Mark Twain is a name not usually connected with Broadway(百老汇), but now his play “Is He Dead” will receive its first public performance on November 29.
“Is He Dead” was written by Mark Twain in 1898 but was never performed. It was rediscovered in 2002 by Shelley Fisher Fishkin, an English professor and director of the American Studies Program at Stanford University. It was published the following year by the University of California Press.
The story is about a group of poor artists who fake the death of their friend in order to increase the value of his work.
“Is He Dead” is set in France in the 1840s and centers on the French painter Jean-Francois Millet. “Millet was probably the most popular European painter in the United States in Twain’s lifetime,” Fishkin said in a telephone interview. “Americans greatly admired him because he focused on the life of the common man and the common woman.”
According to Fishkin, “Is He Dead” is a satire(讽刺) about how value is created in the art world. Twain wrote the play when he was coming out of the hardest time of his life.
【小题1】What’s “Is He Dead” about?

Mark Twain is a name not usually connected with Broadway(百老汇), but now his play “Is He Dead” will receive its first public performance on November 29.

“Is He Dead” was written by Mark Twain in 1898 but was never performed. It was rediscovered in 2002 by Shelley Fisher Fishkin, an English professor and director of the American Studies Program at Stanford University. It was published the following year by the University of California Press.

The story is about a group of poor artists who fake the death of their friend in order to increase the value of his work.

“Is He Dead” is set in France in the 1840s and centers on the French painter Jean-Francois Millet. “Millet was probably the most popular European painter in the United States in Twain’s lifetime,” Fishkin said in a telephone interview. “Americans greatly admired him because he focused on the life of the common man and the common woman.”

According to Fishkin, “Is He Dead” is a satire(讽刺) about how value is created in the art world. Twain wrote the play when he was coming out of the hardest time of his life.

1.What’s “Is He Dead” about?

A．The death of a poor artist in the 1840s.

B．A trick played by a group of poor artists.

C．A story about the French painter Jean-Francois Millet.

D．An experience Mark Twain had gone through.

2.From the second paragraph we learn that ______.

A．the play was one of Mark Twain’s early works

B．no one knew the play until 2002

C．Fishkin is an expert on Mark Twain’s works

D．the play was published in 2002

3.According to Fishkin, Jean-Francois Millet was admired by Americans because ____.

A．he was a famous French painter at that time

B．he focused on the life of ordinary Americans

C．his works showed respect for ordinary people

D．Mark Twain agreed on his thoughts

4.We can infer from the passage that Mark Twain ______.

A．had experienced several difficult times for no money

B．was a good novelist but a bad playwright(剧作家)

C．was a writer who only cared about ordinary people’s life

D．was dissatisfied with some methods of creating the value of art work

Mark Twain is a name not usually connected with Broadway(百老汇), but now his play “Is He Dead” will receive its first public performance on November 29.
“Is He Dead” was written by Mark Twain in 1898 but was never performed. It was rediscovered in 2002 by Shelley Fisher Fishkin, an English professor and director of the American Studies Program at Stanford University. It was published the following year by the University of California Press.
The story is about a group of poor artists who fake the death of their friend in order to increase the value of his work.
“Is He Dead” is set in France in the 1840s and centers on the French painter Jean-Francois Millet. “Millet was probably the most popular European painter in the United States in Twain’s lifetime,” Fishkin said in a telephone interview. “Americans greatly admired him because he focused on the life of the common man and the common woman.”
According to Fishkin, “Is He Dead” is a satire(讽刺) about how value is created in the art world. Twain wrote the play when he was coming out of the hardest time of his life

1. 1.

   What’s “Is He Dead” about?

   1. A.
      The death of a poor artist in the 1840s
   2. B.
      A trick played by a group of poor artists
   3. C.
      A story about the French painter Jean-Francois Millet
   4. D.
      An experience Mark Twain had gone through
2. 2.

   From the second paragraph we learn that ______

   1. A.
      the play was one of Mark Twain’s early works
   2. B.
      no one knew the play until 2002
   3. C.
      Fishkin is an expert on Mark Twain’s works
   4. D.
      the play was published in 2002
3. 3.

   According to Fishkin, Jean-Francois Millet was admired by Americans because ____

   1. A.
      he was a famous French painter at that time
   2. B.
      he focused on the life of ordinary Americans
   3. C.
      his works showed respect for ordinary people
   4. D.
      Mark Twain agreed on his thoughts
4. 4.

   We can infer from the passage that Mark Twain ______

   1. A.
      had experienced several difficult times for no money
   2. B.
      was a good novelist but a bad playwright(剧作家)
   3. C.
      was a writer who only cared about ordinary people’s life
   4. D.
      was dissatisfied with some methods of creating the value of art work

Some people argue that the pressures on international sportsmen and sportswomen kill the spirit of sport: the pursuit (追求) of personal excellence. Children kick a football around for fun. When they get older and play for local school teams, they become competitive but they still enjoy playing. The sportsman representing his country cannot afford to think about enjoying himself, he has to think only about winning. He is responsible for an entire nation’s hopes and dreams.
A good example is the football World Cup. Football is the world’s most important sport. It is even more important now that the United States is seriously taking it up. Winning the World Cup is perhaps eh greatest of international sporting success. Mention “ Argentina ” to someone and the chances are that he’ll think of football. In a sense, winning the World Cup “ put Argentina on the map ”.
Sports fans and supporters get quite irrational about the World Cup. People in England felt that their country was somehow important after they won the World Cup. Last year thousands of Scots sold their cars, and even their houses, and spent all their money traveling to Argentina, where the finals were played.
So am I arguing that international competitions kill the idea of sport? Certainly not! Do the Argentineans really believe that because eleven of their men proved the most skillful at football, their nation is better than all others? Not really. But it’s nice to know that you won, and that in one way at least your country is best.
【小题1】What is mainly discussed in this passage is _________.

Mo Yan, the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature, said he is not sure about whether he is happy after winning the prize.

In an interview with China Central Television broadcast on Sunday night, Mo said “I don't know,” when a reporter asked if he was happy.“Happiness means a healthy body and a total absence of mental burdens, but now I’m under high pressure and bothered by worries. Can I say that I'm happy?” he said. “But if I say I'm not happy, people will consider that I'm striking a pose. How could you be unhappy after winning the Nobel Prize?”

Mo, born into a farmer’s family in East China’s Shandong province, As a 12-year-old during the Cultural Revolution he left school to work, first in agriculture, later in a factory. In 1976 he joined the People’s Liberation Army and during this time began to study literature and write. His first short story was published in a literary journal in 1981.

“In his writing, Mo Yan draws on his youthful experiences and on settings in the province of his birth. This is apparent in his novel Hong gaoliang jiazu (1987, in English Red Sorghum 1993),” said the academy in a statement of Mo’s biography. Red Sorghum was successfully filmed in 1987, directed by famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou.

Mo won the Nobel Prize for Literature, which is worth $1.2 million, on Oct 11 for his “hallucinatory realism” which merges “folk tales, history and the contemporary”. Dozens of his works have been translated into English, French and Japanese and many other languages.

He is the first Chinese citizen to win the prize.The award sparked strong interest about contemporary Chinese literature among the public, and his books have been flying off the shelves in many bookstores across the country.

1.The followings are TRUE except_____________.

A．He has won about 8 million yuan.

B．His works are all about farmers.

C．He has a big influence on Chinese contemporary literature.

D．Reporters have interviewed him about his winning.

2.From the passage we can know__________.

A．He won the prize because of his story Red Sorghum.

B．He wanted to become a writer when he was very young.

C．Mo Yan’s works have been translated into Russian.

D．Mo Yan was born in a farmer family.

3.What is Paragraph Three mainly about ?

A．His different work.                      B．His early life.

C．He switched over to literature.             D．His family and hometown.

4.What can we infer from the passage?

A．Mo Yan is very happy to win the Nobel Prize.

B．More and more readers are buying Mo’s books to read in China.

C．Winning the Nobel Prize is not easy.

D．Mo Yan won the prize with the help of Zhang Yimou.