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 mon man and the mon 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 ing out of the hardest time of his life.
【小题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.【小题2】From the second paragraph we learn that .A．the play was one of Mark Twain’s early worksB．no one knew the play until 2002C．Fishkin is an expert on Mark Twain’s worksD．the play was published in 2002【小题3】According to Fishkin, Jean-Francois Millet was admired by Americans because .A．he was a famous French painter at that timeB．he focused on the life of ordinary AmericansC．his works showed respect for ordinary peopleD．Mark Twain agreed on his thoughts【小题4】We can infer from the passage that Mark Twain .A．had experienced several difficult times for no moneyB．was a good novelist but a bad playwright(剧作家)C．was a writer who only cared about ordinary people’s lifeD．was dissatisfied with some methods of creating the value of art workB
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(答案→)B
解析：本文介绍了马克吐温的作品“Is He Dead”第一次在在舞台上演绎的情况的说明。
【小题1】B 细节题。根据文章第三段第一行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项内容正确。
【小题2】C 推理题。根据文章第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对于马克吐温的作品很有研究，能够把没有表演过的马克吐温的作品都重新找出来进行演绎。故C正确。
【小题3】C 细节题。根据文章倒数第三行“Americans greatly admired him because he focused on the life of the mon man and the mon woman.”可知他的作品里面讲述的是普通人的生活。这是每个人喜欢他的原因，故C正确。
【小题4】D 推断题。根据文章最后一段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 ing out of the hardest time of his life.可知马克吐温讽刺这种现象，说明他对于这种现象不满意。故D正确。