Mary Barton, particularly in its early chapters, is a moving response to the suffering of the industrial worker in the England of the 1840’s. What is most impressive about the book is the intense and painstaking effort made by the author, Elizabeth Gaskell, to convey the experience of everyday life in working-class homes. Her method is partly documentary in nature: the novel includes such features as a carefully annotated reproduction of dialect, the exact details of food prices in an account of a tea party, an itemized description of the furniture of the Bartons living room, and a transcription (again annotated) of the ballad "The Oldham Weaver". The interest of this record is considerable, even though the method has a slightly distancing effect.
As a member of the middle class, Gaskell could hardly help approaching working-class life as an outside observer and a reporter, and the reader
A. Uncritical enthusiasm
B. Unresolved ambivalence
C. Qualified approval
D. Mild irritation
Passage Three 3
An old Indian story says that the game of chess (国际象棋) was invented by Sissa Ben, Prime Minister of King Shirham. As soon as the invention was finished he gave it to the king, who was glad and asked him what he would like to have in return. To the king’s surprise, what Sissa wanted seemed very little. "Your Majesty, "said the minister, kneeling before the king. "I want nothing but some wheat. Please put a grain of wheat on the first square of the chessboard (棋盘), two on the second, four on the third, eight on the fourth.., and so on, doubling the number for each following square. Give me enough grains to cover the 64 squares of the chessboard."
"You don’t ask for much, my honest servant. You might have asked for gold or money," said the king and then ordered a bag of wheat brought to the palace.
But when the counting began, with one grain for the first square, two for the second, four for the
A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
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