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四十、大连外国语学院
1991 年攻读硕士学位研究生入学考试试题
1. What do you know about George Bernard Shaw? （20%）
2. Comment on Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. （20%）
3. Which poet do you like better, Byron or Shelley? Why? （20%）
4. Make a comparison between Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. （20%）
5. Explain the following literary terms: （20%）
（1） Renaissance
（2） Enlightenment
（3） Romanticism
（4） Critical Realism
Key
1. George Bernard Shaw （1856-1950） was a dramatist, critic and social thinker. Apart from
the musical education he received from his mother, he was practically self-educated. In 1876 he
came to London and set to work as a novelist. The novel proved not to be his medium, but his
efforts in the form were an apprenticeship for dramatic writing in which he excelled. He wrote five
novels in all: the best known are Cashel Byron s Profession （pub1885-1886）, and the Admirable
Bashville （pub1901）. In 1884 he joined the newly formed social Fabian Society.
His career as a dramatist began in 1892 and lasted substantially until 1939, though he wrote
his last play when he was over 90.
His most famous plays are probably Man and Superman （1903）; Major Barbara（1905）;
Pygmalion（1912）; Heartbreak House（1917）; Other plays: in Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant
（1898）, Widower's Houses（first staged 1892）; The Philanderer; Mrs Warren's Profession, etc.
2. The Merchant of Venice has a double plot.
（1） An impoverished young Venetian, Bassanio, seeks to marry a wealthy heiress, Portia of
Belmont. For the expenses of the courtship he has to borrow 3000 ducats from his friend the
merchant Antonio. When Bassanio and Portia meet, they fall in love at first sight, but before she
can surrender herself, Bassanio has to pass the test of the caskets, ordained by her dead father. The
test is to choose between a gold, a silver, and a lead casket; the right casket contains her portrait.
He passes the test, but their rejoicing is interrupted by the arrival of a letter from Antonio.
（2） Antonio's money is all invested in mercantile expeditions, so that to help Bassanio he
has had to borrow from the Jewish usurer, Shylock. Shylock has made the strange stipulation that
Antonio will have to surrender a pound of his flesh in default of repayment. Antonio's letter now
relates that his voyaging ships have all been lost, he is penniless, and will have to pay the pound of
flesh. The two plots join in the trial scene of IV. I. The issue has come before a court of law at
which Portia appears disguised as a young lawyer instructed to judge the case. She appeals to
Shylock to show mercy, but when he insists on the letter of the law she lets him have it.. he may
take his pound of flesh, but there is no mention of blood in the bond; if he sheds any, the law of
Venice is clear: his lands and goods are to become the property of the state. Antonio is saved, and
Shylock has to undergo certain severe penalties, including compulsory conversion to Christianity.
Act V concludes the play with light comedy and the lyrical union of several pairs of lovers.
Like others of Shakespeare's earlier comedies, the play is a mixture of courtly sophistication,
light fantasy, and moving realism. The plot belongs to fable and fairy story, and the love affairs to
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