Reading Comprehension(20 points)

　　Directions：There are 4 reading passages in this part.Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements.For each of them there are four choices marked A，B，C and D.You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with o single line throught the center.

　　41、根據(jù)以下內(nèi)容回答41-60題：

　　Washington Irving was America’S first man of letters to be known internationally.His works were received enthusiastically both in England and in the United States.He was，in fact，one of the most successful writers of his time in either country，delighting a large public and at the same time winning the admiration of fellow writers like Scott in Britain and Poe and Haw-thorne in the United States.The respect in which he was held partly owing to the man himself，with his warm friendliness，his good sense，his urbanity，his uplifting spirits，his artistic inte-grity，his love of both the Old World and the New.Thackeray described Irving as“a gentle-man，who，though himself born in no very high sphere，was most finished，polished，witty;so-cially the equal of the most refined Europeans.”In England he was granted an honorary degreefrom Oxford--an unusual honor for a citizen of a.young，uncultured nation--and he received the medal of the Royal Society of Literature.America made him ambassador to Spain.

　　Irving’s background provides little to explain his literary achievements.A gifted but deli-cate child，he had little schoolin9，He studied law，but without zeal，and never did,practice seriously.He was immune to his strict Presbyterian home environment，frequenting b&h social gatherings and the theater.

　　The main point of the first paragraph is that Washington Irving was__________ .

　　A.America’s first man of letters

　　B.a writer who had great success both in and outside"his own country

　　C.a man who was able to move from literature to politics

　　D.a man whose personal charm enabled him to get by with basically inferior work

　　42、What is implied by the mention of Scott，Poe and Hawthorne?

　　A.Irving enjoyed great popular admiration.

　　B.Scott，Poe and Hawthorne were primarily responsible for Irving's success.

　　C.Irving’s work was not only popular，but also of high literary quality.

　　D.More Americans than Britains admired Irvin9.