Academic Reading 6

LEAVES OF GRASS
Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” could stand as an autobiography, as a self-portrait, and as the life work of a man who first began to write in 1855. The book provoked a reaction of praise and criticism unequaled by any other American work of literature before. His friends agreed that he and the book were the same, and this was exactly the illusion the poet wished to create. But of course the two were separate. The Walt Whitman who was portrayed in “Leaves of Grass” was transcendental, as much myth as man. The mortal Walt was born to a family of English and Dutch extraction on 31 May, 1819, in West Hills, Long Island, N.Y.

1- We learn from the passage that Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” ……. .
A) was his first work written in 1855
B) was the most controversial work of American literature until then
C) is a factual autobiography of the author
D) was universally appreciated by both friends and enemies of the author
E) was written in both English and Dutch

2- We understand from the passage that Walt Whitman’s intention in writing “Leaves of Grass” was ……. .
A) to tell about his life exactly as it was
B) to provoke as much praise as possible
C) to confuse critics with its complexity
D) to be a portrait of West Hills, Long Island
E) to be a mythical self-portrait of a poet

3- It is clear from the passage that Whitman ……. .
A) is one of the greatest American novelists
B) did most of his writing on Long Island
C) lied about the origins of his parents in “Leaves of Grass”
D) did not begin writing when he was very young
E) used to visit Holland very often

1. B

2. A

3. D