期末英文选总复习材料.docVIP

A General Review Of Selected Readings from English Literature [Note: These handouts are applicable exclusively to students of Groups 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16 of Class 2013, for their preparation for the upcoming End-of-Term Exam in Selected Readings from English Literature. They are to serve only as additional aids to whatever there is in the Textbook, which remains the primary source of information towards a successful Term Final in the course.] Unit One: Geoffrey Chaucer (1340/1343? – 1400) 1. Modern Text, in Prose, of The General Prologue to the Tales: People want to go on religious pilgrimages to spiritual places in the springtime, when the April rains have soaked deep into the dry ground to water the flowers’ roots; and when Zephyrus, the god of the west wind, has helped new flowers to grow everywhere; and when you can see the constellation Aries in the sky; and when the birds sing all the time. Some people go to other countries, but many people in England choose to go to the city of Canterbury in southeastern England to visit the remains of Thomas Becket, the Christian martyr who had the power of healing people. One spring, when I was making my own humble pilgrimage to Canterbury, I stayed at the Tabard Inn in the city of Southwark. While I was there, a group of twenty-nine people who were also making the same pilgrimage arrived at the hotel. None of them had really known each other before, but they had met along the way. It was a pretty diverse group of people from different walks of life. The hotel was spacious and had plenty of room for all of us. I started talking with these people and pretty soon fit right into their group. We made plans to get up early and continue on the journey to Canterbury together. But before I begin my story, I should probably tell you all about the twenty-nine people in this group—who they were, what they did for a living, and what they were all wearing. I’ll start by telling you about the knight. There was an