Arthur  Miller(1915-2005)is universally  recognized  as one of the greatest dramatists  of the 20^th  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.

 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.

阅读短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题。

Big storms, high waves, technical failures, loneliness, After battling hard times and danger for over nine months. British teenager Mike Perham made history last month as the youngest person to sail solo (单独) around the world.

     The 17-year-old made the record after he cleared the Panama Canal ( 巴拿马运河) and then sailed through the Caribbean and home across the Atlantic.

     Mike is only three months younger than Zac Sunderland. the 17-year-old American boy who had taken the crown as the youngest solo around-the-world sailor in July.

     The two youngsters met in Cape Town in South Africa as they crossed the globe in different directions. Mike insisted they were not rival (竞争对手). "No. It's two teenagers going out there, living their dream and having the adventure of a lifetime." he said.

     Mike may be young, but he is no stranger to sailing adventures. He picked up the hobby at age 6 when his father took him out in a small boat on a local lake. Father and son sailed separate boats across the Atlantic when Mike was 14, making him the youngest person to cross that ocean solo. That record gave him the taste for this even greater challenge.

     On the recent journey. the scariest moment for Mike came when his sailboat was hit by storms in the southem Indian Ocean.

     "We were picked up by what felt like a 60-foot wave and threw down on our side at 90 degrees," he said.

     "It felt like I was going right over. Stuff was flying around and I just thought 'Oh no'".

     At other times, he had to dive into the Pacific and fix problems. He tied himself to the boat, jumped into the water and went to work with a knife in 30-second dives undemeath (在......之下) the boat to cut a rope away.

     Mike said he felt proud that he made his dream come true. "You've got to have confidence in yourself that you will make it." he said.

1.What's the main idea of the passage?  (No more than 15 words)

2.Which canal did Mike Perham cross? (No more than 3 words)

3.What does the underlined word "taste" in the fifth paragraph mean? (1 word)

4.What did Mike believe in? (No more than lO words)

5.What do you think of Mike Perham? (No more than 10 words)

 

    A1 Smith，former governor of New York State，was a famous honest  politician．He was born very poor on the East side of New York City．He had little education．He worked very hard and won great success．

    One day，as governor，he was visiting the state prison at Sing Sing，which one of the largest prison in the United States．The head of the prison asked Mr．Smith to say something to the prisoners．

    Mr．Smith had never spoken to this kind of audience before．He did not know how to begin．

    Finally，he said，“My fellow citizens．．．’’It was followed by a burst of laughter．Then he remembered that when a man goes to prison he is no longer a citizen．He took a breath and corrected himself，“My fellow prisoners．．’’That did not sound right，so he finally said：“WelI，anyway，I am giad to see so many of you here today．’’

Who was Al Smith          。

    A．A man famous for his honesty

    B A very good speechmaker．

    C Former governor of New York City．

    D．Former governor of New York State

AI Smith succeeded         ．

  A．with his parents’help                      B．through his own efforts

   C．because he had had 1ittle education    D．because he was clever

When AI Smith said，“My fellow prisoners．．”            

    A．it seemed that he was kind hearted

    B it seemed that he himself was one of the prisoners

    C it seemed that the prisoners were glad to see him

    D．it seemed that the prisoners welcomed him

What is the story mainly about?

    A．A humorous joke?    B A famous politician．

    C．An honest story D．A prison in the United States．

 

2.4.6

第Ⅱ卷(非选择题 共25分）

第四部分：英语技能运用（共两节，满分46分）

第一节：根据句子的意思，写出正确的单词，并注意词的正确形式。（共10小题；10分）。

81. Another thing that ＿＿＿困惑 people is that Newspapers and magazine never criticize any influential person.

82. I patted her _______(温柔地) on the shoulder.

83. He is no longer in good health, and his ability to work is l＿＿＿.

84. This restaurant was not giving its ______(顾客) energy-giving food.

85. Without the atmosphere p _______ our earth from the sun, it would

be too hot for any living things to live on.

86. It was all my fault that my son had made such a silly but serious m _______.

87. To succeed, we must ___________(结合) talent with working hard.

88. He has been working for a long time, but he is still full of __________.（energetic）

89. Once the balance of nature is b ______, natural disasters are likely to strike in ways beyond

90. In order to win back the customers, the owner of the restaurant decided to sell his food at a d ____.

 

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.