1、专项提能计划阅读理解(一)人物传记类(2011高 考 山 东 卷 A)Arthur Miller(19152005)is universally recognized as one of the greatest dramatists of the 20th century.Millers father had moved to the USA from AustriaHungary，drawn like so many others by the“Great American Dream”However，he experienced severe financial hardship whe
2、n his family business was ruined in the Great Depression of the early 1930s.Millers most famous play，DeathofaSalesman，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
3、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 cant dothe 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
4、 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 CriticsCircle Award，and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.It
5、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 Salesmanon Broadway.56Why did Arthur Millers father move to the USA?_AHe suffered f
6、rom severe hunger in his home country.BHe was attracted by the“Great American Dream”CHe hoped to make his son a dramatist.DHis family business failed.B57The play Death of a Salesman_.Aexposes the cruelty of the American business worldBdiscusses the ways to get promoted in a companyCtalks about the b
7、usiness career of Arthur MillerDfocuses on the skills in doing businessA58What can we learn about Willy Loman?_AHe treats his employer badly.BHe runs the Wagner Company.CHe is a victim of the American system.DHe is regarded as a hero by his colleagues.C59After it was first staged，Death of aSalesman_
8、.Aachieved huge successBwon the first Tony AwardCwas warmly welcomed by salesmenDwas severely attacked by dramatistsA60What is the text mainly about?_AArthur Miller and his family.BThe awards Arthur Miller won.CThe hardship Arthur Miller experienced.DArthur Miller and his bestknown play.D破题思路本文向我们介绍
9、了20世纪伟大的剧作家Arthur Miller以及他的代表作Death of aSalesman。疑难剖析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 CriticsCircle Award，and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.(Paragraph 3)整体上看,该句是一个由and连接的并列复合句,第一个分句中使用了when引导的时间
10、状语从句,第二个分句是一个简单句,其宾语较为复杂。句意：当现代家庭和办公室内打印机的使用意味着将几乎没有什么东西是手写的时候，人们就忽视了对钢笔的使用。名师支招本文属于人物传记类文章，该类命题的题量也较大。文章中往往会出现关于该人物的大量细节信息，有些细节很直接，只需理解字面意思即可；有些则很间接，需要综合、归纳、推理才能得出。另外，虽然人物传记类文章的时间、空间或逻辑线索较清晰，但是为了提高难度，命题者往往使用倒叙或插叙等手段故意打乱故事的陈述次序，使行文的跳跃性增强，情节复杂化。如第58题，第二段第一句话告诉我们，推销员之死是对美国制度的有力的抨击，后面又告诉我们在这金钱至上的制度里，主人公因迷茫、失败最终“kills himself”，暴露了美国商业世界的残酷(exposes the cruelty of the American business world)，由此可知他是美国制度的受害者。本部分内容讲解结束按ESC键退出全屏播放
