2017高考英语人物传记类阅读理解

话题五：人物传记类(一)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 Austria­Hungary, 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.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 failed2．The play Death of a Salesman________.A. exposes the cruelty of the American business worldB. discusses the ways to get promoted in a companyC. talks about the business career of Arthur MillerD. focuses on the skills in doing business3．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. achieved huge successB. won the first Tony AwardC. was warmly welcomed by salesmenD. was severely attacked by dramatists5．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.答案与解析1．B细节理解题。

根据第一段第二句“Miller's father had moved to the USAfrom Austria-Hungary，drawn like so many others by the ‘Great American Dream’”可知，他父亲移居美国像其他许多人一样是受当年伟大的美国梦吸引。

2.A推理判断题。

根据第二段可知，这部戏剧对美国制度是一个抨击，它表现了咄咄逼人的做生意的方式以及坚信金钱和社会地位才是财富的象征。

主人公Willy陷入困境，然而生意场上残酷无情：如果他做不了，那么对老板而言，他就一无是处，他必须离开。

故此部戏剧揭露了美国职场的残酷。

3．C推理判断题。

根据第二段最后两句“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.”可知主人公面对失败无所适从，无法面对现实，从而走向毁灭，成了美国资本主义制度下美国梦的牺牲者。

故选C项。

4.A细节理解题。

根据第三段可知，这部戏剧自1949第一次搬上银幕就获得了“托尼戏剧音乐奖”、“纽约戏剧评论奖”、“普利策戏剧奖”三项大奖，获得极大的成功。

因此A项正确。

5．D主旨大意题。

纵观全文不难看出本文主要介绍Arthur Miller 以及他的戏剧Death of a Salesman《推销员之死》。

其他选项都不全面，只是文中叙述的一部分。

故D项正确。

(二)Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was one of the most private women in the world, yet when she went to work as an editor in the last two decades of her life, she revealed (展现) herself as she did nowhere else.After the death of her second husband, Greek shipping magnate (巨头) Aristotle Onassis, Jacqueline's close friend and former White House social secretary Letitia Baldrige made a suggestion that she consider a career(职业) in publishing.After consideration, Jacqueline accepted it.Perhaps she hoped to find there some ideas about how to live her own life.She became not less but more interested in reading.For the last 20 years of her life, Jacqueline worked as a publisher's editor，first at Viking, then at Doubleday, pursuing (追求) a late-life career longer than her two marriages combined. During her time in publishing, she was responsible for managing and editing more than 100 successfully marketed books. Among the first books were In the Russian Style and In v enti v e Paris Clothes.She also succeeded in persuading TV hosts Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell to transform their popular television conversations into a book, The Po w er of Myth.The book went on to become an international best-seller.She dealt, too, with Michael Jackson as he prepared his autobiography (自传)，Moon w alk.Jacqueline may have been hired for her name and for her social relations, but she soon proved her worth.Her choices, suggestions and widespread social relations were of benefit both to the publishing firms and to Jacqueline herself.In the books she selected for publication, she built on a lifetime of spending time by herself as a reader and left a record of the growth of her mind.Her books are the autobiography she never wrote.Her_role_as_First_Lady,_in_the_end,_was_overshadowed_by_her_performanc e_as_an_editor.However, few knew that she had achieved so much.1．We can learn from the passage that Jacqueline ________.A．became fond of reading after working as an editorB．was in charge of publishing 100 booksC．promoted her books through social relationsD．gained a lot from her career as an editor2．The underlined sentence in the last paragraph probably means that ________.A．Jacqueline ended up as an editor rather than as First LadyB．Jacqueline's life as First Lady was more colorful than as an editorC．Jacqueline was more successful as an editor than as First LadyD．Jacqueline's role as First Lady was more brilliant than as an editor 3．What can be inferred from the passage?A．Jacqueline's two marriages lasted more than 20 years.B．Jacqueline's own publishing firm was set up eventually.C．Jacqueline's views and beliefs were reflected in the books she edited.D．Jacqueline's achievements were widely known.4．The passage is mainly ________.A．an introduction of Jacqueline's life both as First Lady and as an editorB．a brief description of Jacqueline's lifelong experiencesC．a brief account of Jacqueline's career as an editor in her last 20 yearsD．an analysis of Jacqueline's social relations in publishing答案与解析1．D细节理解题。