GRE真题讲解：“激进的多愁善感- Fanny Fern的作品评论”

　　GRE，全称Graduate Record Examination，中文名称为美国研究生入学考试，适用于除法律与商业外的各专业，由美国教育考试服务处（Educational Testing Service，简称ETS)主办。下面来分享一下：GRE真题讲解：“激进的多愁善感- Fanny Fern的作品评论”

　　Before feminist literary criticism emerged in the 1970s, the nineteenth-century United States writer Fanny Fern was regarded by most critics (when considered at all) as a prototype of weepy sentimentalism—a pious, insipid icon of conventional American culture. 「在女性文学评论于70年代出现以前，十九世纪的美国作家Fern被大多数评论家认为是感伤主义的典型例子 – 一个信神且乏味的美国传统文化代表。Note：这句话开头提到了某时间点之前的情况，在讲老观点（Fern = 感伤 = 传统文化），可以预判后文应该会讲后来的新观点，并进行对比。」Feminist reclamations of Fern, by contrast, emphasize her nonsentimental qualities, particularly her sharply humorous social criticism. 「相反，女权主义者对Fern的重新分析强调了她不沉溺于情感的特质，尤其是她对社会尖锐幽默地批判。Note：出现新观点，即Fern具有批判社会的非感伤派特质。」Most feminist scholars find it difficult to reconcile Fern’s sardonic social critiques with her effusive celebrations of many conventional values. 「大多数的女权主义学者很难去调和Fern的两种特质，一种是对社会的讽刺性批评，另一种是对传统文化的热情。Note：总结前文出现的新老观点矛盾点。可以预判后文应该要尝试解决矛盾点。」Attempting to resolve this contradiction, Harris concludes that Fern employed flowery rhetoric strategically to disguise her subversive goals beneath apparent conventionality. 「试图去解释这个矛盾，Harris认为Fern采用了花哨的写作手法，把她颠覆性的目标掩饰在传统主义叙述之下。」However, Tompkins proposes an alternative view of sentimentality itself, suggesting that sentimental writing could serve radical, rather than only conservative ends by swaying readers emotionally, moving them to embrace social change.「但是Tompkins提出对“多愁善感”的另一种解读，她认为这种感伤的写作手法服务于激进态度，而非只起到保守的作用。（怎么做到呢？）通过影响读者的情绪，使他们接受社会变革，Note：Tompkins在这里提出“多愁善感”这种特质并不是无聊且保守的，而是可以表达出观点的。」

　　1. The passage suggests which of the following about the contradiction mentioned in the highlighted sentence? （即Attempting to resolve this contradiction, Harris concludes that Fern employed flowery rhetoric strategically to disguise her subversive goals beneath apparent conventionality.）

　　A. It was not generally addressed by critics before the 1970s.

　　B. It is apparent in only a small number of Ferns writings.

　　C. It has troubled many feminist critics who study Fern.

　　答案： AC

　　解析：这是一道不定项选择题，我们不仅要读题干提示的定位点，还需要谨慎地对待每一个选项。

　　从题干定位点可以知道这个contradiction是在说Fern既多愁善感，又尖锐地讽刺社会。

　　A选项可以对应到文章首句，1970s以前绝大多数的文学评论者认为Fern就是感伤文学的代表，并未意识到有两种不同的特质，矛盾还不存在，故A正确

　　B选项说这种矛盾只是Fern文学作品里的小部分。可是文章并未对Fern作品中各种特质的占比进行描述，故B不选。

　　C选项可对应到文章第三句话。的确有很多学者认为两种特质难以调和，故C正确。

　　2. It can be inferred from the passage that Tompkins would be most likely to agree with which of the following about the critics mentioned in the passage?

　　A. They accurately characterize the overall result Fern is aiming to achieve

　　B. They are not as dismissive of Fern as some feminist critics have suggested.

　　C. They exaggerate the extent to which Fern intended her writing to serve a social purpose.

　　D. They wrongly assume that sentimental must be a pejorative term.

　　E. They fail to recognize the role that sentimental rhetoric plays to reader’s emotions.

　　答案：D

　　解析：这是一道推理题，我们需要注意审题，而且看选项时候也要注意特殊表达。

　　题干问T对其他文学评论家的态度。回溯原文我们可以发现，除了T，其他的评论家们认为sentimentalism是在无趣地拥护传统。而T不认同，她认为sentimentalism本身并不只是保守的，这种特质本就可以表示激进观点。故选项D正确。本题易选E：他们没能够意识到感伤的修辞手法对读者感情所起到的作用。但需要注意，批评家其实意识到了伤感起到的作用（拥护传统、对立于批判社会），只是这种理解是错的。