Question

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(觀察) the lives of the poor people.
In the late 1960’s Wilson set up a theater company 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 20^th 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(沖突) 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.
【小題1】Wilson won Pulitzer Prizes for ________.

A．The Piano Lesson & Fences

B． Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom & Fences

C．The Piano Lesson & King Hedley the Second

D．King Hedley the Second & Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

【小題2】 It is possible that in his series of the 20^th –century plays, Wilson plans to write ________.

A．no more

B．two more

C．three more

D．four more

【小題3】The underlined word “engage” in the last paragraph means ________.

A．award

B．benefit

C．please

D．attract

【小題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 company.

Answer 1

【小題1】A
【小題2】B
【小題3】D
【小題4】C

解析試題分析：本文敘述了戲劇作家August Wilson寫的一些劇本的內容，當時在社會上的影響，并且提到了有兩個劇本---Fences和The Piano Lesson獲得了普利策獎金。
【小題1】這是細節理解題。根據Fences, which focuses on a father–son conflict(沖突) 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.故選A。
【小題2】這是細節理解題。根據本文已經提到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 20^th century, showing how African-American life has developed.
總共寫了八部劇本，所以有可能再寫兩部或兩部多，故選B。
【小題3】這是詞義猜測題。根據它后面的定語從句who is interested in African-American experience 可推出故選D。
【小題4】這是主旨大意題。根據最后一段可以看出應選C。
考點：這是一篇記敘文。
點評：詞義猜測題旨在考查學生根據上下文對生詞做出理解判斷的能力。近幾年來，閱讀理解中的詞義猜測題呈上升趨勢。在閱讀過程中根據選材、背景、及上下文等線索推測出生詞詞義是真實語言活動中的重要技巧。這一能力可以說是體現閱讀理解能力的一項重要指標。