GRE阅读真题：“拉丁悲剧是谁写的”？

　　“拉丁悲剧是谁写的”

　　The manuscripts of the eight extant Latin tragedies identify the plays as the Marci Lucii Annei Senecae Tragoediae. 八部拉丁悲剧的手稿可以说明这些作品是Marci Lucii Annei Senecae的悲剧。Since nobody of that name is known, modern scholars believe the dramas to be the work of Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger, the well-known philosopher, orator and politician.但是因为没有人认识叫这个名字的人，所以现代学者认为这些戏剧是Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger的作品。Clearly the tragedies were written during Seneca’s lifetime这些剧作显然是在Seneca那个年代写的（注意这里有个冒号，冒号前的部分会需要更细致地理解，而冒号后的内容要考虑作者为什么要提及这些细节）: internal references to earlier poets, most notably Ovid, indicate that the dramas cannot have been composed prior to the second decade C.E., and the plays must have been written by 96C.E., when Quintilian quotes Medea, one of the tragedies.

　　It is remarkably, however, that Seneca himself never mentions the plays, since there are certain passages in them that could be used to illustrate points of his philosophy. 因为这些剧作里的一些章节可以论证Seneca的哲学思想，所以 Seneca本人从未提及这些作品是非常奇怪的。There are at least two possible explanations. 对于此事有两个解释。In the early Roman Empire, playwrights were sometimes exiled or executed for line constructed as directed against the emperor; thus, Seneca’s silence may be simple prudence. 在罗马帝国，剧作家会因为作品反君主的言论被处决或者流放，所以Seneca不提及自己作品或许是出于谨慎。But if anyone could safely attach his name to dramas, surely it would be Seneca, the emperor’s tutor. 但Seneca作为君主的老师，Seneca是最安全的。And although Herrmann offers Seneca’s modesty as an explanation, Seneca is not averse to referring to his other writings. Herrmann提出另一种解释，即Seneca很谦虚。但是Seneca并不反对提及自己其他的作品。The evidence for equating Seneca with the author of the tragedies seems .所以，没有证据能证明Seneca是这些悲剧的作者。

　　GRE阅读真题

　　1. The author mentions Medea primarily in order to

　　A. give an example of a play in which references to certain authors can be used to determine when the Marci Lucii Annei Senecae Tragoediae were composed

　　B. acknowledge the possibility that the Marci Lucii Annei Senecae Tragoediae may have been written by Quintilian rather than Seneca

　　C. suggest that certain of the Marci Lucii Annei Senecae Tragoediae may have been written near the end of Seneca’s lifetime

　　D. argue that Marci may have been one of the last of the eight plays in the Marci Lucii Annei Senecae Tragoediae to be written

　　E. indicate how the latest possible date for the time period during which the Marci Lucii Annei Senecae Tragordiae were composed might be established

　　答案：E

　　冒号后的内容应该在为冒号前内容作详细说明，所以应该是为了论证悲剧被创作的时间在Seneca时期。

　　2. The author of the passage makes which of the following claims about the eight extant Latin tragedies?

　　A. There is only circumstantial evidence that the plays were all written by the same author.

　　B. Scholars have persistently attributed the plays to Seneca despite evidence that some of them may have been composed prior to his lifetime.

　　C. Evidence in the manuscripts of the plays identifies them as having been written by Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger.

　　D. The plays contain some lines that have been construed as being directed against the emperor.

　　E. The plays contain material that could illustrate certain aspects of Seneca’s philosophy.

　　答案：E

　　不好定位。先看选项。A“same author”未提及。B剧作应该都是在Seneca时期写成的。C这只是人们的推测，并不是从手稿中得知的。原文说的是如果剧作“被认为”反君主，作者会被处决。是否反君主是读者“解码”的，而D说的是作品本身“编码”了这些内容。错误。

　　3. The author of the passage would most likely agree that if Seneca had in fact written the tragedies, then Seneca probably would have

　　A. used the plays as platforms for his philosophical ideas

　　B. referred to the plays in some of his other writings

　　C. been in danger of exile or execution for certain line in the plays

　　D. avoided attaching his name to be the plays out of modesty

　　E. written the plays during the latter portion of his lifetime

　　答案：B

　　首段告诉我们剧作家不详，以及部分学者的推测，以及支持该推测的证据。第二段主要在反驳首段观点，作者认为Seneca不需要担心君主的惩戒，也愿意提及自己作品。所以如果Seneca确实是作者的话，应该在其他作品中提及那些悲剧。（对比推理）

　　4. The author implies which of the following about Seneca’s status as the emperor’s tutor?

　　A. It enabled Seneca to illustrate points of his philosophy to the leaders of the early Roman Empire.

　　B. It had more of an effect on Seneca’s career as a dramatist than it did on his career as a philosopher, orator, and politician.

　　C. It might have offered Seneca some protection from certain dangers playwrights typically faced.

　　D. It required Seneca to avoid making references to his various writings.

　　E. It required that Seneca take particular care that his writings could not be construed as being directed against the emperor.

　　答案：C

　　文章说到如果有人不需要担心受到处决，那就是作为君主的老师的Seneca。说明这个职位给了Seneca一些特殊的豁免。

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