2. 外语
  3. Hard Times, Charles Dickens’ shortest novel, was written and published in 1854. Despite the sensational success of its two immed

Hard Times, Charles Dickens’ shortest novel, was written and published in 1854. Despite the sensational success of its two immed

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问题     Hard Times, Charles Dickens’ shortest novel, was written and published in 1854. Despite the sensational success of its two immediate predecessors, David Copperfield and Bleak House, and its immediate successors, Little Dorritt and A Tale of Two Cities, Hard Times seems to have been Dickens’ least popular novel during his own lifetime and subsequently. One critic speculated that editorial cuts imposed on the novel for serialization were responsible. However, as Jane Jacobs points out, Hard Times was serialized in Household Words, a periodical that Dickens not only founded but edited. Part of the reason for the book’s relative unpopularity may have been its despairing message, its depiction of pervasive emptiness in almost everything life has to offer, from marriage and family to success and community. Jacobs also suggests that the book’s structure may have played a role: action is slow and scant throughout, and descriptions and conversations during the first two thirds of the book are repetitious. While the book’s tone changes abruptly in the last section, when Dickens, the master storyteller, jogs his characters into life by enmeshing them in convoluted coils of plot, the reader must first endure the tedious way in which Dickens establishes the novel’s settings and characters.
The author of the passage mentions David Copperfield, Bleak House, Little Dorritt and A Tale of Two Cities most likely in order to
选项 A、provide a context that helps to explain the public and critical reaction to Hard Times
B、present examples of other works by Dickens that were not initially commercially successful
C、suggest that Hard Times’ lack of popularity was an anomaly during this period in Dickens’ career
D、imply that the quality of Dickens’ writing improved over time
E、question the idea that the novels immediately preceding and following Hard Times were extraordinarily successful
答案C
解析 本题属于功能题。这四本书是第二句所列举的例子，因此其功能是服务于该句的观点，即《艰难时世》不受欢迎。这四本书的受欢迎也恰好可以突出《艰难时世》的不受欢迎是很特殊的一件事，因此选项C正确。A项解释大众和评论的反应的是文章第三句开始的内容。B项表述相反，这四部作品都是成功的。D项原文中提到前后作品的影响都比《艰难时世》的大，所以不能说作品质量随着时间的推移是越来越好。E项文中并没有提出质疑。
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