IELTS FOR
ACADEMIC PURPOSES
TEST 1 (READING)
READING
READING PASSAGE 3
You
should spend about 20 minutes on questions 27-40, which are based on Reading
Passage 3 below.
THE
ROMANTIC POETS
|
One of the most
evocative eras in the history of poetry must surely be that of the romantic
movement. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries a group
of poets created a new mood in literary objectives, casting off their
predecessors’ styles in favour of a gripping and forceful art which endures with
us to this day.
Five poets
emerged as the main constituents of this movement – William Wordsworth,
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, George Gordon Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats.
The strength and their works lies undoubtedly in the power of their
imagination. Indeed, imagination was the most critical attribute of the
Romantic poets. Each poet had the ability to portray remarkable images and
visions, although differing to a certain degree in their intensity and
presentation. Nature, mythology and emotion were of great importance and were
used to explore the feelings of the poet himself.
The lives of
the poets often overlapped and tragedy was typical in most of them. Byron was
born in London in 1788. The family moved to Aberdeen soon after, where Byron
was brought up until he inherited the family seat of Newstead Abbey in
Nottinghamshire from his great uncle. He graduated from Cambridge University
in 1808 and left England the following year to embark on a tour of the Mediterranean.
During this tour, he developed a passion for Greece which would later lead to
his death in 1824. He left for Switzerland in 1816 where he was introduced to
Shelley.
Shelley was
born to a wealthy family in 1792. He was educated at Eton and then went on to
Oxford. Shelley was not happy in England, where his colourful lifestyle and
unorthodox beliefs made him unpopular with the establishment. In 1818 he left
for Italy, where he was reunited with Byron. However, the friendship was
tragically brought to an end in July 1822, when Shelley was drowned in a
boating accident off the Italian coast. In somewhat dramatic form, Shelley’s
body was cremated on the beach, witnessed by a small group of friends,
including Byron.
Historically,
Shelley and Byron are considered to have been the most outspoken and radical
of the Romantic poets. By contrast, Wordsworth appears to have been of a
pleasant and acceptable personality, even receiving the status of Poet Laureate
in 1843. He was born in 1770
in Cockermouth, Cumbria. By the time he entered his
early teens, both his parents had died. As he grew older, Wordsworth developed
a passion for writing.
In 1798
Wordsworth published a collection of poems, with Coleridge, whom he had met,
a few years earlier, when he settled in Somerset with his sister Dorothy. He married
in 1802 and, as time passed, he deserted his former political views and
became increasingly acceptable to popular society. Indeed, at the time of his
death in the spring of 1850, he had become one of the most sought-after poets
of his time.
Wordsworth
shared some of the years at Dove Cottage in Somerset with his friend and poetical
contemporary, Coleridge. Coleridge was born in Devon in 1772. He was a bright
young scholar but never achieved the same prolific output of his fellow Romantic
poets. In 1804 he left for a position in Malta for three years. On his return
he separated from his wife and went to live with the Wordsworths, where he
produced a regular periodical.
With failing
health, he later moved to London. In 1816 he went to stay with a doctor and
his family. He remained with them until his death in 1834. During these
latter years, his poetry was abandoned for other forms of writing equally
outstanding in their own right.
Perhaps the
most tragic of the Romantic poets was Keats. Keats was born in London in
1795. Similar to Wordsworth, both his parents had died by his early teens. He
studied as a surgeon, qualifying in 1816. However, poetry was his great
passion and he decided to devote himself to writing. For much of his adult
life Keats was in poor health and fell gravely ill in early 1820. He knew he
was dying and in the September of that year he left for Rome hoping that the
more agreeable climate might ease his suffering. Keats died of consumption in
February 1821 at the age of twenty-five.
It is sad that
such tragedy often accompanies those of outstanding artistic genius. We can
only wonder at the possible outcome had they all lived to an old age. Perhaps
even Byron and Shelley would have mellowed with the years, like Wordsworth. However,
the contribution to poetry by all five writers is immeasurable. They introduced
the concepts of individualism and imagination, allowing us to explore our own
visions of beauty without retribution. We are not now required to restrain
our thoughts and poetry to that of the socially acceptable.
|
Questions 27-32
Do the following statements agree with
the information given in Reading Passage 3?
Write
TRUE
|
if the statement agrees with the information
|
FALSE
|
if the statement contradicts the information
|
NOT GIVEN
|
if
there is no information on this
|
27
|
The Romantic Movement
lasted for more than a century _____________________
|
28
|
The Romantic
poets adopted a style dissimilar to that of poets who had come before them. _____________________
|
29
|
Unfortunately,
the works of the Romantics had no lasting impression on art. _____________________
|
30
|
The Romantics
had no respect for any style of poetry apart from their own. _____________________
|
31
|
The Romantics
were gifted with a strong sense of imagination. _____________________
|
32
|
Much of the
Romantics’ poetry was inspired by the natural world _____________________
|
Questions 33-39
Complete the table below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each
answer.
|
Date of Birth
|
Education
|
|
Byron
|
1788
|
Cambridge University
|
went on a journey around 33 _____________; came to love
34 _____________
|
Shelley
|
1792
|
Eton
and Oxford University
|
some
people disapproved of 35 _____________ and the beliefs he held
|
Wordsworth
|
1770
|
_____________
|
became more accepted when he changed his 36 _____________
|
Coleridge
|
1772
|
bright
scholar
|
his 37
_____________ was smaller than the other Romantic poets’; left the
Wordsworths due to 38 _____________
|
Keats
|
1795
|
qualified as a surgeon
|
left England for a change of 39 _____________
|
Questions 17-19
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the
passage for the answer.
40. According to the writer, the Romantic
poets left us with the ideas of
_______________________
ANSWER
KEY
No comments:
Post a Comment
thank you for visiting my blog and for your nice comments