Section BDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by som

Section B

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice.

Paradise Lost is Milton's masterpiece. Its story is taken from the Bible, about "the fall of man", that is, how Adam and Eve are tempted by Satan to disobey God by eating the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and how they are punished by God and driven out of Paradise. In Milton's words, the purpose of writing the epic(史诗) is to "justify the ways of God to men", but apparently, Milton is uttering his intense hatred of cruelness of the ruler in the poem. By depicting Satan and his followers as well as their fiery utterance and brave actions, Milton is showing a Puritan's(清教徒的) revolt against the dictator and against the established Catholics and the Anglican Church.

In the poem God is no better than a cruel and selfish ruler, seated on a throne with a group of angels about him singing songs to praise him. His long speeches are not pleasing at all. He is cruel and unjust in punishing Satan. His angels are stupid. But Satan is by far the most striking character in the poem, who rises against God and, though defeated, still persists in his fighting.

Adam and Eve shows Milton's belief in the power of man. God denies them a chance to pursue for knowledge. It is this longing for knowledge that opens before mankind a wide road to intelligent and active life. It has been noted by many critics that Milton's revolutionary feelings make him forget religious doctrines(教条). The angels who surround the God never think of expressing any opinions of their own, and they never seem to have any opinions of their own. The image of God surrounded by such angels resembles the court of an absolute king. But Satan and his followers, who freely discuss all issues in council, remind us of a Republican Parliament.

This passage is most probably______.

A．a review of Milton's Paradise Lost

B．an introduction of what Paradise Lost is about

C．a depiction of the cruelness of the British ruler

D．part of an introduction to English literature