The Mother Goose Stories, so well known to children all over the world, are comm

The Mother Goose Stories, so well known to children all over the world, are commonly said to have been written by a little old woman for her grandchildren.  According to some people, she lived in Boston,  and her real name was Elizabeth Vergoose. Her son-in-law, a printer named Thomas Fleet, was supposed to have published the famous stories and poems for small children in 1719. However, no copy of this book has ever been found, and most scholars doubt the truth of this story—and doubt, moreover, whether Mother Goose was ever a real person. They point out that the name is a direct translation of the French “Mere I’Oye”. In 1695 the Frenchman Charles Perrault published the first book in which this name was used.  The collection contains eight tales, including “Sleeping Beauty”,  “Cinderella”,  and “Puss in Boots”. But Perrault did not originate these stories; they were already quite popular in his day, and he only collected them. In 1729 there appeared an English translation of Perrault’s collection, Robert Samber’s Histories or Tales of Past Times, Told by Mother Goose(London, 1729),  which introduced “Sleeping Beauty”,  “Little Red-hood”, “Puss in Boots”, “Cinderella” and other Perrault’s tales to English-speaking audiences. These were fairy tales(童话). John Newbery published a book of English rhymes，Mother Goose’s Melody, or Sonnets for the Cradle(London,  undated, 1765),  which switched the focus from fairy tales to nursery rhymes, and in English this was until recently the primary meaning for Mother Goose. A book of poems for children entitled Mother Goose’s Melody was published in England in 1781, and the name “Mother Goose” has been associated with children’s poetry ever since.

56. What is supposed to have happened in 1719?

A. Elizabeth Vergoose wrote the first Mother Goose Stories.

B. The Mother Goose Stories were translated into French.

C. Thomas Fleet published the Mother Goose Stories.

D. Charles Perrault published the first Mother Goose Stories.

57. Most scholars consider Mother Goose to be_______ .

A. a real person

B. a translation from French

C. a collection by Elizabeth Vergoose

D. a book written by a little old woman

58. When Perrault published the first book in 1695,_______.

A. no story of the book had been known to people

B. the stories in the book were created by Perrault

C. few people were interested in the stories of the book

D. stories like “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella” were already very popular

59. The name used in the first book published in 1695 is supposed to have been_______ .

A. Mother Goose

B. Charles Perrault

C. Elizabeth Vergoose

D. Mere I’ Oye

60. When people talk about Mother Goose, they refer to_______ .

A. a printer of Boston

B. a kind of animal

C. children’s poetry

D. the French “Mere I’Oye”

试题答案

56.【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据第一段“Her son-in-law,  a printer named Thomas Fleet,  was supposed to have published the famous stories and poems for small children in 1719. ”，可知句中的the famous stories and poems指的就是上文的The Mother Goose Stories。所以人们认为在1719年出版的是the Mother Goose Stories。

57.【解析】选B。细节理解题。根据第一段. . . most scholars doubt the truth of this story—and doubt,  moreover,  whether Mother Goose was ever a real person.  They point out that the name is a direct translation of the French “Mere I’ Oye”. 可知多数学者认为Mother Goose是从法语翻译过来的。

58.【解析】选D。细节理解题。Perrault的第一本书中的“Sleeping Beauty”,  “Cinderella”,  和“Puss in Boots”是他收集来的，并不是他的原作，在1695年出版该书时，这几个故事已经出名了，故D项正确。

59.【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据第一段中In 1695 the Frenchman Charles Perrault published the first book in which this name was used. 可知，句中的this name指代上句中的“Mere I’ Oye”。

60.【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据文中最后一句话A book of poems for children entitled Mother Goose’s Melody was published in England in 1781,  and the name “Mother Goose” has been associated with children’s poetry ever since. 可知1781年署名为Mother Goose’s Melody的诗集出版以后，Mother Goose就和儿童诗歌联系起来了。