J. R. R. Tolkien: The father of fantasy literature“現(xiàn)代奇幻文學(xué)之父”托爾金

李全忠

英國作家托爾金被譽(yù)為“現(xiàn)代奇幻文學(xué)之父”。他的作品享譽(yù)世界，《霍比特人》《魔戒》等廣為人知，是奇幻文學(xué)中的經(jīng)典。

1?On?January?3，?1892，?Mabel?Tolkien?gave?birth?to?her?first?son，?John?Ronald?Reuel?Tolkien，?in?South?Africa.?Known?thereafter?as?J.?R.?R.，?he?would?go?on?to?create?a?literary?universe?that?would?become?known?throughout?the?world，?making?him?one?of?the?most?famous?writers?of?all?time.

2?Tolkien?s?mother，?however，?did?not?live?to?see?her?son?s?success—she?died?when?he?was?only?12.?But?it?was?she?who?laid?the?foundation?for?his?later?career?by?reading?him?fairy?tales?and?legends?and?teaching?him?Latin，?French?and?German.

3?Tolkien?stood?out?as?an?exceptionally?good?student.?Fascinated?by?languages?and?old?English?myths，?he?and?some?classmates?at?King?Edward?s?School?founded?their?own?semi?secret?society?called?the?Tea?Club?Barrovian?Society，?where?they?discussed?literature?and?poetry.?During?this?time，?Tolkien?also?began?to?write.?It?wasn?t?long?before?he?was?inventing?his?own?language—something?he?would?also?apply?to?his?later?novels.

4?Tolkien?first?studied?the?classical?languages?of?Latin?and?Greek?at?Exeter?College，?Oxford，?before?enthusiastically?turning?to?Welsh.

5?Tolkien?originally?intended?The?Hobbit?to?be?a?bedtime?story?for?his?children.?He?invented?the?word?“hobbits”?and?imagined?them?to?be?small?human?like?creatures?with?fur?on?their?feet，?who?lived?in?caves.?He?also?gave?hobbits?some?characteristics?that?he?himself?possessed：?a?love?of?nature，?simple?cooking?and?an?aversion?（厭惡）?to?travel.

6?Many?years?passed?before?Tolkien?submitted?the?story?to?a?publisher.?When?The?Hobbit?was?published?in?1937，?it?captivated?（迷?。?readers?of?all?ages?and?quickly?gained?fame.

7?However，?it?took?15?years?until?Tolkien?published?The?Lord?of?the?Rings.?After?all，?writing?was?his?hobby，?not?his?profession.

8?The?fantasy?epic?The?Lord?of?the?Rings?was?published?in?the?mid?1950s?and?made?the?British?professor?the?author?of?the?century.?Tolkien?has?since?become?a?cult?（作為偶像崇拜的）?figure，?with?The?Lord?of?the?Rings?alone?selling?over?150?million?copies?to?date.

9?Although?the?world?famous?author?died?in?1973，?his?stories?still?captivate?the?world?today.

Ⅰ.?Choose?the?best?answers?according?to?the?text

Detail?????1.?What?contributed?to?Tolkien?s?later?career？

A.?His?early?efforts.

B.?His?family?background.

C.?His?mother?s?early?education.

D.?His?love?for?writing?fairy?tales.

Detail???2.?What?do?we?know?about?the?Tea?Club?Barrovian?Society？

A.?It?was?founded?publicly.

B.?It?involved?literature?and?poetry.

C.?It?was?the?birthplace?of?The?Hobbit.

D.?It?encouraged?Tolkien?to?invent?his?language.

Inference?????3.?Why?did?it?take?Tolkien?so?many?years?to?publish?The?Lord?of?the?Rings？

A.?He?worked?as?a?professor?after?all.

B.?He?lacked?inspiration?to?write?novels.

C.?He?couldn?t?find?a?proper?publisher.

D.?He?was?not?a?full?time?writer.

Inference????4.?In?which?of?the?following?ways?does?the?author?develop?the?text？

A.?Through?cause?and?effect?analysis.

B.?Through?comparisons?and?examples.

C.?By?presenting?research?findings.

D.?By?following?the?order?of?time.

Ⅱ.?Discussion

Have?you?ever?read?Tolkien?s?works？?Do?you?like?them？?Why？

Ⅰ.?Discover?useful?structures?in?the?text

1.?It?is...who...，it引導(dǎo)強(qiáng)調(diào)句型

But?it?was?she?who?laid?the?foundation?for?his?later?career?by?reading?him?fairy?tales?and?legends?and?teaching?him?Latin，?French?and?German.?但正是通過給他讀童話故事和傳說并教他拉丁語、法語和德語，她為他后來的職業(yè)生涯奠定了基礎(chǔ)。

2.?It?isn?t?long?before...?沒多久……

It?wasn?t?long?before?he?was?inventing?his?own?language—something?he?would?also?apply?to?his?later?novels.?不久之后，他發(fā)明了自己的語言風(fēng)格——他后來的小說中也使用到了。

Ⅱ.?Memorize?some?text?centered?chunks

give?birth?to?生育;產(chǎn)生;誕生

throughout?the?world?全世界;舉世

lay?the?foundation?奠定基礎(chǔ)

stand?out?脫穎而出;突出;引人注目

gain?fame?獲得聲望

after?all?畢竟

to?date?迄今;到目前為止