原文：
A
A Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, andtravel writer. Robert Louis Stevenson was born at Howard Place, Edinburgh,Scotland, on 13 November 1850. It has been more than 100 years since his death.Stevenson was a writer who caused conflicting opinions about his works. On onehand, he was often highly praised for his expert prose and style by manyEnglish-language critics. On the other hand, others criticised the religiousthemes in his works, often misunderstanding Stevenson's own religious beliefs.Since his death a century before, critics and biographers have disagreed on thelegacy of Stevenson's writing. Two biographers, KF and CP, wrote a biographyabout Stevenson with a clear focus. They chose not to criticise aspects ofStevenson's personal life. Instead, they focused on his writing, and gave highpraise to his writing style and skill.
B
The literary pendulum has swung these days.Different critics have different opinions towards Robert Louis Stevenson'sworks. Though today, Stevenson is one of the most translated authors in theworld, his works have sustained a wide variety of negative criticism throughouthis life. It was like a complete reversal of polarity—from highly positive toslightly less positive to clearly negative; after being highly praised as agreat writer, he became an example of an author with corrupt ethics and lack ofmoral. Many literary critics passed his works off as children's stories orhorror stories, and thought to have little social value in an educationalsetting. Stevenson's works were often excluded from literature curriculumbecause of its controversial nature. These debates remain, and many criticsstill assert that despite his skill, his literary works still lack moral value.
C
One of the main reasons why Stevenson'sliterary works attracted so much criticism was due to the genre of his writing.Stevenson mainly wrote adventure stories, which was part of a popular andentertaining writing fad at the time. Many of us believe adventure stories areexciting, offers engaging characters, action, and mystery but ultimately can'tteach moral principles. The plot points are one-dimensional and rarely offer adeeper moral meaning, instead focusing on exciting and shocking plot twists andthrilling events. His works were even criticised by fellow authors. ThoughStevenson's works have deeply influenced Oscar Wilde, Wilde often joked thatStevenson would have written better works if he wasn't born in Scotland. Otherauthors came to Stevenson's defence, including Galsworthy who claimed thatStevenson is a greater writer than Thomas Hardy.
D
Despite Wilde's criticism. Stevenson'sScottish identity was an integral part of his written works. AlthoughStevenson's works were not popular in Scotland when he was alive, many modernScottish literary critics claim that Sir Walter Scott and Robert LouisStevenson are the most influential writers in the history of Scotland. Whilemany critics exalt Sir Walter Scott as a literary genius because of histechnical ability, others argue that Steven- son deserves the same recognitionfor his natural ability to capture stories and characters in words. Many ofScott's works were taken more seriously as literature for their depth due totheir tragic themes, but fans of Stevenson praise his unique style ofstory-telling and capture of human nature. Stevenson's works, unlike otherBritish authors, captured the unique day to day life of average Scottishpeople. Many literary critics point to this as a flaw of his works. Accordingto the critics, truly important literature should transcend local culture andstories. However, many critics praise the local taste of his literature. Tothis day, Stevenson's works provide valuable insight to life in Scotland duringthe 19th century.
E
Despite much debate of Stevenson's writingtopics, his writing was not the only source of attention for critics. Stevenson'spersonal life often attracted a lot of attention from his fans and criticsalike. Some even argue that his personal life eventuallyoutshone his writing. Stevenson had been plagued with health problems his wholelife, and often had to live in much warmer climates than the cold, drearyweather of Scotland in order to recover. So he took his family to a southpacific island Samoa, which was a controversial decision at that time. However,Stevenson did not regret the decision. The sea air and thrill of adventurecomplimented the themes of his writing, and for a time restored his health.From there, Stevenson gained a love of travelling, and for nearly three yearshe wandered the eastern and central Pacific. Much of his works reflected thislove of travel and adventure that Stevenson experienced in the Pacific islands.It was as a result of this biographical attention that the feeling grew thatinterest in Stevenson's life had taken the place of interest in his works.Whether critics focus on his writing subjects, his religious beliefs, or hiseccentric lifestyle of travel and adventure, people from the past and presenthave different opinions about Stevenson as an author. Today, he remains acontroversial yet widely popular figure in Western literature.
Questions27-31
Choosethe correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Writethe correct letter in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.
27.Stevenson's biographers KF and CP
A.underestimated the role of family played in Stevenson's life.
B.overestimated the writer's works in the literature history.
C.exaggerated Stevenson's religious belief in his works.
D.elevated Stevenson's role as a writer.
28. Themain point of the second paragraph is
A. thepublic give a more fair criticism to Stevenson's works.
B. recentcriticism has been justified.
C. thestyle of Stevenson's works overweigh his faults in his life.
D.Stevenson's works' drawback is lack of ethical nature.
2.9According to the author, adventure stories
A. donot provide plot twists well.
B.cannot be used by writers to show moral values.
C. aremore fashionable art form.
D. canbe found in other's works but not in Stevenson's.
30. Whatdoes the author say about Stevenson's works?
A.Theydescribe the life of people in Scotland.
B. Theyare commonly regarded as real literature.
C. Theywere popular during Stevenson's life.
D. Theytranscend the local culture and stories.
31. Thelifestyle of Stevenson
A .madehis family envy him so much.
B. shouldbe responsible for his death.
C.gained more attention from the public than his works.
D.didn't well prepare his life in Samoa.
Questions32-35
Do thefollowing statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes32-35 on you answer sheet, write
TRUE ifthe statement agrees with the information
FALSE ifthe statement contradicts with the information
NOTGIVEN if there is no information on this
32.Although Oscar Wilde admired Robert Louis Stevenson very much, he believedStevenson could have written greater works.
33.Robert Louis Stevenson encouraged Oscar Wilde to start writing at first.
34.Galsworthy thought Hardy is greater writer than Stevenson is.
35.Critics only paid attention to Robert Louis Stevenson's writing topics.
Questions36-40
Complete the notes using the list of words, A-I, below.
Write the correct letter A-I, in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.
SirWalter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson
A lot of people believe that Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson are the mostinfluential writer in the history of Scotland, but Sir Walter Scott is moreproficient in 36 ________, while Stevenson has better 37 ________. Scott'sbooks illustrate 38 ________especially in terms of tragedy, but Stevenson'sworks bring readers better 39 ________. What's more, Stevenson's understandingof 40 ________made his works have the most unique expression of Scottish people.
A.natural ability
B.romance
C.colorful language
D.critical acclaim
E. humor
F. technical control
G. storytelling
H. depth
I. huma nature
答案：
27. D
28 .D
29. B
30 .A
31. C
32. True
33. Not Given
34.False
35.False
36 .F
37. A
38. H
39 .G
40 .I
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