Question

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, attracted 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 l930s.

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 symbol 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 sympathy: 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.

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.

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

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.

4.After it was first staged, Death of a Salesman __________.

A．a(chǎn)chieved huge success

B．won the first Tony Award

C．was warmly welcomed by salesmen

D．was severely attacked by dramatists

Answer 1

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.A

【解析】

試題分析：本文介紹了美國著名劇作家Arthur Miller和他最有名的作品Death of a Salesman。提到了這部作品的歷史意義以及所獲獎項。

1.Miller’s father had moved to the USA from Austria Hungary, attracted like so many others by the “Great American Dream”.可知他的父親深受美國夢的吸引，所以來到美國。故此題選擇B。

2.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 symbol of worth.可知這部小說對于美國經(jīng)濟制度是一記重拳。故選擇A，意為這部小說揭露了美國經(jīng)濟制度的殘酷。

3.Willy is “burnt out” and in the cruel world of business there is no room for sympathy: if he can't do the work, then he is no good to his employer, the Wagner Company, and he must go.可知在這個殘酷的生意圈里，不存在所謂的憐憫。如果一個人不能工作，他對于老板就沒有任何用，那么這個人就必須離開。而Willy Loman本書的主人公，正是這樣一個美國經(jīng)濟制度的受害者。故選擇C。

4.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.可知當作品《銷售員之死》第一次登上舞臺表演時，獲得巨大的成功。故選擇A。

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