首页
登录
职称英语
This is the life of someone who wrote little, spoke little, and about whom
This is the life of someone who wrote little, spoke little, and about whom
游客
2024-10-21
33
管理
问题
This is the life of someone who wrote little, spoke little, and about whom there are few memories. Yet if anyone’s life is worthy of a biography it is surely Abram Petrovich Gannibal, an African slave adopted by Peter the Great, who studied mathematics and cryptography before training as a military engineer, spied for the tsar in Paris, became an expert in fortification, was sent to Siberia, became governor-general of Tallinn, and finally retired to an estate ’in northern Russia as the owner of slaves himself.
These days he is best known as the great grandfather of Alexander Pushkin, whose family liked to think their illustrious forebear was an Abyssinian prince, and a direct descendant of the legendary Carthaginian general whose name he boldly adopted ( spelling it in the Russian way with a "g" ). It was not until the 1990s that an enterprising scholar from Benin was able to challenge centuries of Russian racism and suggest that Gannibal in fact came from black Africa.
Having traveled to Cameroon and paddled up-river in a 30-foot wooden boot to interview the Sultan of Logone, the intrepid Hugh Barnes lends credence to this theory with a tantalizingly plausible interpretation for the mysterious word "Fummo" ( Kotoko for "homeland" ) to be found underneath the elephant portrayed on the family crest. Mr. Barnes does far more than just "join up the dots" between Pushkin’s unfinished novel about his ancestor and its subject. The result is not merely the first detailed account in English of this remarkable life, but the fullest in any language. It is a fascinating read.
With this book, the fruit of research in an impressive list of obscure archives, Mr. Barnes not .only joins the ranks of those journalists able to give academics a good run for their money, but also shows himself to be a travel writer of distinction. The story of his quest to discover Gannibal’s identity in places as farflung as Novoselengisk on the Chinese border, and Pskov at the other end of the Russian empire, is engagingly told. With so little biographical material to go on ( even the fabled portrait of Gannibal turns out to be that of a white man when it is restored), the dots have inevitably to be joined up with a degree of speculation. Just occasionally it leads the author astray--the Winter Palace, for example, was painted first yellow and then crimson before finally acquiring the "icy turquoise facade", which Mr. Barnes claims greeted Gannibal when he received his dismissal from Catherine the Great in 1762.
While plenty of evidence is marshaled to show that Gannibal was the first black intellectual in Europe, his personality remains frustratingly elusive. Nevertheless, this biography of the Russian Othello does much to recast our understanding of 18th century Russian life. [br] What is the purpose of the text?
选项
A、To give us a portrait of a legendary person--Abram Petrovich Gannibal.
B、To reveal the origin of Gannibal.
C、To indicate the connection of Pushkin and Gannibal.
D、To introduce Hugh Barnes’s research work and his book on Gannibal.
答案
D
解析
主旨题。文章以介绍俄国的Abram Petrovich Gannibal为引子,介绍了Hugh Barnes为验证Gannibal的身世做的调查研究,评价了他写的传记。选项B 和C 属于细节问题,也不是作者的意图。选项A 有很强的干扰性,但不是作者的主要目的,只是引子,实际上是Gannibal的目的。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3810926.html
相关试题推荐
Hisenteringtheroomwithoutanynoisereallygavethatlittlegirla______as
______thereislittlewecandotochangethereality,wecannotbetotallyat
Job-huntingisatoughchallengeinfaceofthegraduates.Someonesaysgradu
Thelittleboycameintotheroomafterplayingfootballfor2hours,hisface_
Thisisthelifeofsomeonewhowrotelittle,spokelittle,andaboutwhom
Thisisthelifeofsomeonewhowrotelittle,spokelittle,andaboutwhom
Thisisthelifeofsomeonewhowrotelittle,spokelittle,andaboutwhom
Allparentspushtheirkidsatleastalittle.Wepressureourkidstobepo
Allparentspushtheirkidsatleastalittle.Wepressureourkidstobepo
Allparentspushtheirkidsatleastalittle.Wepressureourkidstobepo
随机试题
[originaltext]I’dliketolookatavitalaspectofe-commerce,andthatisthe
企业发行方发行除股票以外的其他金融工具为权益工具的,应按实际收到的金额,借记“银
人体膳食调查报告的主体内容应包括( )。A.居民食物摄入状况 B.居民能量和
不行径内囊后肢的纤维束是()A.皮质脊髓束 B.皮质脑干束 C.听辐
2013年全国中高等学校中,普通本专科生约是网络本专科生的()倍。 A.3
下列关于风险预警程序的排序中,正确的是()。A.信用信息的收集和传递、风险
(2015年真题)二母宁嗽丸的功效是( )。A.清热化痰,降气平喘 B.清肺
房地产开发项目管理的进度目标包括()A.开发项目达到交付使用条件的总时间目标
用()确定人工定额,通常作为一次性定额使用。A、技术测定法 B、统计分析法
慢性肺脓肿较急性肺脓肿更为常见的体征是A.肺部闻及支气管呼吸音 B.肺部叩诊呈
最新回复
(
0
)