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?

  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 other by the“Great American  Dream”However, he experienced severe financial hardship when his family business was ruined in the Great Depression of the  earlv l930s.

  Milles's most famous play, Death of a SaIesman, 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 double 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 sucess. 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 revews,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.

   Millerl died  of hear 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. achieved huge success

B.won the first Tony Award

C. was warmly welcomed by salesmen

D. was severely attacked by dramatists

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.

根据下列句子所给汉语意思和首字母，写出该单词的正确形式（每空仅一词）

1. When something can help people or improve their lives, we say it is

b          (有益的) to people.

2. Now I am very outgoing and have learned to          (适应) to my

disability.

3. He had no t        (天赋) for expressing himself on paper.

4. Mr. Hill has made up his mind to       (离婚) his wife.

5. The poor child was          (抛弃) by his parents and was found

wandering in the street.

6. She put aside a small sum every week to pay for her         (每年的)

holiday.

7. I       (整理，布置) the flowers in the vase as soon as I came back.

8. We should do something to protect the water on the earth.         (否则的话)

the last drop will be our tears.

9. Have you made            (准备) for the coming festival?

10. Everyone in the class is expected to p        (参与) in the discussion.

The speaker, a teacher from a community college, addressed a sympathetic(赞同的) audience. Heads nodded in agreement when he said, “High school English teachers are not doing their jobs.” He described the inadequacies of his students, all high school graduates who can use language only at a grade 9 level. I was unable to determine from his answers to my questions how this grade 9 level had been established.
My topic is not standards nor its decline(降低). What the speaker was really saying is that he is no longer young; he has been teaching for sixteen years, and is able to think and speak like a mature adult.
　　My point is that the frequent complaint of one generation about the one immediately following it is inevitable. It is also human nature to look for the reasons for our dissatisfaction. Before English became a school subject in the late nineteenth century, it was difficult to find the target of the blame for language deficiencies (缺陷). But since then, English teachers have been under constant attack.
　　The complainers think they have hit upon an original idea. As their own command of the language improves, they notice that young people do not have this same ability. Unaware that their own ability has developed through the years, they assume the new generation of young people must be hopeless in this respect. To the eyes and ears of sensitive adults the language of the young always seems inadequate.
Since this concern about the decline and fall of the English language is not perceived(察觉) as a generational phenomenon but rather as something new and peculiar(特有的) to today’s         young people, it naturally follows that today’s English teachers cannot be doing their jobs. Otherwise, young people would not commit offenses against the language.
【小题1】 The speaker the author mentioned in the passage believed that _____.

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?