Robert Burns, the son of a hard-working and intelligent farmer, was the oldest of seven children. Although always hard pressed financially, their father encouraged his sons with their education. As a result, Burns not only read the Scottish poetry of Ramsay and the collections by Hailes and Herd, but also the works of Pope, Locke, and Shakespeare.
By 1781, Burns had tried his hand at several agricultural jobs without success. Although he had begun writing, and his poems were spread widely in manuscript (手稿), none were published until 1786, when Burns published Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1786), which was an immediate success. Later Burns brought out a second edition of his poems at Edinburgh in 1787, and for two winters he was socially active in the Scottish city. In 1788 he retired to a farm at Ellis land. By 1791 Burns had failed as a farmer, and he moved to Dumfries, where he held a position as a tax collector. He died of illness at 37.
Burns’s art is at its best in songs such as My Heart’s in the Highlands. Some of his songs, such as Auld Lang Syne and Comin’ thro’ the Rye, are among the most familiar and best-loved songs in the English language. But his talent was not limited to songs; two descriptive pieces, Tam o’ Shanter and The Jolly Beggars, are among his masterpieces.
Burns had a fine sense of humor, which was reflected in his satirical (讽刺的), descriptive, and playful poems. His great popularity with the Scots lay in his ability to describe the life of his fellow rural Scots. His use of dialect brought an energetic, much-needed freshness into English poetry.
小题1: What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A．Burn had a wealthy childhood.
B．Burns was best loved by his parents.
C．Burns’s father cared more about his kids’ education.
D．Burns wanted to be a poet when he grew up.小题2:Robert was not officially accepted by readers until______.
A．1781
B．1786
C．1787
D．1791小题3: Robert made his best achievement in art by writing _______.
A．songs
B．poems
C．stories
D．humors小题4: What was Robert’s biggest contribution to English poetry?
A．His satirical style.
B．His descriptiveness.
C．His fine sense of humor.
D．His use of Scottish dialect.小题5: We can conclude from the passage that Robert _______.
A．majored in agriculture when he was a student
B．earned a lot of money by publishing his poems
C．was a failure in managing farms but a success in art
D．showed much interest in collecting tax before he died
小题1:C
小题2:B
小题3:A
小题4:D
小题5:C
题目分析：本文介绍了Robert Burns的生平事迹，他对英国诗歌的贡献和主要的艺术成就。
小题1:细节题：从第一段的句子：their father encouraged his sons with their education.可知Burns的爸爸很关心他的学习。选 C
小题2:细节题：从第二段的句子：Although he had begun writing, and his poems were spread widely in manuscript (手稿), none were published until 1786, when Burns published Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1786), which was an immediate success. 可知在1786年Burns才被读者认可。选B
小题3:从第三段的句子：Burns’s art is at its best in songs such as My Heart’s in the Highlands. Some of his songs, such as Auld Lang Syne and Comin’ thro’ the Rye, are among the most familiar and best-loved songs in the English language.可知Burns的主要艺术成就是在歌曲上。选A
小题4:细节题：从最后一句话：His use of dialect brought an energetic, much-needed freshness into English poetry.可知Burns对英国诗歌的贡献在于他使用了苏格兰方言。选D
小题5:推理题：从第二段的句子：By 1781, Burns had tried his hand at several agricultural jobs without success.可知Burns干农活不行，但在艺术上很成功。选C
点评：本文介绍了Robert Burns的生平事迹，他对英国诗歌的贡献和主要的艺术成就。本文以细节题推理题的考查为主，解此类题需要结合上下文提供的语境和信息进行简单的概括和判断。答题时在文章找到对应的地方，用笔进行标记，这有利于后期有时间检查时可以立刻找到答案的位置。仔细理解作者所讲的意思，再结合选项，通过排除法和自己对全文的把握，选出正确答案。