时间:2018-12-04 作者:英语课 分类:新编大学英语教程


英语课

Unit 4

TEXT I

A Man from Stratford — William Shakespeare

Text

On March 25th, 1616, fifty-two-year-old Master William Shakespeare signed his will leaving the famous legacy 1 of his "second best bed and furniture" to his wife and the greater part of his estate to his married daughter, Susanna Hall. It was the will of a comfortably off man, for the income from the estate probably amounted to about $200 a year, which was a lot of money over three hundred and sixty years ago. For historians, the most interesting part of the will was that signature, because it and other signatures are all we have left of the handwriting of the world's literary genius. There is no country where Shakespeare's work is not read with something very like awe 2 because there is something fascinating about a man whose work was so much better than that of anyone else. Yet in spite of the thousands of books that have been written about this amazing writer, almost every detail of his personal life is supposition rather than fact. Historically speaking, Shakespeare lived only yesterday but his activities, like those of nearly every playwright 3 of his day, are so vague that he could have been born in Roman times.
Shakespeare's birthplace, the little town of Stratford-upon-Avon, in Warwickshire, had made a thriving business out of its most famous citizen for a long time. It is a popular place for tourists from all over the world, even though many of them would have the greatest of difficulty in understanding Shakespeare's Elizabethan English. However, he has such a fine reputation that it is well worth the journey just to be able to look at the swans that swim on his river, and gaze at the cottage where Anne, his wife, lived before their marriage, and then to see his plays at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
To plot Shakespeare's life is to become involved in a kind of detective story where there are plenty of clues but very little else. Nobody even knows the exact date of his birth, although the register of the Parish Church confirms that William Shakespeare was baptized there on April 26th, 1564. Nor can it be proved that he went to the excellent local grammar school, although he probably did as there was nowhere else for him to go. At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, a woman eight years older than himself, and they had three children. Then in 1585 this young married man apparently 4 left Stratford and his family, for there is absolutely no record of him for seven long years.
Exactly what happened to William Shakespeare during those seven years has puzzled scholars ever since. There are different theories, but of all the probabilities the most likely one is that he travelled abroad, spending a good deal of time at sea. Shakespeare wrote with great conviction about storms and shipwrecks 5 and eating the hard ship's biscuits "with aching teeth".
What is quite certain is that, during the time Shakespeare lived there, Stratford-upon-Avon was visited by a great number of theatrical 6 companies. It can never be proved, but it seems quite possible that the young Shakespeare saw some of these performances, realized in a flash that this was the life for him and talked one of the managers into giving him a job. At least nobody questions the fact that he can next be traced in 1592 in London, earning his living as a dramatist and generally getting well known in the theatre. Whatever else had happened during the lost years, plays that followed, such as Richard III and The Taming of the Shrew, were proof that the greatest literary career of all time had begun. Shakespeare soon became sufficiently 7 well known for managers and other influential 8 people to refer to him in writing. We know that as well as working on old plays he rapidly made a name for himself as an author of entirely 9 new ones and also performed as an actor at court. During his fifteen years as a working man of the theatre, Shakespeare wrote more than thirty plays as well as marvellous verse.
After his death on April 23rd, 1616, Shakespeare left behind a mass of questions that experts have been trying to answer ever since. What was the source of Shakespeare's amazingly detailed 10 knowledge of so many different subjects? Who was the beautiful but apparently heartless "dark lady" who seemed to have first inspired him and then caused him a lot of sadness? So far we do not know. There have even been foolish attempts to prove that William Shakespeare's plays were in fact written by someone else.
When one remembers that he lived in an age when printing was still very expensive and that it was rare for anything written to be thrown away, it seems astonishing that nothing remains 11 of the busy writer's own handwriting but the signature. Sooner or later someone may discover a bundle of letters that will answer the question that have puzzled so many people for so long.
From an article in the magazine Look and Learn

TEXT II

William Shakespeare

Most people have heard of Shakespeare and probably know something of the plays that he wrote. However, not everybody knows much about the life of this remarkable 12 man, except perhaps that he was born in the market town of Stratford-upon-Avon and that he married a woman called Anne Hathaway. We know nothing of his school life. We do not know, for example, how long it lasted, but we presume that he attended the local grammar school, where the principal subject taught was Latin.
Nothing certain is known of what he did between the time he left school and his departure for London. According to a local legend, he was beaten and even put in prison for stealing rabbits and deer from the estate of a neighbouring landowner, Sir Thomas Lucy. It is said that because of this he was forced to run away from his native place. A different legend says that he was apprenticed 13 to a Stratford butcher, but did not like the life and for this reason decided 14 to leave Stratford.
Whatever caused him to leave the town of his birth, the world can be grateful that he did so. What is certain is that he set foot on the road to fame when he arrived in London. It is said that at first he was without money or friends there, but that he earned a little by taking care of the horses of the gentlemen who attended the plays at the theatre. In time, as he became a familiar figure to the actors in the theatre, they stopped and spoke 15 to him. They found his conversation so brilliant that finally he was invited to join their company.
Earlier than 1592 there is no mention of Shakespeare either as actor or as playwright, and the name of the theatre he worked in is not known. However, by this date he had become one of the three leading members of a company of actors called the Lord Chamberlain's Men. This company was under the protection of the Lord Chamberlain, a powerful nobleman and an official at the Queen's Court. The company travelled about the country, giving performances in different towns, and also performed plays at Court.
From what we know of his later life, it is clear that Shakespeare's connection with the theatre made him a wealthy man, since his plays attracted large audiences and he shared in the profits. Towards the end of the sixteenth century he bought a large property in Stratford. It is not certain when he went back there to live but it was probably around 1603. He is not recorded as having acted in any play after that date, though he continued writing. No less than eleven of his plays were produced during the next ten years. These include the great tragedies Othello, Macbeth and King Lear. His last work was The Tempest, but he may have shared in the writing of the historical play King Henry VIII.
Even after his retirement 16 he frequently visited London. Since the road between Stratford and London passed through Oxford 17, he would rest there at the home of his friend John Davenant, who had a deep respect and affection for the playwright.
Shakespeare died in 1616. Some years earlier he chose a gravestone, under which he was to be buried. He had a curse engraved 18 on this stone which threatened to bring misfortune on anyone who might remove his body from his grave.
It seems strange that he should have had this fear. He must have known how greatly he was respected, even in his lifetime, for the genius that he showed in his plays and poems. It seems impossible that his remains could have been disturbed after his death.



1 legacy
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
  • He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
2 awe
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧
  • The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
  • The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。
3 playwright
n.剧作家,编写剧本的人
  • Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
  • The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。
4 apparently
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
5 shipwrecks
海难,船只失事( shipwreck的名词复数 ); 沉船
  • Shipwrecks are apropos of nothing. 船只失事总是来得出人意料。
  • There are many shipwrecks in these waters. 在这些海域多海难事件。
6 theatrical
adj.剧场的,演戏的;做戏似的,做作的
  • The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果,叫人失望。
  • She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。
7 sufficiently
adv.足够地,充分地
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
8 influential
adj.有影响的,有权势的
  • He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
  • He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。
9 entirely
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
10 detailed
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
11 remains
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
12 remarkable
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
13 apprenticed
学徒,徒弟( apprentice的过去式和过去分词 )
  • I was apprenticed to a builder when I was fourteen. 14岁时,我拜一个建筑工人为师当学徒。
  • Lucius got apprenticed to a stonemason. 卢修斯成了石匠的学徒。
14 decided
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
15 spoke
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
16 retirement
n.退休,退职
  • She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
  • I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。
17 Oxford
n.牛津(英国城市)
  • At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
  • This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。
18 engraved
v.在(硬物)上雕刻(字,画等)( engrave的过去式和过去分词 );将某事物深深印在(记忆或头脑中)
  • The silver cup was engraved with his name. 银杯上刻有他的名字。
  • It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back. 此件雕刻精美,背面有花饰图案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
学英语单词
abnomal loss
adsorption bond
antisunward
Arrowsmith, Pt.
artificial breathing
asymmertrical deflection
avon r.
backward-forward counter
bauxitization
bergschrund
BMCI
bond-meter
bretange
camaros
catalogist
Cernosin
coal seam pitch
continuous eigen value
cooling storage house
cor-
corrosion at initial boiling point
counteract the toxicity of another drug
cross nerve
culicoides (trithecoides) humeralis
data aggregate
diphenylpropane-1,3-dione(DPPO)
dispersion of grouping
elytis
equivalent reactance
fermentation kinetics
fleware
float-operated valve
free-soil
full-blooded
genital cone
get the hook
growth constant
hardydardy
heightening
Höchenschwand
icons
invite for
isoparametric constant
liiiest
lognormalities
lower calorific power
Macaranga auriculata
manual retrieval
mass velocity
merluccid
mica schist porphyry
multipass tubalar heater
nearest neighbor approximation
nefrendes
neutron roentgen
not the least
nuclei cochleares
offshoots
OI-clash
one end hook spanner
organolanthanide
oseen approximation
outlearn
Palace Museum
palaeolakes
phase-shift discriminator
platen variable knob
primary stage port
product-testings
provablest
PSWCS
Pu'apu'a
pyrogen test
q signal
Raney, nickel
receiving inductance
recursive symbol
reyal
rolled hardening
sea-level
settling in allowance
shared data bank
Shropshire Union Canal
shutter switch
smegma embryonum
social man
spatterdash
stick and stone
strain screw
submicrowave
suspect terrane
swing and tilt mechanism
taper pipe thread
tetraphenylphosphonium
Thermoplasmata
thiocolchicoside
true angle
Tuberculum mentale
vision carrier
wide fire box
zeqo