an army nurse. He spent the war in hospitals caring for wounded men from every part of the Union.

(4) The experience changed his poetry. No longer was he the dreaming poet from Long Island. After this experience his work spoke for the spirit of the nation. In the last ten years of his life, he finally achieved the recognition he deserved. A reprint of his first book sold well and he could afford to buy a house in New Jersey. Yet, he carried on revising his work.

(5) He also found time to travel and to write to notable poets from Europe. Among the great and the good who wrote letters and visited him were Alfred Lord Tennyson, the author of Dracula Bram Stoker, and the world famous playwright Oscar Wilde. By the end of his life, Whitman was known as the first American poet to receive international status.

A. Praised, Not Published

B. Coming of Age

C. Sunrise of American Literature

D. Fruits of Poetry

E. Call of Motherland

F. Whitman's New Lifestyle

G. Links with Literary World

H. New Times, New Voices

III. Прочитайте текст и выполните послетекстовые задания.

(1) Scottish writer Iain Banks was born in Scotland in 1954. He has written over 30 novels, the subject matter of which varies from crime detective stories to traditional science fiction and cyber-culture narratives. His novels focus on the story rather than the setting, but Scottish places and people do feature widely.

(2) Justice and morality, along with an on-going exploration of how people understand their place in the world, are some of his prevalent themes. In The Bridge (1986), Banks presents us with a brilliant novel of self-discovery, as the central character struggles to rebuild his memory after an accident, but does not like the lying, cunning person he discovers he was. In Canal Dreams (1990), the female protagonist confronts fears from her past, and finds herself morally obliged to defeat them and take charge of her life in a dramatic manner, saving the lives of others as she does so.

(3) Nor is the element of the fantastic absent from Banks' work. In The Player of Games (1988), the central character is the champion in a world where there is no disease or disaster, only endless games. When he accepts a challenge from a distant, foreign empire, he discovers what "the Game" is all about. In Iain Banks' latest novel, Complicity, Cameron Colley is a Scottish newspaper reporter, with a casual attitude toward life and a deep commitment to his profession, his motto being "let's cover the story".

(4) As the story begins, Colley gets a series of disturbing phone calls from an anonymous informant who can't stay on the phone long enough to tell him very much, but hints at worldwide conspiracies and other mysterious ploys. The plot thickens as it becomes clear that Colley's informant knows a lot about the situation. He is wrongly arrested for the crimes, but begins to realize that the real culprit is someone very close to him. Colley tries to discover his identity by delving deep into his own past, and thus begins to question his own morality and values. The mood of the story is hip, clever, cynical but bright, and both Banks and his character are very funny throughout.

(5) Modern critics rank Iain Banks as one of the greatest living writers in the world, his books having been read by over 10 million people in 12 different languages. The University of Stirling awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1997.

Выберите вариант ответа, соответствующий содержанию прочитанного текста (задания 1-5).

1. Iain Banks has written over 30 novels, the subject matter of which

A. alters from detective stories to science fiction and cyber narratives.

B. varies from horror stories to cyber-culture narratives.

C. differs from traditional science fiction and cyber-culture narratives.

2. The prevailing themes of his works are

A. search for justice and morality

B. exploration of how people understand their role in life

C. travels to places that never existed

3. The main idea of The Bridge is

A. the problem of self-discovery of a person

B. the character’s struggle to rebuild his house after a disaster

C. the problem of duality of a person

4. The Player of Games is a

A. science fiction novel

B. fantasy story

C. novel of adventure

5. The central character of Complicity is a

A. reporter committed to his profession

B. mysterious informer who knows too much

C. police officer who discovers a plot

Определите значение указанного слова в тексте (задания 6-8)

6. сasual (3)

A. unconcerned B. occasional C. informal

7. сulprit (4)

A. victim B. reason C. criminal

8. delve (4)

A. search B. absorb C. dive

Выберите правильный вариант перевода в соответствии с содержанием текста (задания 9-12)

9. His novels focus on the story rather than the setting (1).

A. В его романах доминирует сюжет, а не описания.

B. Его романы сосредоточены действии, а не на окружающей обстановке.

С. Его романы сфокусированы на повествовании, а не на описании окружающей обстановки.

10. The female protagonist confronts fears from the past (2).

A. Главная героиня противостоит страхам прошлого.

B. Главная героиня сталкивается с прошлыми страхами.

C. Главная героиня становится лицом к лицу с прошлыми страхами.

11. Nor is the element of the fantastic absent from Banks’ work (3).

A. Элемент фантастики полностью отсутствует в работах Бэнкса.

B. В произведениях Бэнкса есть и элементы фантастического.

C. Фантастика не отсутствует в работе Бэнкса.

12. The plot thickens as it becomes clear that … (4).

1. Развитие сюжета основывается на том, что…

2. Сюжет принимает оборот, когда становится известно …

3. Сюжетная линия усложняется, поскольку выясняется…