When John Milton writer of“Paradise Lost” entered Cambridge University in 1625 he was

already skilled in Latin after seven years of studying it as his second language at St.Paul’s School London.Like all English boys who prepared for college in grammar schools he had learned not only to read Latin but also to speak and write it smoothly and correctly.His pronunciation of Latin was English however and seemed to have sounded strange to his friends when he later visited Italy.

Schoolboys gained their skill in Latin in a bitter way.They kept in mind the rules to make learning by heart easier.They first made a word-for-word translation and then an idiomatic translation into English.As they increased their skill they translated their English back into Latin without referring to the book and then compared their translation with the original.The schoolmaster was always at hand to encourage them.All schoolmasters believed Latin should be beaten in .

After several years of study the boys began to write compositions in imitation of the Latin writers they read.And as they began to read Latin poems they began to write poems in Latin.Because Milton was already a poet at ten his poems were much better than those painfully put together by the other boys.During the seven years Milton spent at university he made regular use of his command of Latin.He wrote some excellent Latin poems which he published among his works in 1645.

1.What does the passage mainly tell about？[]

A.How John Milton wrote“Paradise Lost”

B.How John Milton studied Latin

C.How John Milton became famous

D.How John Milton became a poet

2.Which of the following is true of John Milton’s pronunciation of Latin？[]

A.It has a strong Italian accent

B.It has an uncommon accent

C.It was natural and easy to understand

D.It was bad and difficult to understand

3.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A.Milton’s training in Latin was similar to that of the other boys

B.Milton hadn’t learned any foreign language except Latin before going to college

C.Milton’s Italian friends helped him with Latin when talking

D.Milton's classmates learned Latin harder but worse than Milton

4.Which of the following is suggested in the passage？[]

A.The schoolmaster mainly helped those who were bad at Latin

B.The schoolmaster usually stood beside the schoolboys with a stick in his hand

C.The schoolboys could repeat Latin grammar rules from memory

D.Some of the schoolboys were quick at writing compositions in Latin

5.What is the meaning of the underlined part“Latin should be beaten in”that the writer wishes you to understand？[]

A.Schoolboys should be punished if they were lazy to learn Latin

B.Schoolboys should be encouraged if they had difficulty in learning Latin

C.Schoolboys were expected to master Latin in a short time

D.Schoolboys had to study Latin in a hard way