There’s talk today about how as a society we’ve become separated by colors, income, city vs suburb, red state vs blue．But we also divide ourselves with unseen dotted lines．I’m talking about the property lines that isolate us from the people we are physically closest to: our neighbors．

It was a disaster on my street, in a middle-class suburb of Rochester Town, several years ago that got me thinking about this．One night, a neighbor shot and killed his wife and then himself; their two middle-school children ran screaming into the night．Though the couple had lived on our street for seven years, my wife and I hardly knew them．We’d see them jogging together．Sometimes our children would share cars to school with theirs．

Some of the neighbors attended the funeral（葬礼）and called on relatives．Someone laid a single bunch of yellow flowers at the family’s front door, but nothing else was done to mark the loss．Within weeks, the children had moved with their grandparents to another part of the town．The only indication that anything had changed was the “For Sale” sign in front of their house．

A family had disappeared, yet the impact on our neighborhood was slight．How could that be? Did I live in a community or just in a house on a street surrounded by people whose lives were entirely separate? Few of my neighbors, I later learned, knew others on the street more than casually; many didn’t know even the names of those a few doors down．

Why is it that in an age of low long-distance expenses, discount airlines and the Internet, when we can create community anywhere, we often don’t know the people who live next door? Maybe my neighbors didn’t mind living this way, but I did．I wanted to get to know the people whose houses I passed each day – not just what they do for a living and how many children they have, but the depth of their experience and what kind of people they are．

What would it take, I wondered, to break through the barriers between us? I thought about childhood sleepovers（在外过夜）, and the familiar feeling and deep understanding I used to get from waking up inside a friend’s home．Would my neighbors let me sleep over and write about their lives from inside their own houses?

72．The underlined word “this” in the second paragraph probably refers to the talk about ____．

       A．how a society is divided by dotted lines 

       B．the property lines separating us from our neighbors

       C．the couple’s death                  

       D．understanding each other between neighbors

73．Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the author’s description?

       A．The husband killed himself．

       B．The couple had the habit of jogging together．

       C．Their children moved to live with grandparents after the couple’s death．

       D．The author never knew the couple until they died seven years later．

74．From the last paragraph, we can infer that the author _____ in his childhood．

       A．had once slept in the open air outside

       B．had slept in his friend’s home more than once

       C．had slept at home but woke up to find himself inside his friend’s home

       D．used to live in his friend’s home

75．Following the last paragraph, the author will perhaps _____．

       A．leave his home and began his writing career

       B．sleep in the open air and write about his experiences

       C．sleep in his neighbors’ homes and write about their family lives

       D．interview his neighbors and write about their houses

Arthur Miller was born on October 17th, 1915 and died on February 10th, 2005.Over the course of seven decades(十年) of literature career(文学生涯), Arthur Miller created some of the most memorable stage plays(舞台剧) in American Literature. He is the author of DeathofaSalesmanandTheCrucible. Born and raised in Manhattan, Miller went through the best and the worst of American society.
Arthur Miller's childhood：His father was a productive shop­keeper and clothing manufacturer(制造商) until the Great Depression(大萧条时期) dried up nearly all business opportunities.Yet, despite being faced with poverty, Miller made the best of his childhood. He was a very active young man, in love with such sports as football and baseball. When he wasn't playing outside, he enjoyed reading adventure stories. He was also kept busy by his many boyhood jobs. He often worked alongside his father. During other times in his life, he delivered bakery goods and worked as a clerk in a car parts warehouse.
College life: In 1934, Miller left the east coast to attend the University of Michigan. He was accepted into their school of journalism. His experiences during the Depression made him skeptical (怀疑的) about religion. Politically, he began leaning towards the "Left”.And since the theater was the cutting edge way for socio­economic liberals (自由主义者) to express their views, he decided to enter the Hopwood Drama competition. His first play, NoVillain, received an award from the university.It was an impressive beginning for the young playwright; he had never studied plays or playwriting, and he had written his play in just five days!
Miller's later years: In 1987, his autobiography was published. Many of his later plays dealt with personal experience. In particular, his final play, FinishingthePicture mirrors the last days of his marriage to Marilyn Monroe.In 2005, Arthur Miller passed away at the age of 89.
【小题1】What can we know about Arthur Miller from Paragraph 2?

Arthur Miller was born on October 17th, 1915 and died on February 10th, 2005.Over the course of seven decades(十年) of literature career(文学生涯), Arthur Miller created some of the most memorable stage plays(舞台剧) in American Literature. He is the author of DeathofaSalesmanandTheCrucible. Born and raised in Manhattan, Miller went through the best and the worst of American society.

Arthur Miller's childhood：His father was a productive shop­keeper and clothing manufacturer(制造商) until the Great Depression(大萧条时期) dried up nearly all business opportunities.Yet, despite being faced with poverty, Miller made the best of his childhood. He was a very active young man, in love with such sports as football and baseball. When he wasn't playing outside, he enjoyed reading adventure stories. He was also kept busy by his many boyhood jobs. He often worked alongside his father. During other times in his life, he delivered bakery goods and worked as a clerk in a car parts warehouse.

College life: In 1934, Miller left the east coast to attend the University of Michigan. He was accepted into their school of journalism. His experiences during the Depression made him skeptical (怀疑的) about religion. Politically, he began leaning towards the "Left”.And since the theater was the cutting edge way for socio­economic liberals (自由主义者) to express their views, he decided to enter the Hopwood Drama competition. His first play, NoVillain, received an award from the university.It was an impressive beginning for the young playwright; he had never studied plays or playwriting, and he had written his play in just five days!

Miller's later years: In 1987, his autobiography was published. Many of his later plays dealt with personal experience. In particular, his final play, FinishingthePicture mirrors the last days of his marriage to Marilyn Monroe.In 2005, Arthur Miller passed away at the age of 89.

1.What can we know about Arthur Miller from Paragraph 2?

A．He was born into a poor family.

B．His father wasn't good at business.

C．He couldn't adjust himself to poverty.

D．He had to do lots of jobs to make a living.

2.Arthur Miller began to write plays ________.

A．when he was in college

B．when he was a small boy

C．because his father encouraged him to do so

D．because it was one of his school assignments(作业)

3.We can infer from Paragraph 3 that ________.

A．the University of Michigan is on the east coast of the USA

B．Miller's university education made him doubt religion

C．Miller learned playwriting all by himself

D．socio­economic liberals were probably not politically "left”

4.Which of the following plays tells the story of Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe?

A．Death of a Salesman.

B．The Crucible.

C．No Villain.

D．Finishing the Picture.

5.The passage is intended to________.

A．introduce Arthur Miller's plays

B．tell us about Arthur Miller's childhood

C．explain how Arthur Miller started to write plays

D．give us a brief introduction to Arthur Miller's life

Arthur Miller was born on October 17th, 1915 and died on February 10th, 2005.Over the course of seven decades(十年) of literature career(文学生涯), Arthur Miller created some of the most memorable stage plays(舞台剧) in American Literature. He is the author of DeathofaSalesmanandTheCrucible. Born and raised in Manhattan, Miller went through the best and the worst of American society.
Arthur Miller's childhood：His father was a productive shop­keeper and clothing manufacturer(制造商) until the Great Depression(大萧条时期) dried up nearly all business opportunities.Yet, despite being faced with poverty, Miller made the best of his childhood. He was a very active young man, in love with such sports as football and baseball. When he wasn't playing outside, he enjoyed reading adventure stories. He was also kept busy by his many boyhood jobs. He often worked alongside his father. During other times in his life, he delivered bakery goods and worked as a clerk in a car parts warehouse.
College life: In 1934, Miller left the east coast to attend the University of Michigan. He was accepted into their school of journalism. His experiences during the Depression made him skeptical (怀疑的) about religion. Politically, he began leaning towards the "Left”.And since the theater was the cutting edge way for socio­economic liberals (自由主义者) to express their views, he decided to enter the Hopwood Drama competition. His first play, NoVillain, received an award from the university.It was an impressive beginning for the young playwright; he had never studied plays or playwriting, and he had written his play in just five days!
Miller's later years: In 1987, his autobiography was published. Many of his later plays dealt with personal experience. In particular, his final play, FinishingthePicture mirrors the last days of his marriage to Marilyn Monroe.In 2005, Arthur Miller passed away at the age of 89

1. 1.

   What can we know about Arthur Miller from Paragraph 2?

   1. A.
      He was born into a poor family
   2. B.
      His father wasn't good at business
   3. C.
      He couldn't adjust himself to poverty
   4. D.
      He had to do lots of jobs to make a living
2. 2.

   Arthur Miller began to write plays ________

   1. A.
      when he was in college
   2. B.
      when he was a small boy
   3. C.
      because his father encouraged him to do so
   4. D.
      because it was one of his school assignments(作业)
3. 3.

   We can infer from Paragraph 3 that ________

   1. A.
      the University of Michigan is on the east coast of the USA
   2. B.
      Miller's university education made him doubt religion
   3. C.
      Miller learned playwriting all by himself
   4. D.
      socio­economic liberals were probably not politically "left”
4. 4.

   Which of the following plays tells the story of Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe?

   1. A.
      Death of a Salesman
   2. B.
      The Crucible
   3. C.
      No Villain
   4. D.
      Finishing the Picture
5. 5.

   The passage is intended to________

   1. A.
      introduce Arthur Miller's plays
   2. B.
      tell us about Arthur Miller's childhood
   3. C.
      explain how Arthur Miller started to write plays
   4. D.
      give us a brief introduction to Arthur Miller's life