Richard Holmes, a British author and academic, is something of a Romantic, famous for biographies of Percy Bysshe Shelley and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In his last book, "The Age of Wonder"， he wrote about science and Romanticism and their common commitment to discovery. In his new book, "Falling Upwards"， he combines the two again to tell the stories of Europe's early balloonists (气球飞行者).
Mr Holmes's love of balloons was aroused at a village festival and his enthusiasm is one of the book's many pleasures. He refers to the cheerful tone used in many first-hand ballooning stories, and applies it in this second-hand account. He describes men and women wrapped up in fur coats under their hydrogen-filled balloons, enjoying cold chicken and champagne and looking back to earth to see mankind "for what it really is."
Mr Holmes makes much of the strange side of ballooning, but the book is at its best when examining its more serious applications. In the American civil war, for example, both North and South put observers in balloons to spy on enemy movements. And during the Prussian attack on Paris in 1870-71， balloonists managed to fly out of the city to communicate with the French government in exile (流亡) in Tours.
"Falling Upwards" contains much of the historian's writing characteristics, such as footnotes and bibliography (文献书目)， but its epilogue (后记) refers modestly to what has gone before as "a series of true balloon stories". It does touch on the more technical aspects of ballooning, and says little about the French Montgolfier brothers who are credited as its inventors. That though seems a small price to pay for such a spirited work. Mr Holmes's tale ends at the start of the 20th century when the business of flight was being handed over to the airship and the airplane.
【小题1】In his book "Falling Upwards"， Richard Holmes ______ .| A．uses the similar writing style of "The Age of Wonder" |
| B．describes how people celebrated a village festival |
| C．gives first-hand accounts of Europe's early balloonists |
| D．discusses balloons used in war in a serious tone |
| A．its vivid descriptions of balloonists' life |
| B．its analyses of the serious uses of balloons |
| C．its reference to many historical resources |
| D．its research on the ballooning technology |
| A．Falling Upwards is an inspiring book but its price is a little high. |
| B．To complete the book, Holmes received Montgolfier brothers' financial aid. |
| C．It is a pity that the book doesn't introduce Montgolfier brothers in detail. |
| D．It actually didn't take Holmes much work to write such a good book. |
