One of the silliest things in our recent history was the use of “Victorian” as a term of contempt or abuse. It had been made fashionable by Lytton Strachey with his clever, superficial and ultimately empty book Eminent Victorians, in which he damned with faint praise such Victorian heroes as General Gordon and Florence Nightingale. Strachey\those qualities on which they prided themselves—their high mindedness, their marked moral intensity, their desire to improve the human condition and their confidenee that they had done so.
Yet one saw, even before the 100th anniversary of the death of Queen Victoria this year, that there were signs these sneering attitudes were beginning to change- Programmes on radio and television about Victoria and the age that was named after her managed to humble themselves only about half the time. People were beginning to realize that there was something heroic about that epoch and, perhaps, to fear that the Victorian age was the last age of greatness for this country.
Now a new book, What The Victorians Did For Us, aims further to redress the balance and remind us that, in most essentials, our own age is really an extension of what the Victorians created. You can start with the list of Victorian in vent ions. They were great lovers of gadgets from the smallest domestic ones to new ways of propelling ships throughout the far-flung Empire. In medicine, anaesthesia (developed both here and in America) allowed surgeons much greater time in which to operate—and hence to work on the inner organs of the body—not to mention reducing the level of pain and fear of patients.
To the Victorians we also owe lawn tennis, a nationwide football association under the modern rules, powered funfair rides, and theatres offering mass entertainment. And, of course, the modern seaside is almost entirely a Victorian invention. There is, of course, a darker side to the Victorian period. Everyone knows about it mostly because the Victorians catalogued it themselves. Henry Mayhew\of the London poor, and official reports on prostitution, on the workhouses and on child labour—reports and their statistics that were used by Marx when he wrote Das Kapital—testify to the social conscienee that was at the center of \。
But now, surely, we can appreciate the Victorian achievement for what it was —the creation of the modern world. And when we compare the age of Tennyson and Darwin, of John Henry Newman and Carlyle, with our own, the only sensible reaction is one of humility： “We are our father\。
1. According to the author, Lyt ton Strachey' s book Emine nt Victoria ns _______ [A] accurately described the qual i ties of the people of the age [B] superficially praised the heroic deeds of the Victorians [C] was highly critical of the contemporary people and institutions [D] was guilty of spreading prejudices against the Victorians
2. The change in the attidues towards the Vcitorians is revealed in the fact that ?
[A] the 100th anniversary of the death of Queen Victoria is celebrated [B] the media, publicizes events or people about the Victorian age [C] people begin to highly praise Victorian heroes
[D] a new book regards Victorians as creators of the modern world 3. What is the meaning of the word “gadgets” (Paragraph 4) ? [A] devices [B] tools [C] appliances [D] engines
4. According to the text, the Victorians invented ___________
[A] surgery
[B] seaside holiday [C] funfair
[D] mass entertainment
5. The author talks about the darker side of the Victorian period to ___________
[A] disclose the social injustices and evils [B] give proof to Karl Marx' s Das Kapital
[C] manifest the Victorians' good sense of right and wrong [D] show the age, s strengths outweigh its weaknesses
答案：l.D 2. D 3. A 4. B 5. C 核心词汇与超纲词汇
(1) damn sb. /sth. with faint praise 名褒实贬，用冷漠的赞扬贬低,如 She damned
Reynolds with faint praise, calling him one of the best imitators in the world.
(2) demolition (n.)破坏，毁坏 (3) sneer (n. /v.)冷笑，讥笑，嘲笑 (4) epoch (n.)新纪元，时代，时期
(5) redress (v)纠正，矫正;重新穿衣，重新调整
(6) essential (a.)本质的，基本的；必不可少的；精华的(n.)基本必要的东西;本 质，
实质要素，要点
(7) far-flung (a.)蔓延的，广泛的，广泛传播的，辽阔的
(8) anaesthesia (n.)感觉缺乏，麻木，麻醉(法);esthe词根表示\感觉”，如 esthetic
感觉的
(9) catalogue (n.)目录；一连串(糟糕)事，如a ~ of disasters接二连三的灾 难(v.)
列入目录;记载，登记(某人某事的详情)
(10) testify (v.)(出庭)作证;证实，证明广to sth.作为某事的证明，说明，
女□ The film testifies to the courage of ordinary people during the war (这部电影 表明老百姓在战争时期的英勇行为)
(11) humility (n.)谦卑[恭,逊],[pl.]谦让的行为
全文翻译
我们近代历史上最愚蠢的事之一就是把\”作为鄙视和漫骂的名称。而使这 一说法得以流传开来的是莱顿?斯传策斯那本言辞巧妙但肤浅空洞的《维多利亚时代的俊 杰》，在这本书中他讽刺了如戈登将军和弗洛伦斯?南丁格尔这样的维多利亚时代的英雄。 斯传策斯破坏性的工作是巧妙的，因为它嘲笑的正是维多利亚人引以自豪的品质：清高、特 别的道德强度、
考研英语阅读理解模拟试题及解析4.docx
