Reading in Depth
Read the following quotes from Shakespeare.Choose the one you like best and then give an example to illustrate it.
●Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
●A light heart lives long.
●The time of life is short;to spend that shortness basely,it would be too long.
●The empty vessels make the greatest sound.
●Ignorance is the curse of God,knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven.
●Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.
●Virtue is bold,and goodness never fearful.
●To mourn a mischief that is past and gone is the next way to draw new mischief on.
●What’s in a name?That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
●It is not enough to help the feeble up,but to support him after.
Translation:
●宁为聪明的愚夫，不做愚蠢的才子。
●豁达者长寿。
●人生苦短，若虚度年华，则短暂的人生就太长了。
●满瓶不响，半瓶咣当。
●无知乃是罪恶，知识乃是我们藉以飞向天堂的翅膀。
●如果送礼的人不是出于真心，再贵重的礼物也会失去它的价值。
●美德是勇敢的，善良从来无所畏惧。
●为了一去不复返的灾祸而悲伤，将会招致新的灾祸。
●名称有什么关系呢？玫瑰不叫玫瑰，依然芳香如故。
●仅仅把弱者扶起来是不够的，还要在他站起来之后支持他。
Write one or two statements on the lines below about what you think Shakespeare’s dramas can do for you.
TEXT
Why Study Shakespeare?
Pre-reading
Answer the following questions about Shakespeare and his influence.
1.What do you know about Shakespeare as a storyteller?
2.Which drama written by Shakespeare is your favorite?
3.What phrases did you learn from Shakespeare’s works?
4.How does Shakespeare influence people of modern times?
Initial Reading
Read the following text as quickly as you can,and underline the topic sentences or the key words to help understand the main idea of the text.Then complete the exercises that follow.
[1]Ben Jonson anticipated Shakespeare’s dazzling future when he declared,“He was not of an age,but for all time!” in the preface to The First Folio.While most people know that Shakespeare is the most popular dramatist and poet the Western world has ever produced,students new to his work often wonder why this is so.The following explains why Shakespeare has stood the test of time.
[2]Shakespeare’s ability to summarize the range of human emotions in simple yet profoundly eloquent verse is perhaps the greatest reason for his enduring popularity.If you cannot find words to express how you feel about love or music or growing older,Shakespeare can speak for you.No author in the Western world has penned more beloved passages.
[3]William Shakespeare was also the most remarkable storyteller that the world has ever known.Homer told of adventure and men at war,Sophocles and Tolstoy told of tragedies and of people in trouble.Terence and Mark Twain told comedic stories,Dickens told melodramatic ones,Plutarch told histories and Hans Christian Andersen told fairy tales.But Shakespeare told every kind of story—comedy,tragedy,history,melodrama,adventure,love stories and fairy tales—and each of them so well that they have become immortal.In all the world of storytelling he has become the greatest name.
[4]Shakespeare’s stories transcend time and culture.Modern storytellers continue to adapt Shakespeare’s tales to suit our modern world,whether it be the tale of Lear on a farm in Iowa,Romeo and Juliet on the mean streets of New York City,or Macbeth in feudal Japan.
[5]Shakespeare invented his share of stock characters,but his truly great characters — particularly his tragic heroes—are unequaled in literature,dwarfing even the sublime creations of the Greek tragedians.Shakespeare’s great characters have remained popular because of their complexity;for example,we can see ourselves as gentle Hamlet,forced against his better nature to seek murderous revenge.For this reason Shakespeare is deeply admired by actors,and many consider playing a Shakespearean character to be the most difficult and most rewarding role.
[6]Among other things,many of the common expressions now thought to be cliché were Shakespeare’s creations.But chances are you use Shakespeare’s expressions all the time even though you may not know it is the Bard you are quoting.You may think that that fact is “neither here nor there”,but that’s“the short and the long of it ”.Bernard Levin said it best in the following quote about Shakespeare’s impact on our language:If you cannot understand my argument,and declare “It’s Greek to me”,you are quoting Shakespeare;if you recall your salad days,you are quoting Shakespeare.
New Words
anticipate /ænˈtɪsɪpeɪt/ vt.预见；预料
bard /bɑː（r）d/ n.诗人；吟游诗人（本文大写指莎士比亚）
cliché /ˈkliːʃeɪ/ n.陈腐的说法；陈词滥调
comedic /ˈkɒmədik/ adj.喜剧的
complexity /kəmˈpleksəti/ n.复杂性
dwarf /dwɔː（r）f/ vt.（使）显得矮小；使相形见绌
dazzling /ˈdæzlɪŋ/ adj.耀眼的；光彩夺目的
eloquent /ˈeləkwənt/ adj.有口才的；有说明力的
enduring /ɪnˈdjʊərɪŋ/ adj.持久的；不朽的
folio /ˈfəʊliəʊ/ n.（尤指欧洲早期印刷的）对开本
murderous /ˈmɜː（r）dərəs/ adj.蓄意谋杀的；凶残的
profoundly /prəˈfaʊndli/ adv.深切地；深刻地
remarkable /rɪˈmɑː（r）kəb（ə）l/ adj.卓越的；非凡的
revenge /rɪˈvendʒ/ n.报仇；报复
sublime /səˈblaɪm/ adj.雄伟的；令人赞叹的
tragedian /trəˈdʒiːdiən/ n.悲剧演员；悲剧作家
unequalled /ʌnˈiːkwəld/ adj.无比的；无双的
feudal /ˈfjuːd（ə）l/ adj.封建的；世仇的
immortal /ɪˈmɔː（r）t（ə）l/ adj.不朽的；永恒的
melodrama /ˈmeləˌdrɑːmə/ n.情节剧
Phrases and Expressions
at war 处于交战状态
It’s Greek to me.我对此一窍不通。
neither here nor there 无关紧要的，不相干的
salad days 涉世未深的时代；少不更事的时期
see...as 把……视为
stand the test 经受住考验
the short and the long of it 总而言之；概括地说
Related Information
1.Bernard Levin：伯纳德•列文（1929—2004），20世纪英国最杰出的记者、评论员和专栏作家。他充满智慧的言辞和富有争议的想法几十年来一直是英国民众茶余饭后的话题。
2.Dickens：狄更斯（1812—1870），19世纪英国现实主义文学的主要代表，主要作品有《匹克威克外传》《艰难时世》《双城记》《雾都孤儿》《大卫•科波菲尔》和《远大前程》等。
3.Hans Christian Andersen：汉斯•克里斯蒂安•安徒生（1805—1875），丹麦作家，被尊为“现代童话之父”。他最著名的童话故事有《小锡兵》《海的女儿》《拇指姑娘》《卖火柴的小女孩》《丑小鸭》《皇帝的新装》等。他的作品《安徒生童话》已经被译为150 多种语言，在全球陆续发行和出版，总销量已突破十亿册。
4.Mark Twain ：马克•吐温（1835—1910），美国著名作家和演说家，真名是萨缪尔•兰亨•克莱门（Samuel Langhorne Clemens）。马克•吐温是他的笔名。他经历了美国从初期资本主义到帝国主义的发展过程，其思想和创作也表现为从轻快幽默到辛辣讽刺再到悲观厌世的发展阶段，前期以辛辣的讽刺见长，到了后期语言更为暴露激烈，被誉为“美国文学史上的林肯”。
5.Plutarch：普鲁塔克（公元46—120），罗马帝国时代的希腊作家，因《比较列传》（又称《希腊罗马名人传》或《希腊罗马英豪列传》）一书闻名后世。他的作品在文艺复兴时期深受欢迎，莎士比亚不少剧作都取材于他的记载。
6.Sophocles：索福克勒斯（公元前495—前406？），古希腊雅典三大悲剧作家之一。他既相信神和命运的无比威力，又要求人们具有独立自主的精神，并对自己的行为负责，这是雅典民主政治繁荣时期思想意识的特征。
7.Tolstoy：列夫•尼古拉耶维奇•托尔斯泰（1828—1910），19世纪中期俄国批判现实主义的杰出代表。在文学创作和社会活动中，他提出了“托尔斯泰主义”，对很多政治运动有着深刻影响。列宁曾称托尔斯泰是俄国革命的镜子，是最清醒的现实主义的“天才艺术家”。高尔基说过：“不认识托尔斯泰，就不可能认识俄罗斯。”
Exercise 1
Below is a list of the main ideas of different parts of the text.Read the text again and fill in the blanks to complete the statements.
Exercise 2
Read the text more carefully and decide whether the following statements are True(T)or False(F).
( )1.Shakespeare believed that his First Folio was not of an age,but for ever.
( )2.Shakespeare wrote passages that describe how people feel about love and music.
( )3.Shakespeare told history,melodrama,adventure,love stories and fairy tales.
( )4.Shakespeare’s plays have been adapted into various stories in different countries.
( )5.Shakespeare is well known for acting as complex characters in his plays.
( )6.Shakespeare invented a great number of expressions still widely used at present.
Re-readin g
Read in more detail and complete the following exercises according to the text.
Exercise 1
Answer each of the following questions with the information from the text.
1.Why did Ben Jonson declare that “Shakespeare was not of an age,but for all time” in the preface to the First Folio?
2.What does the writer think of the tragic heroes in Shakespeare’s works?
3.How does the writer illustrate that Shakespeare’s stories transcend time and culture?
4.What contributions did Shakespeare make to the English language?
Exercise 2
Choose the best answer to complete each of the statements according to the text.
1.Students who haven’t read Shakespeare’s works often wonder why_________________.
A.most people read Shakespeare’s dramas and poems
B.most people know that Shakespeare is not of an age
C.Shakespeare is the most popular dramatist in the Western world
D.Ben Jonson knew that Shakespeare would stand the test of time
2.Shakespeare composed simple but profoundly eloquent verse that_________________.
A.describes the range of human emotions
B.explains why he stood the test of time
C.expresses how you feel about love or music or old age
D.introduces more beloved passages in the Western world
3.It can logically be inferred that_________________.
A.Plutarch and Homer told tragedies and comedies
B.Terence and Mark Twain told about adventures
C.Sophocles and Tolstoy told love stories and fairy tales
D.Shakespeare told of soldiers at war and people in trouble
4.The example of “gentle Hamlet forced against his better nature to seek murderous revenge” illustrates that_________________.
A.playing a Shakespearean character is difficult but rewarding
B.Shakespeare’s characters remain popular for their complexity
C.Shakespeare’s share of stock characters are great characters
D.Shakespeare’s tragic heroes are incomparable in literature
5.When you are told you are using Shakespeare’s cliché,your response is likely to be_________________.
A.“Neither here nor there”
B.“The short and the long of it”
C.“It’s Greek to me”
D.“It is the Bard you are quoting”