Question

【題目】 The Merchant of Venice is a play written by British author William Shakespeare. In the play a young man named Bassanio falls in love with a girl named Portia. He needs some money. So he turns to his friend Antonio for help. But Antonio doesn’t have enough money, either. He plans to borrow some money from a moneylender named Shylock. Shylock, who is heartless and greedy, agrees to lend the money, but only on one condition. What condition is it? Let’s read the following story together.

“Shylock!” yelled Antonio. “Are you going to lend us the money or not? Answer me!”

Shylock answered him slowly. “Do you remember all of those times that you insulted(侮辱) me in a loud voice that everyone could hear? You once spat on me and called me a dog. And now you want to borrow money from me, a dog!”

“Look! I’m not asking you a favor. You can charge me any interest(利息) you want. I don’t mind. My ships will arrive any day now.”

“All right, Antonio. I’m willing to lend you the money. I won’t even charge you any interest. Just pay me back on time.”

Antonio couldn’t believe his ears. “What did you say?”

“I said you didn’t know me. You always call me a cheapskate(守財奴), but I am not. I will help you. I won’t even charge you a single ducat. However, there’s something I’m worried about. What if you don’t pay me back?”

“Don’t worry, Shylock. I’ll pay you back.”

“Well, I need some kind of a promise, don’t I? Three thousand ducats is a lot of money. If you don’t pay me back on time, I want a pound of flesh. I’ll take a pound of flesh from any part of your body.”

Antonio didn’t like what Shylock said. “No. I’d rather pay some interest if I’m late on the payment.”

“I’m afraid that’s no good,” said Shylock as he laughed. “Do you think I’d take money from another moneylender? Besides, this agreement is only a joke! Do you think that any lawyer or judge (法官) would believe me? Would they really believe that I want a pound of your flesh? You don’t have to worry about anything!”

Antonio agreed to the condition. The three men went to a lawyer and signed an agreement.

(To be continued ...)

【1】Which country does the author of The Merchant of Venice come from?

A.America.B.Britain.C.France.D.Italy.

【2】Who is heartless and greedy according to the passage?

A.Bassanio.B.Portia.C.Antonio.D.Shylock.

【3】What does the underlined word “condition” in the passage refer to?

A.Some interest.B.A pound of flesh.C.A single ducat.D.An agreement.

【4】Which is the right order of what happened in the story?

a. Shylock wants some kind of a promise.

b. The three men went to sign an agreement.

c. Bassanio needs some money.

d. Antonio plans to borrow money from Shylock.

A.a b d cB.b a c dC.c d a bD.d c b a

【5】The writer’s main purpose of writing the passage is________.

A.to show us the love of Bassanio with Portia

B.to introduce the friendship between Bassanio and Antonio

C.to let us know why and how Antonio reached an agreement with Shylock

D.to tell us how helpful the lawyer is

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】D

【3】B

【4】C

【5】C

【解析】

本文主要講解了英國作家威廉·莎士比亞（William Shakespeare）創(chuàng)作的戲劇——《威尼斯商人》的部分情節(jié)，寬厚為懷的富商安東尼奧的一位好朋友巴薩尼奧因向鮑西婭求婚而需要向他借錢。而他此時沒有錢，故不計利息的向無情貪婪的夏洛克借錢，但夏洛克不要利息，答應(yīng)借錢但基于一個條件——若不能按時還款，需要安東尼奧割下身上的一磅肉。

【1】

細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第一段第一句話可知，《威尼斯商人》是由英國作家莎士比亞創(chuàng)作。故《威尼斯商人》的作家來自英國，故選B。

【2】

細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第一段倒數(shù)第三句話可知，夏洛克是無情貪婪的。故無情貪婪的人是夏洛克，故選D。

【3】

細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第九段第三句話可知，如果不按時還錢的話，夏洛克想要安東尼奧的一磅肉，故選B。

【4】

排序題。根據(jù)文章可知此題的順序為：1. 巴薩尼奧需要一些錢（第一段第三句話），2. 安東尼奧打算向夏洛克借錢（第一段第六句話），3.夏洛克想要一個承諾（第九段第一句話），4.三個人去簽協(xié)議（最后一段，最后一句話），故選C。

【5】

主旨大意題。根據(jù)閱讀整篇文章可知：本文介紹了安東尼奧為什么以及如何與夏洛克達(dá)成協(xié)議的故事，故選C。