(2) A Psalm of Life
1. What kind of person is the speaker of this poem? The speaker is a man of action, always optimistic and cheerful, trying to achieve as much as possible in the short span of life.
2. According to the poem, how should our lives be led to overcome the fact that each day brings us nearer to death? We should work harder and live happier.
3. Interpret the metaphor of \(line 28).
The metaphor refers to human deeds in real life.
2. Walt Whitman (1)One's Self I Sing
1. What is the significance of singing about one's self? It is an exaltation of the individual spirit, which is typical of American people.
2. What is the difference between physiology and physiognomy?
Physiology is a science that deals with the functions and life process of human beings, whereas physiognomy refers to an art of judging character from contours of face itself or the appearance of a person.
3. What does Whitman mean by the term of \ He means that a man should be free from any prejudice and pride, totally different from the traditional one, that is full of bias.
(3) O Captain! My Captain!
1. Why is the word \capitalized throughout the poem?
In this poem the word ―Captain‖ specially refers to Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States.
2. What overall metaphor does the poet employ in this poem? Life is a journey.
3. Why do people on the shores exult and bells ring, while the speaker remains so sad?
They welcome the ship returning from its hard trip, whereas the speaker is sad because the captain fails to receive his own honor.
3.Emily Dickinson
(1) To Make a Prairie …
1. What things are needed to \can one really do it?
Some grass and insects and small animals. People can make a prairie with their imagination.
2. How can \ The prairie stays in one's mind.
(2) Success Is Counted Sweetest
1. Why is success \sweetest by those who ne'er succeed\
Those who have tasted the bitterness of failure would have a keener desire for success. 2. Who are \
The so-called successful people in the world. 3. Who is \ Anyone who is pursuing his success.
(3) I'm Nobody!
1. Who are the \ The \of us\\
2. What does \ It Implies the vain and empty common people, who are always admiring and pursuing the celebrities. 3. What is the theme of this poem?
The real admirable life is a secluded and common one. 4. Do you want to be \reasons.
Different persons would have different answers to this question. Personally, I prefer to be nobody. Unit 8 Mark Twain
1: Why do you think Mr.Wheeler is so eager to tell these stories?
From Mr.Wheeler’s behaviors and contents of his narration we can know he is so eager to tell these stories.First, when \asked him to tell \me into a corner and blockaded me with his chair, and then sat down and reeled off the narrative‖. And during the process of telling his stories, he never paid any attention to others'response to his story and just went on telling what amused him. At last when the listener felt boring and wanted to
leave, Mr.Wheeler even didn't notice it and still asked him to sit there listening to him.
2: Does his audience share his enthusiasm in telling the stories? No. the audience does not show any interest in Mr.Wheeler’ stories. In fact, the narrator was very feverish about his stories, but ,in the eyes of the listener,the stories were very boring and had nothing to do with his preoccupation. As an educated man, the listener couldn't understand the way of laborers for joy, and he would never bother himself to understand it. So after the long time of Mr.Wheeler’ solo narration and when the audience got a chance, he fled away.
3: Do you think the narrator and his listener ever suspect the presence of humor? Why? How do you interpret their interactions?
The narrator and his listener never noticed or suspected the presence of humor.During the intercourse,the narrator went vigorously on his monotonous narrative \talking about the animals and the things like ,while the listener felt rather puzzled or bothered by his stories.It seemed to be
陶洁版 美国文学选读 - 第三版 - 课后习题答案
