Question

      When John Milton, writer of “Paradise Lost”, entered Cambridge University, in 1625, he was already skilled in Latin after seven years of studying it as his second language at St. Paul’s School, London. Like all English boys who prepared for college in grammar schools, he had learned not only to read Latin but also to speak and write it smoothly and correctly. His pronunciation of Latin was English, however, and seemed to have sounded strange to his friends when he later visited Italy.

　　Schoolboys gained their skill in Latin in a bitter way. They kept in mind the rules to make learning by heart easier. They first made a word-for-word translation and then an idiomatic translation into English. As they increased their skill, they translated their English back into Latin without referring to the book and then compared their translation with the original. The schoolmaster was always at hand to encourage them. All schoolmasters believed Latin should be beaten in.

　　After several years of study, the boys began to write compositions in imitation(模仿) of the Latin writers they read. And as they began to read Latin poems, they began to write poems in Latin. Because Milton was already a poet at ten, his poems were much better than those painfully put together by the other boys. During the seven years Milton spent at university, he made regular use of his command of Latin. He wrote some excellent Latin poems, which he published among his works in 1645.

 

59. What does the passage mainly tell about?

　　A. How John Milton wrote “Paradise Lost”.

　　B. How John Milton studied Latin.

　　C. How John Milton became famous.

　　D. How John Milton became a poet.

60. Which of the following is true of John Milton’s pronunciation of Latin?

　　A. It has a strong Italian accent.

　　B. It was bad and difficult to understand.

　　C. It was natural and easy to understand.

D. It has an uncommon accent.

61. It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

　　A. Milton's classmates learned Latin harder but worse than Milton

　　B. Milton hadn’t learned any foreign language except Latin before going to college

　　C. Milton’s Italian friends helped him with Latin when talking

　　D. Milton’s training in Latin was similar to that of the other boys

62. Which of the following is suggested in the passage?

　　A. The schoolmaster mainly helped those who were bad at Latin.

　　B. The schoolboys could repeat Latin grammar rules from memory.

　　C. The schoolmaster usually stood beside the boys with a stick in his hand.

　　D. Some of the schoolboys were quick at writing compositions in Latin.

63. What is the meaning of the underlined part “Latin should be beaten in” that the writer wishes you to understand?

　　A. Schoolboys should be punished if they were lazy to learn Latin.

　　B. Schoolboys should be encouraged if they had difficulty in learning Latin.

　　C. Schoolboys had to study Latin in a hard way.

       D. Schoolboys were expected to master Latin in a short time.

Answer 1

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