2010年12月大学英语四级考试阅读提高训练(一)

What is science fiction? To begin with, the following definition should be helpful: science fiction is a literary sub-class which requires a change (for human beings) from conditions as we know them and follow the implications of these changes to a conclusion. Although this definition will necessarily be modified, and expanded, and probably changed, in the course of this exploration, it conveys much of the basic groundwork and provides a point of departure.
　　The first point—that science fiction is a literary sub-class—is a very important one, but one which is often overlooked or ignored in most discussions of science fiction. Specially, science fiction is a sub-class of prose fiction, for nearly every piece of science fiction is either a short story or a novel. There are only a few dramas which could be called science fiction, with Karel Capek’s RUR (Rossum’s Universal Robots) being the only one that is well  known; the body of poetry that might be labeled science fiction is only slightly larger. To say that science fiction is a sub-class of prose fiction is to say that it has all the basic characteristics and serves the same basic function in much the same way as prose fiction in general—that is, it shares a great deal with all other novels and short stories.
　　Everything that can be said about prose fiction, in general, applies to science fiction. Every piece of science fiction, whether short or novel, must have a narrator, a story, a plot, a setting, characters, language, and theme. And like any prose, the themes of science fiction are concerned with interpreting man’s nature and experience in relation to the world around him. Themes in science fiction are constructed and presented in exactly the same ways that themes are dealt with in any other kind of fiction. They are the result of a particular combination of narrator, story, plot, character, setting, and language. In short, the reasons for reading and enjoying science fiction, and the ways of studying and analyzing it are basically the same they would be for any other story or novel.  1. Science fiction is called a literary sub-class because it ______.
A) has limits of its own
B) cannot be made into a dramatic presentation
C) is not important enough to be a literary form
D) shares characteristics with other types of prose fiction  2. Which of the following does NOT usually contribute to the theme in a piece of science fiction?
A) Narrator.  B) Setting.    C) Rhyme.          D) Plot.  3. An appropriate title for the passage would be ______.
A) On the Dramatic Features of Science Fiction
B) Toward a Definition of Science Fiction
C) Science Fiction vs Prose Fiction
D) The Themes of Prose Fiction  4. The author’s definition suggests that all science fiction deals with ______.
A) the unfamiliar or unusual conditions
B) the same topics addressed by novels and short stories
C) Karel Cape’s well-known hypothesis
D) the conflict between science and fiction  5. According to the passage, which of the following conclusions is true?
A) Science fiction attracts us in much the same way a story or novel does.
B) It is not possible to define science fiction in a clear way.
C) Many people tried in vain to explain what science fiction is.
D) Very often science fiction appears in such literary forms as drama and poetry.              
1. D。根据题干“literary sub-class”，将答案定位到第二段。改段第一句说科幻小说是文学中的一个分支；第二句是说科幻小说是散文小说的小说的一种，因为几乎每个科幻小说或是短篇小故事或是小说。所以选D。2.C。根据题干 “the theme in a piece of science fiction”, 将答案定位到文章第三段第二句，每一部科幻小说都必须包括“a narrator, a plot, a setting,”，文中没有提到 rhyme (押韵)。3.B。文章第一段明确提出了科幻小说的定义，第二段和第三段是对定义的解释。第二段第一句话表明下文将论证定义中所述的“科幻小说是文学的一个分支”这一点。因此选项B最合适。选项A和C文章中未提及，而D只是一个方面，不是主题。4.B。根据题干 “the author’s definition”, 将答案定位到文章第三段第三、四句。科幻小说主题的选择和呈现与其它小说别无二致，作者以此来解释科幻小说的定义。B项符合原文。其它三个选项都与原文明显不符。5.A。根据文章最后一句：“人们阅读欣赏科幻小说的原因和他们研究分析科幻小说的方法与他们对待其他任何长、短篇小说都是一样的。”可知选项A是正确的。B项和C项都与文章的主要观点相反，而D项不符合文章第二段第三句的意思。