首页
登录
职称英语
Almost a century after his death, the well-known French author Jules Verne ha
Almost a century after his death, the well-known French author Jules Verne ha
游客
2023-12-15
28
管理
问题
Almost a century after his death, the well-known French author Jules Verne has once again managed to fire the imagination of people around the world, this time with an unpublished novel, Paris in the 20th Century. The manuscript, completed in 1863 but long locked away in a safe, was uncovered only in 1989 by Verne’s great- grandson, and it appeared in English translation just a few months ago. This 19th-century vision of the future describes life among skyscrapers of glass and steel, high-speed trains, gas-powered automobiles, calculators, fax machines and a global communications network. The prescience of these forecasts matches what one would have expected from the author who introduced countless readers of his age to a host of technological marvels, from submarines to helicopters and spacecraft.
But in fact, Paris in the 20th Century is a tragedy. It describes the life of an idealistic young man who struggles to find happiness in the fiercely materialistic dystopia that Paris has become by 1920. Like George Orwell’s 1984, Verne’s novel is a grim and troubling comment on the human costs of technological progress.
That such a message should come from Jules Verne proves surprising to many. Most people--particularly in America--assume that Verne wrote about the wonders of technology because he was himself an optimistic scientist. Many also believe Verne wrote primarily for children, crafting novels that were invariably exciting but intellectually shallow. These misconceptions show how Verne’s current status has completely shadowed the reality of his life and writings. They are part of the continuing misunderstanding of this author, a result of some severely abridged translations and simplified adaptations for Hollywood cinema.
In truth, Verne was neither a scientist nor an engineer: he was simply a writer--and a very prolific one. Over his lifetime, Verne produced more than 2 novels. Yet his works were carefully grounded in fact, and his books inspired many leading scientists, engineers, inventors and explorers, including William Beebe (the creator and pilot of the first bathysphere), Admiral Richard Byrd (a pioneer explorer of Antarctica), Yuri Gagarin (the first human to fly in space) and Nell Armstrong (the first astronaut to walk on the moon). Verne’s novels were thus profoundly influential, and perhaps uniquely so.
Although novels with scientific foundation had been written before, Verne raised the technique of scientific description to a fine art. And this type of science fiction, based on accurate descriptions of science and technology, has tended to dominate the trend ever since. But Verne’s devotion to technical detail does not reflect an confidence in the virtues of science. Indeed, his earliest writings--a mixture of plays, essays and short stories--were distinctly critical of science and technology.
It was only the strict monitor of his publisher, Pierre-Jules Hetzel, that steered Verne toward what eventually made him famous: fast-paced adventure tales heavily flavored with scientific lessons and an optimistic ideology. And although his own attitude was quite different, Verne offered little resistance to Hetzel. After the release of his initial book in 1863, the first in a series of novels published under the banner "Extraordinary Voyages: Voyages in Known and Unknown Worlds", Verne explained to his friends at the Paris stock market (where he had been working part-time to make ends meet) about his accomplishment. "My friends I’ve just written a novel in a new style ... If it succeeds, it will be a gold mine." He was right.
Under Hetzel’s continual guidance, Verne created one novel after another, each fundamentally of this same type. But most of the works published after Hetzel’s death in 1886 show Verne returning to his original themes championing environmentalism, anticapitalism and social responsibility while questioning the benefits that science and technology could bring to an imperfect world. To understand how Verne’s later writings could differ so completely from popular image of him requires a closer understanding of the man and his times. [br] Which of the following is NOT one of the characteristics of Verne’s novels?
选项
A、Singing high praise of science.
B、A fine art in description of science.
C、Having an optimistic tone.
D、Well grounded in facts.
答案
A
解析
细节题。通过题干的关键词characteristics,我们可以把该题定位到文章的第四、五、六段。这3段从各个角度阐述了Verned,说的写作手法和写作特点。从第五段最后一句话可知,其小说更多是对科学的批判而不是唱赞歌,所以为答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3275858.html
相关试题推荐
Themiddleofthe18thcenturywaspredominatedbyanewlyrisingliteraryform,
DavidLandes,authorofTheWealthandPovertyofNations:WhySomeAreSoRi
AuthorEmmaHeathcote-Jameshasspentnineyearslookingintoreal-lifeghost
AuthorEmmaHeathcote-Jameshasspentnineyearslookingintoreal-lifeghost
Artcanbemadeofalmostanything,includingsubstances
Artcanbemadeofalmostanything,includingsubstances
Artcanbemadeofalmostanything,includingsubstances
Artcanbemadeofalmostanything,includingsubstances
Artcanbemadeofalmostanything,includingsubstances
Artcanbemadeofalmostanything,includingsubstances
随机试题
[originaltext]Atonetime,computerswereexpectedlargelytoremovethene
Amanis48yearsold.Heaskstheothermanhowoldheis.Theothermananswer
[originaltext]Hello,everyone!(20)Thereisageneralperceptionthatwecan
[originaltext]Thankyouallforcomingtomytalkthisevening.It’sniceto
初中心理健康《借我一双慧眼》 一、考题回顾 题目来源5月19日下午河南省
《建设工程质量管理条例》的出台对整个工程建设强制性标准工作具有重要意义,包括(
进行性脊肌萎缩的首发症状最常见为A.一手或双手小肌肉萎缩、无力 B.大小便失禁
关于城市空间布局的表述中,错误的有( )。A.大型体育场馆应避开城市主干路,减
都说“贫贱夫妻百事哀”,这句话用在小乔和小苏夫妻俩身上再贴切不过了。小苏家里很穷
某工艺品厂为增值税一般纳税人,2021年1月2日销售给甲企业200套工艺品,每套
最新回复
(
0
)