2. 职称英语
  3. The biographer has to dance between two shaky positions with respect to the

The biographer has to dance between two shaky positions with respect to the

游客2024-05-08  22
问题     The biographer has to dance between two shaky positions with respect to the subject (研究对象). Too close a relation, and the writer may lose objectivity. Not close enough, and the writer may lack the sympathy
necessary to any effort to portray a mind, a soul— the quality of life. Who should write the biography of a family, for example? Because of their closeness to the subject, family members may have special information, but by the same token, they may not have the distance that would allow them to be fair. Similarly, a king’s servant might not be the best one to write a biography of that king. But a foreigner might not have the knowledge and sympathy necessary to write the king’s biography—not for a readership from within the kingdom, at any rate.
    There is no ideal position for such a task. The biographer has to work with the position he or she has in the world, adjusting that position as necessary to deal with the subject. Every position has strengths and weaknesses: to thrive, a writer must try to become aware of these, evaluate them in terms of the subject, and select a position accordingly.
    When their subjects are heroes or famous figures, biographies often reveal a democratic motive: they attempt
to show that their subjects are only human, no better than anyone else. Other biographies are meant to change us, to invite us to become better than we are. The biographies of Jesus (耶酥) found in the Bible are in this class.
    Biographers may claim that their account is the "authentic" one. In advancing this claim, they are helped if the biography is "authorized" by the subject; this presumably allows the biographer special access to private information. "Unauthorized" biographies also have their appeal, however, since they can suggest an independence of mind in the biographer. In book promotions, the "unauthorized" characterzsation usually suggests the prospect of juicy gossip that the subject had hoped to suppress. A subject might have several biographies, even several "authentic" ones. We sense intuitively that no one is in a position to tell "the" story of a life, perhaps not even the subject,and this has been proved by the history of biography.  [br] Which of the following statements is true, according to the passage?
选项 A、An authentic biography seldom appeals to its readers.
B、An authentic biography is one authorized by the subject.
C、No one can write a perfect biography.
D、Authorized biographies have a wider readership.
答案 C
解析 正误判断题。通过阅读全文，我们可以领会作者的用意：传记写作难。C项“任何人都不会写出十全十美的传记。”这种看法比较客观，易于接受，也同作者的基本观点相吻合。故为C。
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