考研英語閱讀理解精讀100篇TEXT2
TEXT 2
He emerged, all of a sudden, in 1957: the most explosive new poetic talent of the English post-war era. Poetry specialised, at that moment, in the wry chronicling of the everyday. The poetry of Yorkshire-born Ted Hughes, first published in a book called The Hawk in the Rain when he was 27, was unlike anything written by his immediate predecessors. Driven by an almost Jacobean rhetoric, it had a visionary fervour. Its most eye-catching characteristic was Hughess ability to get beneath the skins of animals: foxes, otters, pigs. These animals were the real thing all right, but they were also armorial devices-symbols of the countryside and lifeblood of the earth in which they were rooted. It gave his work a raw, primal stink.
It was not only England that thought so either. Hughess book was also published in America, where it won the Galbraith prize, a major literary award. But then, in 1963, Sylvia Plath, a young American poet whom he had first met at Cambridge University in 1956, and who became his wife in the summer of that year, committed suicide. Hughes was vilified for long after that, especially by feminists in America. In 1998, the year he died, Hughes broke his own self-imposed public silence about their relationship in a book of loose-weave poems called Birthday Letters.In this new and exhilarating collection of real letters, Hughes returns to the issue of his first wifes death, which he calls his big and unmanageable event. He felt his talent muffled by the perpetual eavesdropping upon his every move. Not until he decided to publish his own account of their relationship did the burden begin to lighten.
The analysis is raw, pained and ruthlessly self-aware. For all the moral torment, the writing itself has the same rush and vigour that possessed Hughess early poetry. Some books of letters serve as a personalised historical chronicle. Poets letters are seldom like that, and Hughess are no exception. His are about a life of literary engagement: almost all of them include some musing on the state or the nature of writing, both Hughess own or other peoples. The trajectory of Hughess literary career had him moving from obscurity to fame, and then, in the eyes of many, to life-long notoriety. These letters are filled with his wrestling with the consequences of being the part-private, part-public creature that he became, desperate to devote himself to his writing, and yet subject to endless invasions of his privacy.
Hughes is an absorbing and intricate commentator upon his own poetry, even when he is standing back from it and good-humouredly condemning himself for its fantasticalia, its pretticisms and its infinite verballifications. He also believed, from first to last, that poetry had a special place in the education of children. What kids need, he wrote in a 1988 letter to the secretary of state for education in the Conservative government, is a headfull [sic] of songs that are not songs but blocks of refined and achieved and exemplary language. When that happens, children have the guardian angel installed behind the tongue. Lucky readers, big or small.
1.The poetry of Hughess forerunners is characteristic of ______
[A] its natural, crude flavor.
[B] its distorted depiction of peoples daily life.
[C] its penetrating sight.
[D] its fantastical enthusiasm.
2.The word vilified most probably means _____
[A] tortured
[B] harassed
[C] scolded
[D] tormented
3.According to the third paragraph, Hughess collection of letters are _____
[A] personal recollection of his life.
[B] personalised historical chronicle of his literary engagement.
[C] reflections of his struggle with his devotion and the reality.
[D] his meditation on the literary world.
4. From the letters, we may find the cause of Hughess internal struggle is _____
[A] his devotion to the literary world.
[B] that he is a part-private, part-public creature.
[C] that he is constrained by the fear of his privacy being invaded.
[D] his fame and notoriety.
5. By lucky readers in the last sentence, the author means_____
[A] children who read poetry.
[B] children who have a headfull of songs.
[C] children who own blocks of refined and achieved and exemplary language.
[D] children who have the guardian angel installed behind the tongue
篇章剖析：
本文講述了英國著名詩人特德休斯作品的特點和其所反映的詩人的一些情況。第一段講述休斯詩歌的特色;第二段講述因其妻子的原因而創作了一部書信集的情況。第三段講述這本書信集的特點和反映的內容。第四段講述休斯對詩歌的看法和態度。
詞匯注釋：
wry adj. 枯燥乏味的
predecessorn.前輩, 前任
rhetoric n. 浮夸與修飾
fervour n.熱情
armorial adj.徽章的, 家徽的
lifeblood n. 生命力或生命之源的力量
stink n. 氣息，氣味
vilifie vt.誹謗, 辱罵, 貶低, 輕視
muffle vt.壓抑;阻止
eavesdropping n.偷聽
trajectory n. 道路選擇好的或采用的路徑：
notoriety n.惡名, 丑名, 聲名狼藉
absorbing adj.吸引人的, 非常有趣的
難句突破：
(1)But then, in 1963, Sylvia Plath, a young American poet whom he had first met at Cambridge University in 1956, and who became his wife in the summer of that year, committed suicide.
主體句式：But then Sylvia Plath committed suicide.
結構分析：這是一個同位語帶有定語從句的復合句。whom和who引導的兩個定語從句修飾a young American poet, 整體作為Sylvia Plath的同位語。
句子譯文：但是在1963年，西爾維亞普拉斯自殺了，這個美國年輕詩人與他第一次見面是在1956年的劍橋大學，而當年夏天又成為了他妻子。
(2)These letters are filled with his wrestling with the consequences of being the part-private, part-public creature that he became, desperate to devote himself to his writing, and yet subject to endless invasions of his privacy.
主體句式：These letters are filled with his wrestling.
結構分析：這是一個簡單句，難點在于最后兩個形容詞詞組的成分(desperate to devote himself to his writing, and yet subject to endless invasions of his privacy)。這兩個形容詞詞組是用來修飾前面的名詞creature, 而creature后面緊跟著的that 引導的從句也是修飾它的定語從句。
句子譯文：這些信中處處都顯現出休斯因為自己成為半私人、半公開這么樣一個人物而心理反復掙扎，他渴望將自己奉獻給文字，但又時時受到私人空間受到侵襲的威脅。
題目分析
1.The poetry of Hughess forerunners is characteristic of ______1. 休斯先前的詩人們創作的詩歌特點是______
[A] its natural, crude flavor.[A] 自然、原始的風味。
[B] its distorted depiction of peoples daily life.[B] 對人們日常生活的變形描寫。
[C] its penetrating sight.[C] 洞穿一切的視角。
[D] its fantastical enthusiasm.[D] 夢幻式的熱情。
[答案] B
[分析] 細節題。本文第一段講述了休斯詩歌的特點。第一段第二句說明了當時盛行的詩歌的特色是the wry chronicling of the everyday，緊接著第三句就指出休斯的作品不同于他前輩的詩歌，接下來的幾句都是講述休斯作品具體是什么特色。由此可以推理，第二句所描寫的就是其前人作品的特點，是對日常生活的變形描述，選項B為正確答案。
2.The word vilified most probably means _____2. vilified這個詞(第二段第三行)最有可能的意思是_____
[A] tortured[A] 折磨。
[B] harassed[B] 騷擾。
[C] scolded[C] 斥責。
[D] tormented[D] 折磨。
[答案] C
[分析] 猜詞題。這個詞的意思要根據上下文推斷。該詞出現的前一句講述休斯妻子，一位美國詩人自殺了。緊接著就說，該事件發生后很長一段時間里美國的女權主義者對休斯采取了一種行動。后面又講述了休斯在去世之前將他與妻子的關系情況以書信集的方式表達出來，直到這本集子出版他的背負才得以減?一種精神上的譴責，答案[C]最為符合。
3.According to the third paragraph, Hughess collection of letters are _____2. 從第三段可以得知，休斯的書信集是_____
[A] personal recollection of his life.[A] 他對自己生命的個人回憶。
[B] personalised historical chronicle of his literary engagement.[B] 他文學生涯的個人事件的歷時紀錄。
[C] reflections of his struggle with his devotion and the reality.[C] 他在信仰與現實間掙扎的反映。
[D] his meditation on the literary world.[D] 他對文學世界的思考。
[答案]D
[分析]推理題。根據文章第三段，休斯的這本書信集和一般書信集不同，不是將自己的經歷做一陳述，而是所有書信都包含有對自己或對別人作品的思考，是他文學思想的一個展示。最后一句是說從這些書信中可以看出他為是要完全展示在作品中還是要維護個人隱私而苦苦掙扎過。從這些描述可以看出，該書信集主要是他文學觀點的一些表述，從中可以看出他的思想發展歷程，因此答案D最符合。
4. From the letters, we may find the cause of Hughess internal struggle is _____4. 由休斯書信的內容可以看出休斯內心掙扎的原因在于_____
[A] his devotion to the literary world.[A] 他全心奉獻給了文學世界。
[B] that he is a part-private, part-public creature.[B] 他是一個半隱密、半公開的人物。
[C] that he is constrained by the fear of his privacy being invaded in his literary engagement.[C] 他在文學創作中擔心自己的私人世界受到侵犯。
[D] his fame and notoriety.[D] 他的名聲以及后來的敗落。
[答案]C
[分析] 細節題。題干是要求找出休斯內心掙扎的原因，這在第三段最后一句中有提及。文章指出書信中處處都體現了休斯和自己半隱密、半公開這么一個身份進行斗爭的印跡，一方面他想在創作中完全投入，但又擔心自己隱私會受到侵害。可以看出，休斯之所以內心掙扎，是由于他自己一面想要在作品中公開自己，而在現實中又想保護自己的隱私，因此答案C最為符合。
5. By lucky readers in the last sentence, the author means_____5. 在文章最后一句話中的幸運的讀者，作者指的是_____。
[A] children who read poetry.[A] 讀詩的孩子。
[B] children who have a headfull of songs.[B] 腦子里有許多歌的孩子。
[C] children who own blocks of refined and achieved and exemplary language.[C] 擁有精致、優雅的語言的孩子。
[D] children who have the guardian angel installed behind the tongue.[D] 舌頭后面有守衛天使的孩子。
[答案]A
[分析] 細節題。理解這句話需要結合上下文來看，文章最后一段主要是講述休斯認為詩歌在孩子教育方面發揮特殊的作用，他認為孩子需要的是詩歌，是精致、完美的語言，如果真的擁有這些了，那么孩子舌頭后面就有了守衛天使，那他們就是幸運的讀者了。雖然四個答案都仿佛正確，但從最根本的來說，是因為讀詩，孩子才會擁有以上所說得一切，才是幸運的，而且本段也著重強調詩歌對于孩子的重要性。因此，最佳答案為A。
參考譯文：
1957年，他橫空出世，成為英國戰后最具爆炸性的詩壇天才。當時，詩歌主要題材是日常生活的扭曲紀錄。但出生在約克郡的特德休斯的作品卻與其前輩大相徑庭，他27歲時在名為《雨中的鷹》一書中發表了第一首詩。
受詹姆士一世風格的影響，其詩歌呈現出幻覺式的激情，最顯著的特點是休斯可以描述動物外表下面的東西，無論是狐貍、水獺還是豬。這些動物的確是真實的，但同時又是標志性的，代表著鄉村，代表著它們植根的地球的生命之源。正是這一點賦予了其作品一種野性、原始的氣息。
這一點不僅僅在英國得以認同。休斯的書也在美國出版，并且贏得了一項重要的文學獎--加爾布雷思獎。但是在1963年，西爾維亞普拉斯自殺了，這個美國年輕詩人與他第一次見面是在1956年的劍橋大學，而當年夏天又成為了他妻子。這之后很長時間里休斯都受到人們的譴責，尤其是美國的女權主義者。1998 年，也就是休斯去世的那一年，他在自己一本名為《生日信札》的結構松散的詩集中公開了他倆的關系，打破了他自己一直以來的緘默。在這本令人興奮的新書信集中，休斯回憶了他第一個妻子的死，難以處理的大事情--他這樣形容。他感覺自己的一舉一動都受到監視，他的天賦因而受到了制約。直到他出版了自己的這本有關他們關系的書時，他身上的負擔才得以減輕。
他的剖析自然、飽含痛苦，具有強烈的自我意識。盡管書中極盡表達了其精神的苦痛，但文字本身卻具有休斯早期詩歌的激情和活力。一些書信集只是個人的經歷記錄而已，但是詩人的書信集卻不同，休斯也不例外。他的書信集描寫了其文學生涯：幾乎所有的書信都有關于寫作狀態或寫作性質的思考，有他自己，也有別人的。休斯的文學生命軌跡是從無名到聞名，而后，在眾人看來又經歷了漫長的名譽掃地的階段。這些信中處處都顯現出休斯和自己成為半私人、半公開人物這樣一個結果而心理反復掙扎，他渴望將自己奉獻給文字，但又時時受到私人空間受到侵襲的威脅。
有意思而且令人費解的是，休斯還對自己詩歌進行評論，他甚至還以局外人的身份來看待自己的作品，很幽默地批評自己詩歌有空想色彩、唯美化且一直咬文嚼字 。他還從始至終堅信詩歌在教育孩子方面有特殊的作用。1988年他在給保守黨政府國家教育部長得一封信中這樣寫道：孩子們需要的是滿腦子的歌曲，其實不是歌曲，而是精致、優秀、具有代表性的語言。如果真能這樣，那么孩子們舌頭后面就會有守衛天使了。
TEXT 2
He emerged, all of a sudden, in 1957: the most explosive new poetic talent of the English post-war era. Poetry specialised, at that moment, in the wry chronicling of the everyday. The poetry of Yorkshire-born Ted Hughes, first published in a book called The Hawk in the Rain when he was 27, was unlike anything written by his immediate predecessors. Driven by an almost Jacobean rhetoric, it had a visionary fervour. Its most eye-catching characteristic was Hughess ability to get beneath the skins of animals: foxes, otters, pigs. These animals were the real thing all right, but they were also armorial devices-symbols of the countryside and lifeblood of the earth in which they were rooted. It gave his work a raw, primal stink.
It was not only England that thought so either. Hughess book was also published in America, where it won the Galbraith prize, a major literary award. But then, in 1963, Sylvia Plath, a young American poet whom he had first met at Cambridge University in 1956, and who became his wife in the summer of that year, committed suicide. Hughes was vilified for long after that, especially by feminists in America. In 1998, the year he died, Hughes broke his own self-imposed public silence about their relationship in a book of loose-weave poems called Birthday Letters.In this new and exhilarating collection of real letters, Hughes returns to the issue of his first wifes death, which he calls his big and unmanageable event. He felt his talent muffled by the perpetual eavesdropping upon his every move. Not until he decided to publish his own account of their relationship did the burden begin to lighten.
The analysis is raw, pained and ruthlessly self-aware. For all the moral torment, the writing itself has the same rush and vigour that possessed Hughess early poetry. Some books of letters serve as a personalised historical chronicle. Poets letters are seldom like that, and Hughess are no exception. His are about a life of literary engagement: almost all of them include some musing on the state or the nature of writing, both Hughess own or other peoples. The trajectory of Hughess literary career had him moving from obscurity to fame, and then, in the eyes of many, to life-long notoriety. These letters are filled with his wrestling with the consequences of being the part-private, part-public creature that he became, desperate to devote himself to his writing, and yet subject to endless invasions of his privacy.
Hughes is an absorbing and intricate commentator upon his own poetry, even when he is standing back from it and good-humouredly condemning himself for its fantasticalia, its pretticisms and its infinite verballifications. He also believed, from first to last, that poetry had a special place in the education of children. What kids need, he wrote in a 1988 letter to the secretary of state for education in the Conservative government, is a headfull [sic] of songs that are not songs but blocks of refined and achieved and exemplary language. When that happens, children have the guardian angel installed behind the tongue. Lucky readers, big or small.
1.The poetry of Hughess forerunners is characteristic of ______
[A] its natural, crude flavor.
[B] its distorted depiction of peoples daily life.
[C] its penetrating sight.
[D] its fantastical enthusiasm.
2.The word vilified most probably means _____
[A] tortured
[B] harassed
[C] scolded
[D] tormented
3.According to the third paragraph, Hughess collection of letters are _____
[A] personal recollection of his life.
[B] personalised historical chronicle of his literary engagement.
[C] reflections of his struggle with his devotion and the reality.
[D] his meditation on the literary world.
4. From the letters, we may find the cause of Hughess internal struggle is _____
[A] his devotion to the literary world.
[B] that he is a part-private, part-public creature.
[C] that he is constrained by the fear of his privacy being invaded.
[D] his fame and notoriety.
5. By lucky readers in the last sentence, the author means_____
[A] children who read poetry.
[B] children who have a headfull of songs.
[C] children who own blocks of refined and achieved and exemplary language.
[D] children who have the guardian angel installed behind the tongue
篇章剖析：
本文講述了英國著名詩人特德休斯作品的特點和其所反映的詩人的一些情況。第一段講述休斯詩歌的特色;第二段講述因其妻子的原因而創作了一部書信集的情況。第三段講述這本書信集的特點和反映的內容。第四段講述休斯對詩歌的看法和態度。
詞匯注釋：
wry adj. 枯燥乏味的
predecessorn.前輩, 前任
rhetoric n. 浮夸與修飾
fervour n.熱情
armorial adj.徽章的, 家徽的
lifeblood n. 生命力或生命之源的力量
stink n. 氣息，氣味
vilifie vt.誹謗, 辱罵, 貶低, 輕視
muffle vt.壓抑;阻止
eavesdropping n.偷聽
trajectory n. 道路選擇好的或采用的路徑：
notoriety n.惡名, 丑名, 聲名狼藉
absorbing adj.吸引人的, 非常有趣的
難句突破：
(1)But then, in 1963, Sylvia Plath, a young American poet whom he had first met at Cambridge University in 1956, and who became his wife in the summer of that year, committed suicide.
主體句式：But then Sylvia Plath committed suicide.
結構分析：這是一個同位語帶有定語從句的復合句。whom和who引導的兩個定語從句修飾a young American poet, 整體作為Sylvia Plath的同位語。
句子譯文：但是在1963年，西爾維亞普拉斯自殺了，這個美國年輕詩人與他第一次見面是在1956年的劍橋大學，而當年夏天又成為了他妻子。
(2)These letters are filled with his wrestling with the consequences of being the part-private, part-public creature that he became, desperate to devote himself to his writing, and yet subject to endless invasions of his privacy.
主體句式：These letters are filled with his wrestling.
結構分析：這是一個簡單句，難點在于最后兩個形容詞詞組的成分(desperate to devote himself to his writing, and yet subject to endless invasions of his privacy)。這兩個形容詞詞組是用來修飾前面的名詞creature, 而creature后面緊跟著的that 引導的從句也是修飾它的定語從句。
句子譯文：這些信中處處都顯現出休斯因為自己成為半私人、半公開這么樣一個人物而心理反復掙扎，他渴望將自己奉獻給文字，但又時時受到私人空間受到侵襲的威脅。
題目分析
1.The poetry of Hughess forerunners is characteristic of ______1. 休斯先前的詩人們創作的詩歌特點是______
[A] its natural, crude flavor.[A] 自然、原始的風味。
[B] its distorted depiction of peoples daily life.[B] 對人們日常生活的變形描寫。
[C] its penetrating sight.[C] 洞穿一切的視角。
[D] its fantastical enthusiasm.[D] 夢幻式的熱情。
[答案] B
[分析] 細節題。本文第一段講述了休斯詩歌的特點。第一段第二句說明了當時盛行的詩歌的特色是the wry chronicling of the everyday，緊接著第三句就指出休斯的作品不同于他前輩的詩歌，接下來的幾句都是講述休斯作品具體是什么特色。由此可以推理，第二句所描寫的就是其前人作品的特點，是對日常生活的變形描述，選項B為正確答案。
2.The word vilified most probably means _____2. vilified這個詞(第二段第三行)最有可能的意思是_____
[A] tortured[A] 折磨。
[B] harassed[B] 騷擾。
[C] scolded[C] 斥責。
[D] tormented[D] 折磨。
[答案] C
[分析] 猜詞題。這個詞的意思要根據上下文推斷。該詞出現的前一句講述休斯妻子，一位美國詩人自殺了。緊接著就說，該事件發生后很長一段時間里美國的女權主義者對休斯采取了一種行動。后面又講述了休斯在去世之前將他與妻子的關系情況以書信集的方式表達出來，直到這本集子出版他的背負才得以減?一種精神上的譴責，答案[C]最為符合。
3.According to the third paragraph, Hughess collection of letters are _____2. 從第三段可以得知，休斯的書信集是_____
[A] personal recollection of his life.[A] 他對自己生命的個人回憶。
[B] personalised historical chronicle of his literary engagement.[B] 他文學生涯的個人事件的歷時紀錄。
[C] reflections of his struggle with his devotion and the reality.[C] 他在信仰與現實間掙扎的反映。
[D] his meditation on the literary world.[D] 他對文學世界的思考。
[答案]D
[分析]推理題。根據文章第三段，休斯的這本書信集和一般書信集不同，不是將自己的經歷做一陳述，而是所有書信都包含有對自己或對別人作品的思考，是他文學思想的一個展示。最后一句是說從這些書信中可以看出他為是要完全展示在作品中還是要維護個人隱私而苦苦掙扎過。從這些描述可以看出，該書信集主要是他文學觀點的一些表述，從中可以看出他的思想發展歷程，因此答案D最符合。
4. From the letters, we may find the cause of Hughess internal struggle is _____4. 由休斯書信的內容可以看出休斯內心掙扎的原因在于_____
[A] his devotion to the literary world.[A] 他全心奉獻給了文學世界。
[B] that he is a part-private, part-public creature.[B] 他是一個半隱密、半公開的人物。
[C] that he is constrained by the fear of his privacy being invaded in his literary engagement.[C] 他在文學創作中擔心自己的私人世界受到侵犯。
[D] his fame and notoriety.[D] 他的名聲以及后來的敗落。
[答案]C
[分析] 細節題。題干是要求找出休斯內心掙扎的原因，這在第三段最后一句中有提及。文章指出書信中處處都體現了休斯和自己半隱密、半公開這么一個身份進行斗爭的印跡，一方面他想在創作中完全投入，但又擔心自己隱私會受到侵害。可以看出，休斯之所以內心掙扎，是由于他自己一面想要在作品中公開自己，而在現實中又想保護自己的隱私，因此答案C最為符合。
5. By lucky readers in the last sentence, the author means_____5. 在文章最后一句話中的幸運的讀者，作者指的是_____。
[A] children who read poetry.[A] 讀詩的孩子。
[B] children who have a headfull of songs.[B] 腦子里有許多歌的孩子。
[C] children who own blocks of refined and achieved and exemplary language.[C] 擁有精致、優雅的語言的孩子。
[D] children who have the guardian angel installed behind the tongue.[D] 舌頭后面有守衛天使的孩子。
[答案]A
[分析] 細節題。理解這句話需要結合上下文來看，文章最后一段主要是講述休斯認為詩歌在孩子教育方面發揮特殊的作用，他認為孩子需要的是詩歌，是精致、完美的語言，如果真的擁有這些了，那么孩子舌頭后面就有了守衛天使，那他們就是幸運的讀者了。雖然四個答案都仿佛正確，但從最根本的來說，是因為讀詩，孩子才會擁有以上所說得一切，才是幸運的，而且本段也著重強調詩歌對于孩子的重要性。因此，最佳答案為A。
參考譯文：
1957年，他橫空出世，成為英國戰后最具爆炸性的詩壇天才。當時，詩歌主要題材是日常生活的扭曲紀錄。但出生在約克郡的特德休斯的作品卻與其前輩大相徑庭，他27歲時在名為《雨中的鷹》一書中發表了第一首詩。
受詹姆士一世風格的影響，其詩歌呈現出幻覺式的激情，最顯著的特點是休斯可以描述動物外表下面的東西，無論是狐貍、水獺還是豬。這些動物的確是真實的，但同時又是標志性的，代表著鄉村，代表著它們植根的地球的生命之源。正是這一點賦予了其作品一種野性、原始的氣息。
這一點不僅僅在英國得以認同。休斯的書也在美國出版，并且贏得了一項重要的文學獎--加爾布雷思獎。但是在1963年，西爾維亞普拉斯自殺了，這個美國年輕詩人與他第一次見面是在1956年的劍橋大學，而當年夏天又成為了他妻子。這之后很長時間里休斯都受到人們的譴責，尤其是美國的女權主義者。1998 年，也就是休斯去世的那一年，他在自己一本名為《生日信札》的結構松散的詩集中公開了他倆的關系，打破了他自己一直以來的緘默。在這本令人興奮的新書信集中，休斯回憶了他第一個妻子的死，難以處理的大事情--他這樣形容。他感覺自己的一舉一動都受到監視，他的天賦因而受到了制約。直到他出版了自己的這本有關他們關系的書時，他身上的負擔才得以減輕。
他的剖析自然、飽含痛苦，具有強烈的自我意識。盡管書中極盡表達了其精神的苦痛，但文字本身卻具有休斯早期詩歌的激情和活力。一些書信集只是個人的經歷記錄而已，但是詩人的書信集卻不同，休斯也不例外。他的書信集描寫了其文學生涯：幾乎所有的書信都有關于寫作狀態或寫作性質的思考，有他自己，也有別人的。休斯的文學生命軌跡是從無名到聞名，而后，在眾人看來又經歷了漫長的名譽掃地的階段。這些信中處處都顯現出休斯和自己成為半私人、半公開人物這樣一個結果而心理反復掙扎，他渴望將自己奉獻給文字，但又時時受到私人空間受到侵襲的威脅。
有意思而且令人費解的是，休斯還對自己詩歌進行評論，他甚至還以局外人的身份來看待自己的作品，很幽默地批評自己詩歌有空想色彩、唯美化且一直咬文嚼字 。他還從始至終堅信詩歌在教育孩子方面有特殊的作用。1988年他在給保守黨政府國家教育部長得一封信中這樣寫道：孩子們需要的是滿腦子的歌曲，其實不是歌曲，而是精致、優秀、具有代表性的語言。如果真能這樣，那么孩子們舌頭后面就會有守衛天使了。
