高三英语二轮复习-话题训练-人物传记类(阅读理解).doc

话题五：人物传记类
(一)
(2011·山东高考)
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 Austria­Hungary, 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.
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 best­known play.
答案与解析
1．B　细节理解题。根据第一段第二句“Miller's father had moved to the USA from Austria­Hungary，drawn like so many others by the ‘Great American Dream’”可知，他父亲移居美国像其他许多人一样是受当年伟大的美国梦吸引。
2.A　推理判断题。根据第二段可知，这部戏剧对美国制度是一个抨击，它表现了咄咄逼人的做生意的方式以及坚信金钱和社会地位才是财富的象征。主人公Willy陷入困境，然而生意场上残酷无情：如果他做不了，那么对老板而言，他就一无是处，他必须离开。故此部戏剧揭露了美国职场的残酷。
3．C　推理判断题。根据第二段最后两句“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.”可知主人公面对失败无所适从，无法面对现实，从而走向毁灭，成了美国资本主义制度下美国梦的牺牲者。故选C项。
4.A　细节理解题。根据第三段可知，这部戏剧自1949第一次搬上银幕就获得了“托尼戏剧音乐奖”、“纽约戏剧评论奖”、“普利策戏剧奖”三项大奖，获得极大的成功。因此A项正确。
5．D　主旨大意题。纵观全文不难看出本文主要介绍Arthur Miller 以及他的戏剧Death of a Salesman《推销员之死》。其他选项都不全面，只是文中叙述的一部分。故D项正确。
(二)
(2011·福建高考)
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was one of the most private women in the world, yet when she went to work as an editor in the last two decades of her life, she revealed (展现) herself as she did nowhere else.
After the death of her second husband, Greek shipping magnate (巨头) Aristotle Onassis, Jacqueline's close friend and former White House social secretary Letitia Baldrige made a suggestion that she consider a career(职业) in publishing.After consideration, Jacqueline accepted it.Perhaps she hoped to find there some ideas about how to live her own life.She became not less but more interested in reading.For the last 20 years of her life, Jacqueline worked as a publisher's editor，first at Viking, then at Doubleday, pursuing (追求) a late­life career longer than her two marriages combined. During her time in publishing, she was responsible for managing and editing more than 100 successfully marketed books. Among the first books were In the Russian Style and Inventive Paris Clothes.She also succeeded in persuading TV hosts Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell to transform their popular television conversations into a book, The Power of Myth.The book went on to become an international best­seller.She dealt, too, with Michael Jackson as he prepared his autobiography (自传)，Moonwalk.
Jacqueline may have been hired for her name and for her social relations, but she soon proved her worth.Her choices, suggestions and widespread social relations were of benefit both to the publishing firms and to Jacqueline herself.In the books she selected for publication, she built on a lifetime of spending time by herself as a reader and left a record of the growth of her mind.Her books are the autobiography she never wrote.Her_role_as_First_Lady,_in_the_end,_was_overshadowed_by_her_performance_as_an_editor.However, few knew that she had achieved so much.
1．We can learn from the passage that Jacqueline ________.
A．became fond of reading after working as an editor
B．was in charge of publishing 100 books
C．promoted her books through social relations
D．gained a lot from her career as an editor
2．The underlined sentence in the last paragraph probably means that ________.
A．Jacqueline ended up as an editor rather than as First Lady
B．Jacqueline's life as First Lady was more colorful than as an editor
C．Jacqueline was more successful as an editor than as First Lady
D．Jacqueline's role as First Lady was more brilliant than as an editor
3．What can be inferred from the passage?
A．Jacqueline's two marriages lasted more than 20 years.
B．Jacqueline's own publishing firm was set up eventually.
C．Jacqueline's views and beliefs were reflected in the books she edited.
D．Jacqueline's achievements were widely known.
4．The passage is mainly ________.
A．an introduction of Jacqueline's life both as First Lady and as an editor
B．a brief description of Jacqueline's lifelong experiences
C．a brief account of Jacqueline's career as an editor in her last 20 years
D．an analysis of Jacqueline's social relations in publishing
答案与解析
1．D　细节理解题。由短文第一段中的“...she went to work as an editor in the last two decades of her life, she revealed herself as she did nowhere else”可推出她在自己的编辑事业中获益很大。故选D项。
2. C　细节理解题。根据画线句后面的“然而，很少有人知道她取得了这么多成就”可知，画线句的含义是：她作为第一夫人的角色最终在她作为编辑的出色表现前黯然失色。故选C项。
3．C　推理判断题。由最后一段倒数第三句“Her books are the autobiography she never wrote.”即她编辑的书籍就是她从来没有写过的自传。由此可知，她的观点和信仰都反映在她所编辑的书籍中。故选C项。
4．C　主旨大意题。由短文第一段中“...as an editor in the last two decades of her life...”以及整篇文章的叙述可知，本文主要介绍Jacqueline 生命中最后20年的编辑生涯。故选C项。
(三)
(2011·辽宁高考)
Many people believe Henry Ford invented the automobile (汽车). But Henry Ford did not start to build his first car until 1896. That was eleven years after two Germans developed the world's first automobile. Many people believe Henry Ford invented the production line that moved a car's parts to the worker, instead of making the worker move to the parts. That is not true, either. Many factory owners used methods of this kind before Ford. What Henry Ford did was to use other people's ideas and make them better. And he made the whole factory a moving production line.
In the early days of the automobile, almost every car maker raced his cars. It was the best way of gaining public notice. Henry Ford decided to build a racing car. Ford's most famous race was his first one. It was also the last race in which he drove the car himself.
The race was in 1901, at a field near Detroit. All of the most famous cars had entered, but only two were left: the Winton and Ford's. The Winton was famous for its speed. Most people thought the race was over before it began.
The Winton took an early lead. But halfway through the race, it began to lose power. Ford started to gain. And near the end of the race, he took the lead. Ford won the race and defeated the Winton. His name appeared in newspapers and he became well­known all over the United States.Within weeks of the race, Henry Ford formed a new automobile company. In 1903, a doctor in Detroit bought the first car from the company. That_sale was the beginning of Henry Ford's dream.Ford said: “I will build a motor car for the great mass of people. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for one person to operate and care for. It will be built of the best materials. It will be built by the best men to be employed. And it will be built with the simplest plans that modern engineering can produce. It will be so low in price that no man making good money will be unable to own one.”
The Model T was a car of that kind. It only cost $850. It was a simple machine that drivers could depend on. Doctors bought the Model T. So did farmers. Even criminals. They considered it the fastest and surest form of transportation. Americans loved the Model T. They wrote stories and songs about it. Thousands of Model T's were built in the first few years.
1．What do we know about Henry Ford from Paragraph 1 ?
A. He made good use of ideas from others.
B. He produced the first car in the world.
C. He knew how to improve auto parts.
D. He invented the production line.
2．Why did Henry Ford take part in the 1901 car race?
A. To show off his driving skills.
B. To draw public attention.
C. To learn about new technology.
D. To raise money for his new company.
3．“That sale” in Paragraph 4 refers to ________.
A. the selling of Ford cars at reduced prices
B. the sale of Model T to the mass of people
C. the selling of a car to a Detroit doctor
D. the sales target for the Ford Company
4．What was Henry Ford's dream according to the text?
A. Producing cars for average customers.
B. Building racing cars of simple design.
C. Designing more car models.
D. Starting more companies.
答案与解析
1．A　细节理解题。根据第一段的“What Henry Ford did was to use other people's ideas and make them better”．可知，A项符合题意。
2．B　细节理解题。根据第二段的“In the early days of the automobile, almost every car maker raced his cars. It was the best way of gaining public notice. Henry Ford decided to build a racing car. Ford's most famous race was his first one.”可知，B项符合题意。
3．C　词义猜测题。由第四段画线单词前的一句“In 1903, a doctor in Detroit bought the first car from the company.”以及画线单词所在的一句可知，C项符合题意。
4．A　推理判断题。根据第四段的 That sale was the beginning of Henry Ford's dream. Ford said：“ I will build a motor car for the great mass of people... making good money will be unable to own one.”可知，A项符合题意。
(四)
(2011·陕西高考)
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, 1897, Irene Curie was the first of the Curies' two daughters. Along with nice 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 X­ray facilities (设备) to help save the lives of wounded soldiers. Irene continued the work by developing X­ray facilities in military hospitals in France and Belgium. Her services were recognised in the form of a Military 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 taught 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 Joliot­Curie died from leukemia on March 17,1956.
1．Why was Irene Curie awarded a Military Medal?
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.
2．Where did Irene Curie meet her husband Frederic Joliot?
A. At the Curie Institute.　　
B. At the University of Paris.
C. At a military hospital.
D. At the College of Sévigné.
3．When was the second child of Irene Curie and Frederic Joliot born?
A. In 1932.
B. In 1927.
C. In 1897.
D. In 1926.
4．In which of the following aspects was Irene Curie different from her mother?
A. Irene worked with radioactivity.
B. Irene combined family and career.
C. Irene won the Nobel Prize once.
D. Irene died from leukemia.
答案与解析
1.B　细节理解题。根据第三段最后三句可知，居里夫人的女儿艾琳·居里之所以获得军人奖章是因为她在抢救伤员方面做出了很多贡献。
2.A　细节理解题。根据第四段前两句可知，艾琳·居里是在居里研究所遇到后来成为她丈夫的弗雷德里克·约里奥。
3.A　细节理解题。根据第四段最后一句可知，他们的第一个孩子出生于1927年，第二个孩子是五年后出生的，也就是1932年。
4.C　细节理解题。根据最后一段内容可知，艾琳·居里与自己的母亲有很多相似之处，唯一不同的就是，她只获得一次诺贝尔奖，而母亲获得过两次。