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“I would almost rather see you dead.” Bobert S. Cassatt, a leading banker of Philadelphia, shouted when his twenty-year-old eldest daughter announced that she wanted to become an artist. In the 19th century, playing at drawing or painting on dishes was all right for a young lady, but serious work in art was not. And when the young lady’s family racked among(挤身于) the best of Philadelphia’s social(社会各界的) families, such an idea could not even be considered.
That was how Mary Cassatt, born 1844, began her struggle as an artist. She did not tremble before her father’s anger, she opposed(反对) him with courage and at last made him change his mind. Many Cassatt gave up her social position and all thoughts of a thousand and a family, which in those times was unthinkable for a young lady. In the end, after long years of hard work and perseverance(坚持), she became America’s most important woman artist and the internationally recognized leading woman painter of the time.
1. How did Mr Cassatt react(反应) when his daughter made her announcement?
A. He feared for her life. B. He was very angry.
C. He nearly killed her. D. He warned her.
2. What in fact was Mr Cassatt’s main reason in opposing his daughter’s wish?
A. Drawing and painting was simply unthinkable among ladies in those days.
B. He did not believe his daughter wanted to work seriously in art.
C. He believed an artist’s life would be too hard for his daughter.
D. Ladies of good families simply did not become artists in those times.
3. What made Mary Cassatt’s “struggle” to become a recognized artist especially hard?
A. She was a woman B. Her father opposed her.
C. She had no social position. D. She didn’t come from an artist’s family.
4. What do we know about Mary Cassatt’s marriage?
A. Her marriage failed because she never gave a thought to her husband and family.
B. She never married because she did not want to be just a wife and mother.
C. After marriage she decided to give up her husband rather than her career.
D. She did not marry because for a lady of her social position to marry below her was unthinkable.
5. What do we know about Robert Cassatt’s character from the texta
I had just gone to bed after a very hard day when the phone rang. It was an eccentric(怪僻的) farmer. I had never met him before although I had often heard people talk about him. He sounded quite nervous and he had been talking for a minute or so before I understood anything. Even then I could make out was that someone called Milly had had a very bad accident. I hadn’t the slightest idea who she was but I obviously had to go.
It had been snowing heavily that I didn’t know the way. I had been driving for at least an hour when I finally found his place. He was standing there, waiting for me. It seemed Milly had died. “She meant more to me than anyone… even my own wife!” he said. I could see that he had been crying. I thought something terrible had taken place, a possible scandal (丑闻) . I was even more shocked when he told me he had put her in the barn. “I wouldn’t leave her out in the cold!” he said.
Milly had clearly been a secret lover of his. I was about to tell him he could not expect me to cover anything up when he opened the barn door. He lifted his candle and I saw a dark figure on the ground. “She was such a good cow! I wouldn’t let anyone but a doctor touch her !” he said, and burst into tears again.
1. The underlined phrase “make out” in the first paragraph means____.
A. expect B. understand C. see clearly D. hear clearly
2. Before he arrived at the farmer’s house, the writer expected to see Milly lying ____.
A. on the ground of a barn B. on the floor of a room
C. in bed in a room D. in bed in a barn
3. What do we know about Milly from the story?
A. She had met with an accident B. She had caused a scandal.
C. She was seriously ill. D. She was hidden somewhere.
4. The farmer wished that the writer might ____.
A. look into the matter B. bring Milly back to life
C. free him from a scandal D. keep the whole thing a secret
5. The person who told the story is probably a ____.
A. farmer B. policeman C. country doctor D. newspaper reporter
