Most cultures have some sort of hero who represents the best values of what its people believe in.The unusual thing about King Arthur is that legends of his heroism have persisted for several centuries and spread far beyond England, the place where they began.

The earliest stories of King Arthur represent him as a warrior who fought and subdued the invading Norsemen in the years around A.D.700.This much of the Arthurian tale is probably based on fact.Whether called Arthur or not, there is a body of evidence supporting the existence of such a warrior.It is the later embellishments of the tale whose authenticity is questionable.According to these, Arthur was born in a castle in Tintagel, on the stormy western coast of England, and because he was the illegitimate son of King Uther Pendragon, he was spirited away by the magician Merlin and his true identity kept from him.He became king after freeing the sword Excalibur from the stone into which it was thrust.He married the beautiful Guinevere and assembled in his court all the noblest knights of the land, including Lancelot, with whom Guinevere would later be unfaithful to him.He was finally defeated in battle by his illegitimate son Mordred, and his body was spirited away to the isle of A Valon.

This romantic tale greatly appealed to the English and the French in the Middle Ages, when the code of chivalry-ideal qualities of knighthood-constituted an important part of many stories.Tales of the heroism of Galahad, Percival, Gawain, and many other of Arthur's knights were circulated as well.

In England today, there are many sites claiming apiece of the Arthurian an legend.There is a mined castle at Tintagel.Near Glastonbury are the remains of an ancient abbey where Arthur's and Guinevere's bodies were supposedly exhumed in the 12th century.Neither of these proves that the legend is true, but they do keep its mystique alive.

【练习】

1.King Arthur's famer was ___________

A.Lancelot

B.Avalon

C.Mordred

D.Uther Pendragon

2.The writer seems to feel that the truth about Arthur is that he ___________.

A.existed

B.was married to Guinevere

C.had many knights

D.was born at Tintagael

3.The information in the second paragraph is mostly presented in ___________.

A.spatial order

B.order from latest to earliest

C.order from earliest to latest

D.order from least persuasive

4.In the last paragraph the word "exhumed" means__________

A.dug up from the grave

B.buried

C.quarreled over

D.built a church around

5.Another good title for this passage would be ___________

A.Kings in the Seventh Century

B.The Knights of the Round Table

C.Real or Legend?

D.Arthur's Marriage to Guinevere.

【答案与题解】

1.D文中第二段提到亚瑟王是国王Uther Pendragon的私生子，所以答案是选项D。

2.A文章第二段第三句话提到大量证据证明是有这样一个战士的存在，不论名字是否叫亚瑟，所以作者认为亚瑟可能是真实的。选项B、C、D选项都是亚瑟传说故事的一部分，所以答案是选项A。

3.C文章第二段从亚瑟王的出生讲起，后又讲他是如何当上国王，又被妻子背叛，最后被私生子杀害。所以是按照时间顺序从早到晚来讲述的，所以答案是选项C。

4.A "exhumed"的意思是"从（坟墓等处）掘出尸首"，所以答案是选项A。

5.C A选项太宽泛，文章主要讲亚瑟王的传奇，没有关注其他17世纪的国王。选项B和选项 D都太片面，只涉及亚瑟王传奇故事的一小部分。用排除法，答案是选项C。

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