Roger Rosenblatt''s book Black Fiction,in attempting to apply literary rather than sociopolitical criteria to its subject,successfully alters the approach taken by most previous studies. As Rosenblatt notes,criticism of Black writing has often served as a pretext for expounding on Black history. Addison Gayle''s recent work,for example, judges the value of Black fiction by overtly political standards,rating each work according to the notions of Black identity which it propounds.

　　Although fiction assuredly springs from political circumstances，its authors react to those circumstances in ways other than ideological,and talking about novels and stories primarily as instruments of ideology circumvents much of the fictional enterprise. Rosenblatt''s literary analysis discloses affinities and connections among works of Black fiction which solely political studies have overlooked or ignored.

　　Writing acceptable criticism of Black fiction,however, presupposes giving satisfactory answers to a number of questions. First of all,is there a sufficient reason,other than the facial identity of the authors,to group together works by Black authors？Second,how does Black fiction make itself distinct from other modern fiction with which it is largely contemporaneous？ Rosenblatt shows that Black fiction constitutes a distinct body of writing that has an identifiable， coherent literary tradition. Looking at novels written by Black over the last eighty years, he discovers recurring concerns and designs independent of chronology. These structures are thematic,and they spring,not surprisingly,from the central fact that the Black characters in these novels exist in a predominantly white culture,whether they try to conform to that culture or rebel against it.

　　Black Fiction does leave some aesthetic questions open. Rosenblatt''s thematic analysis permits considerable objectivity;he even explicitly states that it is not his intention to judge the merit of the various works — yet his reluctance seems misplaced, especially since an attempt to appraise might have led to interesting results. For instance, some of the novels appear to be structurally diffuse. Is this a defect,or are the authors working out of,or trying to forge, a different kind of aesthetic?In addition,the style of some Black novels, like Jean Toomer''s Cane,verges on expressionism or surrealism;does this technique provide a counterpoint to the prevalent theme that portrays the fate against which Black heroes are pitted,a theme usually conveyed by more naturalistic modes of expression？

　　In spite of such omissions,what Rosenblatt does include in his discussion makes for an astute and worthwhile study. Black Fiction surveys a wide variety of novels,bringing to our attention in the process some fascinating and little-known works like James Weldon Johnson''s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. Its argument is tightly constructed,and its forthright,lucid style exemplifies levelheaded and penetrating criticism.

　　1.The author of the text is primarily concerned with __________.

　　[A] evaluating the soundness of a work of criticism.

　　[B] comparing various critical approaches to a subject.

　　[C] discussing the limitations of a particular kind of criticism.

　　[D] summarizing the major points made in a work of criticism.

　　2.The author of the text believes that Black Fiction would have been improved had Rosenblatt __________.

　　[A] evaluated more carefully the ideological and historical aspects of Black fiction.

　　[B] attempted to be more objective in his approach to novels and stories by Black authors.

　　[C] explored in greater detail the recurrent thematic concerns of Black fiction throughout its history.

　　[D] assessed the relative literary merit of the novels he analyzes thematically.

　　3.The author''s discussion of Black Fiction can be best described as __________.

　　[A] pedantic and contentious.

　　[B] critical but admiring.

　　[C] ironic and deprecating.

　　[D] argumentative but unfocused.

　　4.The author of the text employs all of the following in the discussion of Rosenblatt''s book EXCEPT： __________.

　　[A] rhetorical questions.

　　[B] specific examples.

　　[C] comparison and contrast.

　　[D] definition of terms.

　　5.The author of the text refers to James Weldon Johnson''s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man most probably in order to __________.

　　[A] point out affinities between Rosenblatt''s method of thematic analysis and earlier criticism.

　　[B] clarify the point about expressionistic style made earlier in the passage.

　　[C] qualify the assessment of Rosenblatt''s book made in the first paragraph of the passage.

　　[D] give a specific example of one of the accomplishments of Rosenblatt''s work.

　　[答案與考點解析]

　　「答案」A

　　「考點解析」這是一道中心主旨題。通過閱讀本文各段尤其是首段第一句和尾段第一句，我們可以推斷出本題的正確選項應(yīng)該是突出“evaluating”（評價）一詞的選項A.考生在解題時一定要注意段落的中心主旨句，以及每句話所表達(dá)的內(nèi)含和作用。

　　「答案」D

　　「考點解析」這是一道審題定位與反推題。從本題題干中的“would have been improved”可推斷出考生要在原文中尋找到談?wù)撃骋环矫妗安蛔恪钡牡胤�。尾段首句的“such omissions”（這樣的忽略）暗示本題的答案信息來源應(yīng)該在倒數(shù)第二段。通過仔細(xì)閱讀和理解倒數(shù)第二段，可將本題的答案信息來源確定在倒數(shù)第二段的第二句。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第二段第二句的內(nèi)容進(jìn)行反推，就可得出本題的正確選項是D.考生在解題時一定要具備利用上下段之間的關(guān)系迅速審題定位的能力，更要具備反推即逆向思維的能力。

　　「答案」B

　　「考點解析」這是一道歸納推導(dǎo)題。從本題的題干可以看出本題的答案信息來源不局限于某一段或某一句，而是涉及全文的從頭至尾。但是只要抓住全文的中心主旨句就可以得出本題的正確答案B.本文的中心主旨句是第一段的首句和尾段的首句�？忌�在解題時一定要抓住中心主旨句，并且對它們所表達(dá)的內(nèi)容要進(jìn)行分析和歸納。

　　「答案」D

　　「考點解析」這是一道寫作手法題型。本題型旨在考察考生的語言基本功。這是一道較難的題目。本題A、B、C所涉及的內(nèi)容可分別在第三段的第二、三句、第四段的第三句以及第一段的第三句里找到。第一段的第三句涉及B和C兩個選項。選項D“definition of terms”（給詞語下定義）在原文中沒有涉及，故本選項是正確答案�？忌�在解題時一定要注意英文中常見的寫作手段。

　　「答案」D

　　「考點解析」這是一道例（舉）證題。通過題干中的“Weldon Johnson''s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man”可將本題的答案信息來源迅速確定在尾段的第二句，本句中的“l(fā)ike”（例如）一詞暗示本題的正確選項應(yīng)該是含有“specific example”的選項D.考生在解題時一定要注意原文中某些關(guān)鍵詞的應(yīng)用和理解。

　　[參考譯文]

　　羅杰？羅森布萊特的著作《黑人小說》，試圖運用文學(xué)的而不是社會政治的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來研究黑人小說，這成功地改變了大多數(shù)早先研究的方法。如羅森布萊特所注意到的，黑人著作的評論經(jīng)常被充當(dāng)為一種闡述黑人歷史的借口。例如，阿狄森？蓋爾的比較新著作，就用了公開的政治標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來判定黑人小說的價值，按照作品中所提出的黑人個體的各觀念對每個作品進(jìn)行評價。

　　雖然小說確實是源于政治環(huán)境，但作者反映這些環(huán)境的方法是非意識形態(tài)的，如把小說和故事的討論作為意識形態(tài)的工具，則會忽視了許多小說的成就。羅森？布萊特對黑人文學(xué)的分析揭示了黑人小說著作間的密切關(guān)系和聯(lián)系，而純粹政治研究中忽視了這些聯(lián)系。

　　然而寫出為人所接受的黑人小說評論的前提是要對許多問題做出令人滿意的回答。首先，除了這些作家的種族身份外，是否有充分的理由可將黑人作家的作品歸于一類？其次，黑人小說如何將自己和其他現(xiàn)代小說分開？它們大半屬于同一時代的作品。羅森布萊特的研究闡明了黑人小說已構(gòu)成了一個與眾不同的作品群體，它們具有可識別的、連貫的文學(xué)傳統(tǒng)。著眼于比較近八十年黑人創(chuàng)作的小說，羅森布萊特揭示了小說中與時代無關(guān)而反復(fù)出現(xiàn)的側(cè)重點和布局。這些結(jié)構(gòu)與主題相關(guān)，并不讓人感到驚奇的是，它們源于這樣一個中心事實，即小說中的黑人生存在一個白人文化支配的環(huán)境中，不管他們試圖迎合這一文化還是反叛這一文化。

　　《黑人小說》確實對一些美學(xué)的問題沒有給予回答，羅森布萊特的主題分析允許相當(dāng)?shù)目陀^性；他甚至直言，對各個作品的優(yōu)劣判定不是他工作的意圖——然而他的猶豫看起來是不合時宜的，尤其是因為嘗試評定可能會導(dǎo)致一些有趣的結(jié)果。例如，一些小說所顯示的結(jié)構(gòu)散漫冗長。這是否是一個缺陷，或者是作者這樣做是出于一種美學(xué)考慮，還是作者試圖創(chuàng)造一種不同類的美學(xué)？另外，象金？圖莫的《手杖》那樣的黑人小說風(fēng)格，近于表現(xiàn)主義和超現(xiàn)實主義；難道這個技巧只是用更自然主義的表現(xiàn)方式為表達(dá)流行的黑人英勇反抗命運的主題提供一個對應(yīng)物嗎？

　　盡管存在這些遺漏，羅森布萊特所做的包括他的討論，已包括了足以構(gòu)成精明而有價值的研究內(nèi)容�！逗谌诵≌f》考察了廣泛的小說，在此過程中我們的注意力被吸引到一些引人入勝但鮮為人知的作品上，如詹姆士？威爾頓？約翰遜的《一個曾是有色人的自傳》。這本書的主題結(jié)構(gòu)緊密，直率、明晰的風(fēng)格例示了一種冷靜而敏銳的文學(xué)評論。