从3篇阅读材料中解读SSAT阅读考试的难度

第二篇阅读材料：

A type of human life this forest old;

All leafy, wither'd, blooming, teeming, blasted;

Bloom that the reign of summer hath outlasted,

And early sere, and blight that flaunts in gold;

And grass, like sorrow, springing from the mould,

Choking the wholesome tree; and verdure wasted,

Like peace; and berries, like our bliss, untasted;

And thorns, like adverse chances, uncontroll'd.

These flowers are joy that ne'er shall form a wreath;

These lilies are unsure affection crown'd

试题：

1.In this poem, our lives are compared to

(A) untasted bliss

(B) this forest old

(C) unsure affection

(D) the wholesome tree

(E) the reign of summer

2.In line 7, "berries, like our bliss, untasted suggests that

(A) the berries are dying

(B) the fruit will go uneaten

(C) berries do not change color

(D) the forest will no longer produce fruit

(E) winter has damaged the berries beyond repair

3. The phrase "grass, like sorrow...Choking the wholesome tree" (lines 5-6) suggests that

(A) lifeis like a thorn

(B) grass corrupts trees

(C) grassis bad for trees' growth

(D) life is made more difficult by sadness

(E) life is not as wholesome as a tree surrounded by grass

4. With which of the following statements about death would the author be most likely to agree?

(A) Deathis an inevitable part of life.

(B) People should try not to think about death.

(C) Death often comes suddenly and unannounced.

(D) Death usually comes when life is quiet and still.

(E) Having no appreciation of nature is like being dead.

分析：

这篇诗歌的作者是英国作家Charles Whitehead (1804-1862)，作者后来移民到澳大利亚并在那里去世，这是一篇典型的比喻诗歌，作者把人生的种种和森林中的树木花果进行了比较，道出了人生真谛，对还在初中的孩子来说，这篇诗歌的很多现实意义可能还比较陌生，但不失是一种给孩子的启迪，让他们更加珍惜学习的时光和父母在一起的快乐体验。

要理解这篇文章的关键在于抓住比喻的载体和对象：

Human life-------this forest old

有些学生会问为什么不是old forest?从而对整篇诗歌无法理解。我想解释这边写forest old是为了和后面几句“d”结尾的字做押韵，而且在很多地中海语言形容词是可以放在名词之后的，如法语。

Grass----àsorrow that choke the wholesome tree

Verdure（翠绿）-----àpeace

Berries---àuntasted bliss（祝福）

Thorn ---àuncontrolle dadverse chances

Flowers---àjoy

Lilies--àplants that are with unsure affections

这篇诗歌的作者对生活还是比较悲观的，作者认为杂草会弄死一颗健康的树，导致翠绿色的树叶全部掉落;树上结的果子还未来得及品尝就已凋零；芒刺就像祸一般不知何时降临在人的身上，而开心的花朵永远不能形成完整的花环(wreath)，正如我们中国人的古话说道的：福无双至，祸不单行。而这些目前盛开的水仙花，头上都带着不明确的不安全感。

如果要找一位中国诗人来表达类似的情感，那李白的“人生得意须尽欢，莫使金樽空对月”会是不错的选择。两者都表达了生活中种种的不确定性，也许抓住当下是最好的选择。

答题：

第一题：答案为B。

作者把人生比作森林。

第二题：答案为B。

很多Bliss（祝福）人们还未来得及品尝就消失了。

第三题：答案为D。

Grass（杂草）或者一些不幸的事情会让平稳的生活(wholesome tree)变得举步维艰。

第四题：答案为C。

诗歌中文中把死亡比做了Thorn（芒刺），它们出现时是Uncontrolled（无法控制），表达了作者对死亡的观点：死亡不是人类所能控制的。