Mark Twain is a name not usually connected with Broadway(百老匯), 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(諷刺) 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.
小題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.
小題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
小題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
小題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(劇作家)
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

小題1:B
小題2:C
小題3:C
小題4:D

試題分析:本文介紹了馬克吐溫的作品“Is He Dead”第一次在在舞臺上演繹的情況的說明。
小題1:B 細節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章第三段第一行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.可知B項內(nèi)容正確。
小題2:C 推理題。根據(jù)文章第2段It was rediscovered in 2002 by Shelley Fisher Fishkin, an English professor and director of the American Studies Program at Stanford University.可知Shelley Fisher Fishkin對于馬克吐溫的作品很有研究,能夠把沒有表演過的馬克吐溫的作品都重新找出來進行演繹。故C正確。
小題3:C 細節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第三行“Americans greatly admired him because he focused on the life of the common man and the common woman.”可知他的作品里面講述的是普通人的生活。這是每個人喜歡他的原因,故C正確。
小題4:D 推斷題。根據(jù)文章最后一段According to Fishkin, “Is He Dead” is a satire(諷刺) 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.可知馬克吐溫諷刺這種現(xiàn)象,說明他對于這種現(xiàn)象不滿意。故D正確。
點評:本文介紹了馬克吐溫的作品“Is He Dead”第一次在在舞臺上演繹的情況的說明。試考生在閱讀基礎(chǔ)上的邏輯推理能力,要求考生根據(jù)文章所述事件的邏輯關(guān)系,對未說明的趨勢或結(jié)局作出合理的推斷;或根據(jù)作者所闡述的觀點理論,對文章未涉及的現(xiàn)象、事例給以解釋?忌紫纫屑氶喿x短文,完整了解信息,準(zhǔn)確把握作者觀點。
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小題8:
A.discussB.switchC.exhaustD.cover
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When we become interested in the psychological effects of colors, it is important to know that not all societies share our opinion of those effects on our emotions. What we hold as an "objective" observation on a color is often nothing more than a reflection of our cultural belongingness, which has attributed properties to that color for generations.
Why is it not possible for us to hold a really objective discourse(論述)on the subject? In part, because it is very difficult to separate the psychological from the symbolic, the symbolic aspects are definitely cultural. Often, and this without our realizing it, they influence our understanding of colors and the following emotions - both psychological aspects. Black and white are good examples. In western countries, black is considered serious, dramatic and sometimes sad. People are warned against its potentially depressing effects on decoration. Black is the traditional color of mourning. White, on the other hand, is associated with purity, peace and optimism. For those reasons, white is the traditional color of bridal dresses. No one would think of attending a funeral in white. Any more than it would occur to a bride to wear black. We simply remain convinced that it is not in the "nature" of those colors. Yet, in certain oriental countries, it is white, not black that is the color of mourning.
That having been said, there is some “overlapping” in the properties different cultures attribute to certain colors. For example, Feng Shui, the traditional Chinese philosophy that distinguishes between good and evil influences explains colors much in the same way as the majority of western color specialists. Is that to say that colors have real natural properties which all humans perceive(感知) in the same way or is the phenomenon an example of the cross-influences that affect the thinking of cultures brought closer to one another by a certain Venetian(威尼斯人) called Marco Polo? It is difficult to say.
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A.personal tasteB.our aesthetics
C.cultural effectsD.psychological effects
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A.Because it is often nothing more than a reflection of our cultural belongingness.
B.Because the colors have the properties for generations.
C.Because it is difficult to separate the psychological from the cultural.
D.Because the symbolic aspects influence our perception of colors.
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A.differenceB.conflictC.samenessD.a(chǎn)greement
小題4: In western countries, white is ______.
A.preferred by bridalsB.used in a funerals sometimes
C.depressing in decorationD.pure in its nature
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A.Different cultures can have the same properties of colors.
B.If you feel emotions for a color, note them and remember them.
C.All humans perceive colors’ natural properties in the same way.
D.Marco Polo disclosed the psychological effects of colors.

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