He emerged,all of a sudden, in 1957: the most explosive new poetic talent of the Englishpost-war era. Poetry specialised, at that moment, in the wry chronicling of theeveryday. The poetry of Yorkshire-born Ted Hughes, first published in a bookcalled "The Hawk in the Rain" when he was 27, was unlike anythingwritten by his immediate predecessors. Driven by an almost Jacobean rhetoric,it had a visionary fervour. Its most eye-catching characteristic was Hughes’s ability to get beneath the skinsof animals: foxes, otters, pigs. These animals were the real thing all right,but they were also armorial devices-symbols of the countryside and lifeblood ofthe earth in which they were rooted. It gave his work a raw, primal stink.

It was notonly England that thought so either. Hughes’s book was also published inAmerica, where it won the Galbraith prize, a major literary award. But then, in1963, Sylvia Plath, a young American poet whom he had first met at CambridgeUniversity in 1956, and who became his wife in the summer of that year,committed suicide. Hughes was vilified for long after that, especially byfeminists in America. In 1998, the year he died, Hughes broke his ownself-imposed public silence about their relationship in a book of loose-weavepoems called "Birthday Letters".In this new and exhilaratingcollection of real letters, Hughes returns to the issue of his first wife’s death, which he calls his"big and unmanageable event". He felt his talent muffled by theperpetual eavesdropping upon his every move. Not until he decided to publishhis own account of their relationship did the burden begin to lighten.

The analysisis raw, pained and ruthlessly self-aware. For all the moral torment, thewriting itself has the same rush and vigour that possessed Hughes’s early poetry. Some books ofletters serve as a personalised historical chronicle. Poets’ letters are seldom like that, andHughes’s are no exception. His are about a life of literary engagement: almostall of them include some musing on the state or the nature of writing, bothHughes’s own or other people’s. The trajectory of Hughes’s literary career had him moving from obscurity to fame, and then, in theeyes of many, to life-long notoriety. These letters are filled with hiswrestling with the consequences of being the part-private, part-public creaturethat he became, desperate to devote himself to his writing, and yet subject toendless invasions of his privacy.

Hughes is anabsorbing and intricate commentator upon his own poetry, even when he isstanding back from it and good-humouredly condemning himself for "itsfantasticalia, its pretticisms and its infinite verballifications". Healso believed, from first to last, that poetry had a special place in theeducation of children. "What kids need", he wrote in a 1988 letter tothe secretary of state for education in the Conservative government, "is aheadfull [sic] of songs that are not songs but blocks of refined and achievedand exemplary language." When that happens, children have "theguardian angel installed behind the tongue". Lucky readers, big orsmall.

1.The poetry of Hughes’s forerunners is characteristic of______

[A] itsnatural, crude flavor.

[B] itsdistorted depiction of people’s daily life.

[C] itspenetrating sight.

[D] itsfantastical enthusiasm.

2.The word"vilified" (Line 3, Paragraph 2)most probably means _____

[A] tortured

[B] harassed

[C] scolded

[D] tormented

3.According to the third paragraph,Hughes’s collection of letters are _____

[A] personalrecollection of his life.

[B]personalised historical chronicle of his literary engagement.

[C]reflections of his struggle with his devotion and the reality.

[D] hismeditation on the literary world.

4. From theletters, we may find the cause of Hughes’s internal struggle is _____

[A] hisdevotion to the literary world.

[B] that heis a part-private, part-public creature.

[C] that heis constrained by the fear of his privacy being invaded.

[D] his fameand notoriety.

5. By"lucky readers" in the last sentence, the author means_____

[A] childrenwho read poetry.

[B] childrenwho have a headfull of songs.

[C] childrenwho own blocks of refined and achieved and exemplary language.

[D] childrenwho have the guardian angel installed behind the tongue

篇章剖析：

本文讲述了英国著名诗人特德·休斯作品的特点和其所反映的诗人的一些情况。第一段讲述休斯诗歌的特色;第二段讲述因其妻子的原因而创作了一部书信集的情况。第三段讲述这本书信集的特点和反映的内容。第四段讲述休斯对诗歌的看法和态度。

词汇注释：

wry adj. 枯燥乏味的

predecessorn.前辈, 前任

rhetoric n. (措词, 文体的)浮夸与修饰

fervour n.热情

armorial adj.徽章的, 家徽的

lifeblood n. 生命力或生命之源的力量

stink n. 气息，气味

vilifie vt.诽谤, 辱骂, 贬低, 轻视

muffle vt.压抑;阻止

eavesdroppingn.偷听

trajectory n.道路选择好的或采用的路径：

notoriety n.恶名, 丑名, 声名狼藉

absorbingadj.吸引人的, 非常有趣的

难句突破：

(1)But then, in 1963, Sylvia Plath, a young American poet whom he had firstmet at Cambridge University in 1956, and who became his wife in the summer ofthat year, committed suicide.

主体句式：But thenSylvia Plath committed suicide.

结构分析：这是一个同位语带有定语从句的复合句。whom和who引导的两个定语从句修饰a young American poet, 整体作为Sylvia Plath的同位语。

句子译文：但是在1963年，西尔维亚·普拉斯自杀了，这个美国年轻诗人与他第一次见面是在1956年的剑桥大学，而当年夏天又成为了他妻子。

(2)These letters are filled with hiswrestling with the consequences of being the part-private, part-public creaturethat he became, desperate to devote himself to his writing, and yet subject toendless invasions of his privacy.

主体句式：Theseletters are filled with his wrestling.

结构分析：这是一个简单句，难点在于最后两个形容词词组的成分(desperate to devote himself to his writing, and yet subject to endlessinvasions of his privacy)。这两个形容词词组是用来修饰前面的名词creature, 而creature后面紧跟着的that 引导的从句也是修饰它的定语从句。

句子译文：这些信中处处都显现出休斯因为自己成为半私人、半公开这么样一个人物而心理反复挣扎，他渴望将自己奉献给文字，但又时时受到私人空间受到侵袭的威胁。

题目分析

1.The poetry of Hughes’s forerunners is characteristic of ______1. 休斯先前的诗人们创作的诗歌特点是______

[A] its natural, crude flavor.[A] 自然、原始的风味。

[B] its distorted depiction of people’s daily life.[B] 对人们日常生活的变形描写。

[C] its penetrating sight.[C] 洞穿一切的视角。

[D] its fantastical enthusiasm.[D] 梦幻式的热情。

[答案] B

[分析] 细节题。本文第一段讲述了休斯诗歌的特点。第一段第二句说明了当时盛行的诗歌的特色是the wry chronicling of the everyday，紧接着第三句就指出休斯的作品不同于他前辈的诗歌，接下来的几句都是讲述休斯作品具体是什么特色。由此可以推理，第二句所描写的就是其前人作品的特点，是"对日常生活的变形描述"，选项B为正确答案。

2.The word "vilified" (Line 3, Paragraph 2)most probablymeans _____2. "vilified"这个词(第二段第三行)最有可能的意思是_____

[A] tortured[A] 折磨。

[B] harassed[B] 骚扰。

[C] scolded[C] 斥责。

[D] tormented[D] 折磨。

[答案] C

[分析] 猜词题。这个词的意思要根据上下文推断。该词出现的前一句讲述休斯妻子，一位美国诗人自杀了。紧接着就说，该事件发生后很长一段时间里美国的女权主义者对休斯采取了一种行动。后面又讲述了休斯在去世之前将他与妻子的关系情况以书信集的方式表达出来，直到这本集子出版他的背负才得以减轻。那么休斯一直背负着一种精神负担，这部分是由那些女权主义者造成的，可能性比较大的就是一种精神上的谴责，答案[C]最为符合。

3.According to the third paragraph, Hughes’s collectionof letters are _____2. 从第三段可以得知，休斯的书信集是_____

[A] personal recollection of his life.[A] 他对自己生命的个人回忆。

[B] personalised historical chronicle of his literary engagement.[B]他文学生涯的个人事件的历时纪录。

[C] reflections of his struggle with his devotion and thereality.[C] 他在信仰与现实间挣扎的反映。

[D] his meditation on the literary world.[D] 他对文学世界的思考。

[答案]D

[分析]推理题。根据文章第三段，休斯的这本书信集和一般书信集不同，不是将自己的经历做一陈述，而是所有书信都包含有对自己或对别人作品的思考，是他文学思想的一个展示。最后一句是说从这些书信中可以看出他为是要完全展示在作品中还是要维护个人隐私而苦苦挣扎过。从这些描述可以看出，该书信集主要是他文学观点的一些表述，从中可以看出他的思想发展历程，因此答案D最符合。

4. From the letters, we may find the cause of Hughes’s internalstruggle is _____4. 由休斯书信的内容可以看出休斯内心挣扎的原因在于_____

[A] his devotion to the literary world.[A] 他全心奉献给了文学世界。

[B] that he is a part-private, part-public creature.[B] 他是一个半隐密、半公开的人物。

[C] that he is constrained by the fear of his privacy being invadedin his literary engagement.[C] 他在文学创作中担心自己的私人世界受到侵犯。

[D] his fame and notoriety.[D] 他的名声以及后来的败落。

[答案]C

[分析] 细节题。题干是要求找出休斯内心挣扎的原因，这在第三段最后一句中有提及。文章指出书信中处处都体现了休斯和自己半隐密、半公开这么一个身份进行斗争的印迹，一方面他想在创作中完全投入，但又担心自己隐私会受到侵害。可以看出，休斯之所以内心挣扎，是由于他自己一面想要在作品中公开自己，而在现实中又想保护自己的隐私，因此答案C最为符合。

5. By "lucky readers" in the last sentence, the authormeans_____5. 在文章最后一句话中的"幸运的读者"，作者指的是_____。

[A] children who read poetry.[A] 读诗的孩子。

[B] children who have a headfull of songs.[B] 脑子里有许多歌的孩子。

[C] children who own blocks of refined and achieved and exemplarylanguage.[C] 拥有精致、优雅的语言的孩子。

[D] children who have the guardian angel installed behind thetongue.[D] 舌头后面有守卫天使的孩子。

[答案]A

[分析] 细节题。理解这句话需要结合上下文来看，文章最后一段主要是讲述休斯认为诗歌在孩子教育方面发挥特殊的作用，他认为孩子需要的是诗歌，是精致、完美的语言，如果真的拥有这些了，那么孩子舌头后面就有了守卫天使，那他们就是幸运的读者了。虽然四个答案都仿佛正确，但从最根本的来说，是因为读诗，孩子才会拥有以上所说得一切，才是幸运的，而且本段也着重强调诗歌对于孩子的重要性。因此，最佳答案为A。

参考译文：

1957年，他横空出世，成为英国战后最具爆炸性的诗坛天才。当时，诗歌主要题材是日常生活的扭曲纪录。但出生在约克郡的特德·休斯的作品却与其前辈大相径庭，他27岁时在名为《雨中的鹰》一书中发表了第一首诗。

受詹姆士一世风格的影响，其诗歌呈现出幻觉式的激情，最显著的特点是休斯可以描述动物外表下面的东西，无论是狐狸、水獭还是猪。这些动物的确是真实的，但同时又是标志性的，代表着乡村，代表着它们植根的地球的生命之源。正是这一点赋予了其作品一种野性、原始的气息。

这一点不仅仅在英国得以认同。休斯的书也在美国出版，并且赢得了一项重要的文学奖--加尔布雷思奖。但是在1963年，西尔维亚·普拉斯自杀了，这个美国年轻诗人与他第一次见面是在1956年的剑桥大学，而当年夏天又成为了他妻子。这之后很长时间里休斯都受到人们的谴责，尤其是美国的女权主义者。1998 年，也就是休斯去世的那一年，他在自己一本名为《生日信札》的结构松散的诗集中公开了他俩的关系，打破了他自己一直以来的缄默。在这本令人兴奋的新书信集中，休斯回忆了他第一个妻子的死，"难以处理的大事情"--他这样形容。他感觉自己的一举一动都受到监视，他的天赋因而受到了制约。直到他出版了自己的这本有关他们关系的书时，他身上的负担才得以减轻。

他的剖析自然、饱含痛苦，具有强烈的自我意识。尽管书中极尽表达了其精神的苦痛，但文字本身却具有休斯早期诗歌的激情和活力。一些书信集只是个人的经历记录而已，但是诗人的书信集却不同，休斯也不例外。他的书信集描写了其文学生涯：几乎所有的书信都有关于写作状态或写作性质的思考，有他自己，也有别人的。休斯的文学生命轨迹是从无名到闻名，而后，在众人看来又经历了漫长的名誉扫地的阶段。这些信中处处都显现出休斯和自己成为半私人、半公开人物这样一个结果而心理反复挣扎，他渴望将自己奉献给文字，但又时时受到私人空间受到侵袭的威胁。

有意思而且令人费解的是，休斯还对自己诗歌进行评论，他甚至还以局外人的身份来看待自己的作品，很幽默地批评自己"诗歌有空想色彩、唯美化且一直咬文嚼字 "。他还从始至终坚信诗歌在教育孩子方面有特殊的作用。1988年他在给保守党政府国家教育部长得一封信中这样写道："孩子们需要的是满脑子的歌曲，其实不是歌曲，而是精致、优秀、具有代表性的语言。"如果真能这样，那么孩子们"舌头后面就会有守卫天使"了。