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?
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小题2: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.小题3: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小题4: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.
小题1:B
小题2:C
小题3:A
小题4:D
题目分析：主要讲述了Arthur Miller的生平以及他的著名剧作《推销员之死》以及他对文学史上的巨大贡献。
小题1:从第一段drawn like so many others by the “Great American Dream”可得知他父亲是被“美国梦”所吸引。
小题2:从第二段第三，四，五行及最后一行可知Willy Loman陷入到残酷的商业体系不能自拔以致最后自杀，说明他是美国体制的牺牲品。
小题3:从第四段的描述 It was the first play to win all three of these major awards可得知《推销员之死》上演后，获得了巨大成功。
小题4:纵观全文，主要讲述了Arthur Miller 以及他的著名剧作。
点评：主要讲述了Arthur Miller 以及他的著名剧作。集中考查了细节题，要求考生有较强的细节理解能力。人物传记体文章的往往以时间的先后或事情发展为主线，空间或逻辑线索强，阅读时注意把握。