高考英语 阅读理解分类汇编之人物传记类

2011高考英语阅读理解分类汇编之人物传记类

1.（2011·山东卷）A

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 l930s. Millers' 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 his worth. 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 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.56. 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 \ C. He hoped to make his son a dramatist.

D. His family business failed.

57. 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 58. 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. 59. 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 60. 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. 【解析】：56-60:BACAD

【语篇解读】本文是讲述了阿瑟.密勒的生平经历及他的代表作Death of a Salesman的内容及评价。

36. B。细节题。从第一段第二句话可知米勒的父亲已经从奥地利迁往美国，是和许多其他人

一样受“伟大的美国梦”的驱使。

37. A。细节推断题。从第二段第一句话可知米勒写《推销员之死》的目的是对美国制度的攻

击，因为美国商业制度的侵犯性和坚持将金钱和社会地位作为价值的显示。A 指出了, 暴露了美国商业世界的残酷。下文也提到了，in the cruel world of business。

38. C.推理判断题。从上文介绍情节中得知Willy Loman是戏剧中一个角色，而这个角色最终

因为在这个制度中屡遭失败自杀身亡，因此推断他是美国制度的受害者。 39. A.细节推断题。从第三段得知一上映便赢得许多奖项，因此获得巨大成功。 40. D。主旨大意题。A没有提及，BC都是片面的。 2.（2011·陕西卷）B

Most people know that Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first person to win it twice. However, few people know that she was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner.

Born in September, 1987, Irene Curie was the first of the Curies’ two daughters. Along with nine other children whose parents were also famous scholars, Irene studied in their own school, and her mother was one of the teachers. She finished her high school education at the College of Sévigné in Paris.

Irene entered the University of Paris in 1914 to prepare for a degree in mathematics and physics. When World War I began, Irene went to help her mother, who was using X-ray facilities（设备） to help save the lives of wounded soldiers.Irene continued the work by developing X-ray facilities in military hospitals in France and Belgrum. Her services were recognised in the form of a Military’s Medal by the French government.

In 1918, Irene became her mother’s assistant at the Curie Institute. In December 1924, Frederic Joliot joined the Institute, and Irene taugh him the techniques required for his work. They soon fell in love and were married in 1926. Their daughter Helene was born in 1927 and their son Pierre five years later.

Like her mother, Irene combined family and career. Like her mother, Irene was awarded a Nobel Prize, along with her husband, in 1935. Unfortunately, also like her mother, she developed leukemia because of her work with radioactivity（辐射能）. Irene Joliot-Curie died from leukemia on March 17, 1956.

49．Why was Irene Curie awarded a Military Medal?【B】 A.Because she received a degree in mathematics. B.Because she contributed to saving the wounded. C.Because she won the Nobel Prize with Frederic. D. Because she worked as a helper to her mother.

50．Where did Irene Curie meet her husband Frederio joliot?【A】 A.At the Curie Institute. B.At the Cniversity of Paris. C.At a military hospital. D.At the College of Sevigne.

51．When was the second child of Irene Curie and Frederic Joliot born?【A】 A. In 1932. B. In 1927. C. In 1897. D. In 1926.

52． In which of the following aspects was Irene Cuire different from her mother?【C】 A.Irene worked with radioactivity. B.Irene combined family and career. C.Irene won the Nobel Prize once D.Irene died from leukemia.

3.（2011·重庆卷）D

William Butler Yeats, a most famous Irish writer, was born in Dublin on June 13,1865. His childhood lacked the harmony (和睦) that was typical of a happy family. Later, Yeats shocked his family by saying that he remembered “little of childhood but its pain”. In fact, he inherited (继承) excellent taste in art from his family—both his father and his brother were painters. But he finally settled on literature, particularly drama (戏剧) and poetry.

Yeats had strong faith in coming of new artistic movements. He set himself the fresh task in founding an Irish national theatre in the late 1890s. His early theatrical experiments, however, were not received favorably at the beginning. He didn’t lose heart, and finally enjoyed success in his poetical drama.

Compared with his dramatic works, Yeats’s poems attract much admiring notice. The subject matter includes love, nature, history, time and aging. Though Yeats generally relied on very tradisional forms, he brought modern sensibility to them. As his literary life progressed, his poetry grew finer and richer, which led him to worldwide recognition.

He had not enjoyed a major public lift since winning the Nobel Price in 1923. Yet, he continued writing almost to the end of his life. Had Yeats stopped writing at age 40, he would probably now be valued as a minor poet, for there is no other example in literary history of a poet who produces his greatest works between the age of 50 and 75. After Yeats’s death in 1939, W. H. Auden wrote, among others, the falling liners:

Earth, receive an honoured guest: William Yeats is laid to rest. Let the Irish vessel (船) lie Emptied of its poetry.

68. Which of the following can describe Yeats’s family? A. It filled Yeats’s childhood with laughter. B. It was shocked by Yeats’s choice. C. It was a typically wealthy family. D. It had an artistic atmosphere.

69. According to thse passage, what do we know about Yeats’s life?