GRE阅读真题【94期】 -福楼拜是现实主义作家吗？

GRE阅读真题【94期】 -福楼拜是现实主义作家吗？今天带大家分析的是一篇hard文章，希望同学们能够先尝试自己阅读以后再看下面的解析。

In his splendid new biography of Flaubert, Frederick Brown deftly dismantles the most durable myth concerning the novelist – that Flaubert was miraculously transformed into a committed realist with the writing of Madame Bovary. Robert Baldick offers one version of the myth: “In his early works … Flaubert tended to give free rein to his flamboyant imagination, but on the advice of his friends he later disciplined his romantic exuberance in an attempt to achieve total objectivity and a harmonious prose style.” The only problem with this account is that it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Flaubert followed the realism of Madame Bovary with the fantastical Salammbô, and paired “A Simple Heart” with his hothouse fantasy, “Hérodias.”

In his splendid new biography of Flaubert, Frederick Brown deftly dismantles the most durable myth concerning the novelist – that Flaubert was miraculously transformed into a committed realist with the writing of Madame Bovary.

翻译：在他精彩的福楼拜新传记中，FB巧妙地打破了长久以来关于这位小说家的讹传 -即福楼拜通过《包法利夫人》的写作，奇迹般地变成了一个坚定的现实主义者。

分析：本句讲了两个观点，一个是长久以来的老观点：福楼拜在写《包法利夫人》的时候变成了现实主义者。另一个则是FB的立场：老观点不对。需要注意的是，作者在形容FB的时候用了“splendid杰出的”“ deftly巧妙地”这样的正面词语，暗示了作者对于FB的支持。同时作者在形容老观点时用了“myth”，这个词的意思是 “大家都这么认为，但其实没有证据甚至有误”，进一步暗示了作者对FB观点的支持。

Robert Baldick offers one version of the myth: “In his early works … Flaubert tended to give free rein to his flamboyant imagination, but on the advice of his friends he later disciplined his romantic exuberance in an attempt to achieve total objectivity and a harmonious prose style.”

翻译：RB代表了另一版本的讹传：“在他的早期作品中……福楼拜倾向于自由发挥他华丽的想象力，但在朋友的建议下，他后来控制了自己的浪漫热情，试图实现完全客观和和谐的散文风格。

分析：看到文章出现了人名一定要注意分析这个人观点态度和文章主体的关系。作者在本句形容RB的观点又用了“myth”一词，而且RB观点是福楼拜克制住了想象力，变得客观了。所以和首句的老观点其实是一个流派的。根据作者第 一句的态度，后续RB的观点可能要被反驳。

The only problem with this account is that it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Flaubert followed the realism of Madame Bovary with the fantastical Salammbô, and paired “A Simple Heart” with his hothouse fantasy, “Hérodias.”

翻译：这个说法的唯 一问题是它经不起推敲。福楼拜在现实主义的《包法利夫人》后写出了奇幻的《萨朗伯》，也在《简单的心》中配上了虚构作品《希罗底》。

分析：本句作者指出了RB观点的问题，同时用案例论证了作者贯穿全文的态度，即福楼拜并没有在写《包法利夫人》以后变成现实主义。

1. The primary function of the highlighted sentence is to

A. suggest the range of Flaubert’s accomplishment as a novelist

B. identify certain of Flaubert’s works that are often overlooked by readers

C. show that Madame Bovary was a turning point in Flaubert’s stylistic development

D. provide evidence undermining a conventional view regarding Flaubert

E. suggest that critics have tended to overrate Madame Bovary

答案：D

高亮部分提及了福楼拜另外的作品，它们都是在《包法利夫人》之后的，且还展示出了想象、虚构成分，所以可以论证作者的观点，反驳老的myth。

2 In the context of the passage, the reference to Baldick’s “version” serves to

A. flesh out a conventional view regarding Flaubert

B. present a framework for further research into Flaubert

C. offer a useful corrective to Brown’s approach to Flaubert

答案：A

RB的观点是myth的另一种说法，但终究是老观点，可以对应A选项。注意flesh out的意思是充实。B的framework在原文并没有对应，而且作者是反对老观点的，不会对老观点进行further research。C的态度完全相反。

本文虽然文章可能有比较多生词，作者的观点表达也有些隐晦，但是题目并不算难。同学们一定要注意文中词汇的正负性，也要注意每个人观点态度之间的联系。