Question

Unconventional in every way, Edward Estlin Cummings made striking use of grammar. His arts were poetry, painting, and drama, and in all of them he was an experimenter and innovator. The poetry—for which he is best remembered—was marked by strange combinations of words and expressions and produced in very strange printing. The unusual techniques that Cummings used served to present his ideas more forcefully and effectively than would have been the case with more ordinary styles.

Cummings was born in Cambridge, Mass, on Oct. 14, 1894. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1915 and received a master's degree in 1916. During World War I he served as an ambulance driver in France. He spent six months in a detention camp because of his friendship with another American who had supposedly criticized the Allied war effort. This experience increased his distrust for all officialdom（官場）, a distrust that showed itself in many of his later poems as well as in his first book, ‘The Enormous Room', published in 1922.

Between the two world wars Cummings divided his time between Paris and New York City. His first book of verse was ‘Tulips and Chimneys' (1923). In all he wrote 12 volumes of verse, which were collected in ‘Complete Poems' (1968). The strangeness of his style was criticized by some, but others found it meaningful.

Among Cummings' plays were ‘Him', first performed in 1927, and ‘Tom' (1935), a work based on ‘Uncle Tom's Cabin'. An experimental prose（散文） book, ‘Eimi' (1933), recorded a 36-day visit to the Soviet Union.

Cummings died at his home in North Conway, N.H., on Sept. 3, 1962. He was the second most widely read poet in the United States, after Robert Frost. He was buried in Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts.

61. The text is mainly about Edward Estlin Cummings’ ________.

A. life and works             B. greet artistic abilities

C. creative ideas              D. influence on American literature

62. Cummings was chiefly famous as _________.

A. a novelist       B. an artist       C. a poet      D. a playwright

63. What does the underlined part “This experience” refer to?

A. Cummings served as a driver in France.

B. Cummings spent half a year in prison.

C. Cummings made friends with an enemy.

D. Cummings criticized the countries fighting against Germany.

64. What do we know about Cummings from the text?

A. His writing style was unique.

B. He wrote three plays during his life.

C. He published his first book of poetry in 1922.

D. His poems were seldom read in the United States.

65. The passage is mainly developed by _______.

A. giving questions              B. examining difference  

C. following the time order        D. making comparisons

Answer 1

ACBAC