Arthur Miller (1915—2005) is universally recognized as one of the greatest dramatists of the 20th century. Miller"s father had moved to the USA from Austria Hungary, drawn like so many others by the “Great American Dream”. However, he experienced severe financial hardship when his family business was ruined in the Great Depression of the early 1930s.
Miller"s most famous play, Death of a Salesman, is a powerful attack on the American system, with its aggressive way of doing business and its insistence on money and social status as indicators of worth. In Willy Loman, the hero of the play, we see a man who has got into trouble with this system. Willy is “burnt out” and in the cruel world of business there is no room for sentiment: if he can"t do the work, then he is no good to his employer, the Wagner Company, and he must go. Willy is painfully aware of this, and at a loss as to what to do with his lack of success. He refuses to face the fact that he has failed and kills himself in the end.
When it was first staged in 1949, the play was greeted with enthusiastic reviews, and it won the Tony Award for Best Play, the New York Drama Critics" Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was the first play to win all three of these major awards.
Miller died of heart failure at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, on the evening of February 10, 2005, the 56th anniversary of the first performance of Death of a Salesman on Broadway.
小题1:Why did Arthur Miller"s father move to the USA?| A．He suffered from severe hunger in his home country. | | B．He was attracted by the “Great American Dream.” | | C．He hoped to make his son a dramatist. | | D．His family business failed |
小题2:The play Death of a Salesman________.| A．exposes the cruelty of the American business world | | B．discusses the ways to get promoted in a company | | C．talks about the business career of Arthur Miller | | D．focuses on the skills in doing business |
小题3:What can we learn about Willy Loman?| A．He treats his employer badly. | | B．He runs the Wagner Company. | | C．He is a victim of the American system. | | D．He is regarded as a hero by his colleagues. |
小题4:After it was first staged, Death of a Salesman________.| A．achieved huge success | | B．won the first Tony Award | | C．was warmly welcomed by salesmen | | D．was severely attacked by dramatists |
小题5:What is the text mainly about?| A．Arthur Miller and his family. | | B．The awards Arthur Miller won. | | C．The hardship Arthur Miller experienced. | | D．Arthur Miller and his best known play. |
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小题1:B
小题2:A
小题3:C
小题4:A
小题5:D |
试题分析：
小题1:从第一段drawn like so many others by the “Great American Dream可知 Miller的父亲被伟大的美国梦所吸引。
小题2:从第二段。。。is a powerful attack on the American system, with its aggressive way of doing business and its insistence on money and social status as indicators of worth可得知答案
小题3: 从第二段第三，四，五行及最后一行可知Willy Loman陷入到残酷的商业体系不能自拔以致最后自***，说明他是美国体制的牺牲品。
小题4:从倒数第二段the play was greeted with enthusiastic reviews, and it won the Tony Award for Best Play, the New York Drama Critics" Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was the first play to win all three of these major awards可知一个推销员之死一登台就获得了巨大成功。
小题5:综合全文，本文主要讲述Arthur Miller及他的最有名的戏剧。
点评：本文主要讲述Arthur Miller及他的最有名的戏剧。集中考查了细节题，要求考生有较强的细节理解能力。 |
核心考点
试题【Arthur Miller (1915—2005) is universally recognized as one of the greatest drama】；主要考察你对
题材分类等知识点的理解。
[详细]举一反三
I was doing some last-minute Christmas shopping in a toy store. A nicely dressed little girl was looking through the teddy bears beside her father 38 she saw a little boy walk in and stop in front of the Pokémon toys. His jacket was obviously too small. He had money in his hand. 39 , it looked no more than five dollars at most. He was with his father as well, and 40 picking up the Pokémon video games. Each time he showed one to his father, his father 41 his head, “No”.
Rather 42 , the boy gave up the video games and chose a book of stickers 43 . After they walked away, the little girl ran over to the Pokémon video games. She excitedly picked up one 44 on top of the others, and hurried down toward the check-out. I picked up my purchases(购买物) and 45 the girl and her father.
Then, much to the little girl’s 46 , the little boy and his father got in line behind her and me. After the video was paid for and bagged, the little girl 47 it back to the cashier(收银员) and 48 something to her. The cashier smiled and put the 49 under the counter(柜台). I was putting things in my bag when the little boy came up to the cashier. The cashier said, “Congratulations. You’re my hundredth customer today, and you win a prize!” and she handed the boy the Pokémon game. The boy could only 50 in disbelief. It was, he said, exactly what he had wanted! The little girl and her father had been standing at the doorway, and I saw the biggest and prettiest smile on that little girl I have ever seen in my life.
I suddenly understood that the world is not 51 into the strong who care and the 52 who are cared for. We must each in turn care and be cared.
| 小题1: | | A．while | B．when | C．after | D．once |
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| 小题2: | | A．Then | B．Therefore | C．However | D．Otherwise |
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| 小题3: | | A．stopped | B．continued | C．avoided | D．kept |
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| 小题4: | | A．shook | B．nodded | C．moved | D．held |
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| 小题5: | | A．upset | B．disappointed | C．angry | D．anxious |
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| 小题6: | | A．also | B．instead | C．lastly | D．indeed |
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| 小题7: | | A．laying | B．lying | C．to lie | D．lain |
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| 小题8: | | A．walked | B．helped | C．kept | D．followed |
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| 小题9: | | A．surprise | B．disappointment | C．joy | D．sadness |
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| 小题10: | | A．put | B．handed | C．sent | D．carried |
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| 小题11: | | A．whispered | B．shouted | C．gave | D．showed |
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| 小题12: | | A．basket | B．bag | C．bear | D．gift |
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| 小题13: | | A．cry | B．look | C．jump | D．pay |
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| 小题14: | | A．divided | B．changed | C．destroyed | D．cut |
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| 小题15: | | A．poor | B．ugly | C．unhappy | D．weak |
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When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.
Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note—“Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery”—and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically（魔术般）appear.
All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn"t freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.
There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete (竞争). Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practiced to have a delivery service.
Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch (门廊). Every so often my son"s friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.
小题1:Mr. Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer .| A．to show his magical power | B．to pay for the delivery | | C．to satisfy his curiosity | D．to please his mother |
小题2:What can be inferred from the fact that the milkman had the key to the boy"s house? | A．He wanted to have tea there. | B．He was a respectable person. | | C．He was treated as a family member. | D．He was fully trusted by the family. |
小题3:Why does home milk delivery no longer exist?| A．Nobody wants to be a milkman now. | B．It has been driven out of the market. | | C．Its service is getting poor. | D．It is forbidden by law. |
小题4:Why did the author bring back home an old milk box?| A．He missed the good old days. | B．He wanted to tell interesting stories. | | C．He needed it for his milk bottles. | D．He planted flowers in it. |
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One day，four lawyers were riding their horses along a country road. There had been a rain. Water was dripping (滴) from the trees，and the grass was wet. They rode slowly，talking and laughing. Suddenly they heard some noises from the tree above them. “What is the matter?” asked the first lawyer. “Oh, it"s only some old birds!” said the second lawyer. “The storm made one of the babies fall out of the nest. It is too young to fly, and the mother bird is very worried.” “What a pity! It’ll die down there in the grass,” said the third lawyer. “It doesn"t matter. It"s only a bird,” said the second lawyer. Then they rode on, talking and laughing as before. But the fourth lawyer, whose name was Abraham Lincoln, stopped. He got down from his horse and took the little one in his big warm hands.
“Never mind, my little fellow ,” said Mr. Lincoln. “I will put you back in your little nest.” He climbed up the tree and put the bird softly into their warm little home. A few minutes later, Mr. Lincoln joined them again. His shoes were covered with mud and he was wet. Then the other three laughed at him. They thought it was foolish for a strong man to do so much just for a young bird. “Gentlemen,” said Mr. Lincoln, “I could not sleep tonight if I had left the helpless bird in the grass.” Later Abraham Lincoln became very famous as a lawyer. He also became the president of America. He was one of the greatest American presidents.
小题1:The reason why the mother bird was worried was that __________.| A．there was a rain | | B．the lawyers were under its tree | | C．one of its babies fell out of the nest | | D．it could not fly |
小题2:The underlined phrase “little fellow” in paragraph 2 means __________.| A．the mother bird | | B．Lincoln"s little friends | | C．the other three lawyers | | D．the baby bird |
小题3:The other three lawyers laughed at Lincoln because __________.| A．he climbed the tree | | B．he was wet | | C．his shoes were covered with mud | | D．they thought it foolish for him to do so |
小题4:From the passage we know Lincoln __________.| A．liked riding horses | | B．was very kind and loved birds and animals | | C．liked being laughed at | | D．wanted to be the president of America then |
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Frank Woolworth was born in Rodman, New York, in 1852. His family were very poor farmers, and there was never enough to eat. Frank decided he did not want to be a farmer. He took a short business course, and went to work as a salesman in a large city.
Woolworth realized he had a natural skill for showing goods to attract people’s interest, but he soon learned something more important. One day his boss told him to sell some odds and ends (小商品) for as much as he could get. Frank put all these things on one table with a sign which said FIVE CENTS EACH. People fought and pushed to buy the things and the table was soon cleared.
Soon afterwards, Woolworth opened his own store, selling goods at five and ten cents. But he had another lesson to learn before he became successful. That is, if you want to make money by selling low-price goods, you have to buy them in large quantities directly from the factories. Once, for example, Woolworth went to Germany and placed an order for knives. The order was so large that the factory had to keep running 24 hours a day for a whole year. In this way, the price of the knives was cut down by half.
By 1919, Woolworth had over 1000 stores in the US and Canada, and opened his first store in London. He made many millions and his name became famous throughout the world. He always run his business according to strict rules, of which the most important was: “ THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT.”
小题1: Frank took a short business course in order to _________.| A．get away from the farm | B．learn something from a salesman | | C．earn more money for his family | D．get enough to eat. |
小题2: Frank sold the odds and ends quickly because _________.| A．he had put the goods on a table in a very nice way. | | B．he cut down the price by half | | C．he knew how to get people to buy his goods. | | D．the sign he put on the table was well designed. |
小题3: The price of the knives was cut down by half because ________.| A．the factory workers worked 24 hours a day. | | B．knives were ordered in large quantities directly from the factory. | | C．the knives were made in Germany, where labour was cheap. | | D．the knives were produced in one factory. |
小题4: ________ make Woolworth a world-famous man.| A．His business skills and his wealth | | B．The low price of the goods he sold | | C．His trip to Germany and his huge order of knives | | D．His natural skill for showing things |
小题5: The belief that “ The customer is always right” suggests that ________.| A．whenever there is a quarrel between the customer and shop assistant, the customers are always right. | | B．If you want to succeed, the rule is the only way. | | C．stores must always follow the customer’s orders if they want to make more money. | | D．stores should do their best to meet the customer’s needs if they want to be successful. |
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The Colors of Friendship
Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. Green said, “Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would __31__ ."
Blue interrupted, “You only think about the 32 , but consider the sky and the sea. 33__ the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. Without my peace, you would all be 34 .
Yellow laughed, “ You are all so serious. I bring laughter, fun, and 35 into the world.”
Orange started next to blow her trumpet, “ I am the color of health and strength. I may be _36 , but I am priceless for I serve the needs of human life. When I fill the sky at sunrise or _37 , my beauty is so striking that no one gives another 38 to any of you.
Red could stand it 39 and he shouted out, “I am the ruler of all of you. I am the color of danger and bravery. I am willing to 40_ truth. I am also the color of passion and of love.”
Then came Purple and Indigo.
The colors went on boasting(自夸), each convinced of his or her won superiority(优越). Their _41 became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightning thunder. Rain started to pour down 42 . The colors crouched (蜷缩)down 43 , drawing close to one another for comfort.
In the midst of the shout, rain began to speak, “You foolish colors, fight 44 yourselves, each trying to dominate(统治) 45 . Don’t you know that you were each made for a special purpose, 46 and different? Join hands with one 47 and come to me.”
Doing as they were told, the colors 48 and joined hands. They formed a colorful rainbow. From then on, whenever a good 49 washes the world, a rainbow appears in the sky. They remember to___50__ one another.
| 小题1: | | A．stay | B．leave | C．go out | D．die |
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| 小题3: | | A．That is | B．I am | C．It is | D．This is |
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| 小题4: | | A．anything | B．nothing | C．something | D．everything |
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| 小题5: | | A．warmth | B．sadness | C．depression(抑郁) | D．anxiety（焦虑） |
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| 小题6: | | A．usual | B．normal | C．common | D．scarce（稀少） |
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| 小题7: | | A．midnight | B．noon | C．sunset | D．the day |
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| 小题8: | | A．gift | B．honor | C．thought | D．respect |
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| 小题9: | | A．for more | B．any more | C．very much | D．no longer |
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| 小题10: | | A．turn to | B．fight for | C．struggle with | D．bend over(弯腰) |
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| 小题11: | | A．quarrel | B．discussion | C．laughter | D．talk |
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| 小题12: | | A．gently | B．quietly | C．violently | D．peacefully |
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| 小题13: | | A．with care | B．in fear(害怕地) | C．by chance | D．on purpose |
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| 小题14: | | A．among | B．by | C．for | D．against |
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| 小题15: | | A．others | B．themselves | C．the other | D．the rest |
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| 小题16: | | A．equal | B．ordinary | C．similar | D．unique |
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| 小题17: | | A．other | B．the other | C．another | D．others |
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| 小题18: | | A．combined | B．separated | C．united | D．divided |
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| 小题20: | | A．appreciate | B．quarrel with | C．ignore | D．praise |
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