For many writers, writing stories or plays is a part-time job: to support themselves they take on other jobs, such as teaching. It is one sign of August Wilson’s success that for many years he has been able to make a living only by writing plays.
Wilson was born in Pittsburgh and dropped out of school in the ninth grade. He was a good reader, however, and continued his education by reading library books, learning about black nationalist movements of the time, and closely observing(观察) the lives of the poor people.
In the late 1960’s Wilson set up a theater pany called Black Horizons and began to think of ways to describe African-American life on the stage. He had the idea of a cycle of plays, each of which was set in a different decade(十年) of the 20th century, showing how African-American life has developed.
The first successful play of this series was Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom about black musicians in Chicago in the 1920s, who are not accepted by white society. Other plays in the series include Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, about blacks in the 1910s who had moved north to Pittsburgh in search of a new identity; Fences, which focuses on a father–son conflict(冲突) in the1950s; and The Piano Lesson, about a 1930s family that was uncertain about whether to sell the family’s treasure. For the last two of these plays Wilson was awarded Pulitzer Prizes.
Wilson has written eight plays in his cycle, the most recent being King Hedley the Second, a play set in the 1980s. His plays are enjoyed by both the blacks and the whites and engage anyone who is interested in African-American experience.
【小题1】Wilson won Pulitzer Prizes for .A．The Piano Lesson & FencesB． Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom & FencesC．The Piano Lesson & King Hedley the SecondD．King Hedley the Second & Joe Turner’s Come and Gone 【小题2】 It is possible that in his series of the 20th –century plays, Wilson plans to write .A．no moreB．two more C．three moreD．four more【小题3】The underlined word “engage” in the last paragraph means .A．award B．benefitC．pleaseD．attract【小题4】What’s the passage mainly about? A．The life of August Wilson.B．The growth of August Wilson.C．A cycle of plays of August Wilson.D．August Wilson’s theater pany.A
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(答案→)A
解析：
试题分析：本文叙述了戏剧作家August Wilson写的一些剧本的内容，当时在社会上的影响，并且提到了有两个剧本---Fences和The Piano Lesson获得了普利策奖金。
【小题1】这是细节理解题。根据Fences, which focuses on a father–son conflict(冲突) in the1950s; and The Piano Lesson, about a 1930s family that was uncertain about whether to sell the family’s treasure. For the last two of these plays Wilson was awarded Pulitzer Prizes.故选A。
【小题2】这是细节理解题。根据本文已经提到Wilson has written eight plays in his cycle, 和He had the idea of a cycle of plays, each of which was set in a different decade(十年) of the 20th century, showing how African-American life has developed.
总共写了八部剧本，所以有可能再写两部或两部多，故选B。
【小题3】这是词义猜测题。根据它后面的定语从句who is interested in African-American experience 可推出故选D。
【小题4】这是主旨大意题。根据最后一段可以看出应选C。
考点：这是一篇记叙文。
点评：词义猜测题旨在考查学生根据上下文对生词做出理解判断的能力。近几年来，阅读理解中的词义猜测题呈上升趋势。在阅读过程中根据选材、背景、及上下文等线索推测出生词词义是真实语言活动中的重要技巧。这一能力可以说是体现阅读理解能力的一项重要指标。