IT is safe to say that George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), the Irish-born writer, is more famous for being George Bernard Shaw than he is for his writings today. Few of Shaw’s more than 60 plays, novels and essays are performed or read anymore. And yet Shaw genuinely helped make our modern world. Although you’d be lucky to get a chance to see one of his dramas today, in his time he turned the theater into a vehicle for the discussion of social issues, not only in Britain but on the stage of the world. In a way Shaw was someone who created the modern culture of Britain.
Where the theater had been dominated by entertainment, Shaw used it to teach people the importance of paying attention to the issues of their day. The plight (苦难) of the poor and the working class, the situation of women and the institutions of society, such as the education system ---- Shaw was among the most well-known figures making these topics central to public debate. His first play, Widowers’ Houses (1892), deals with the question of slum (贫民窟) housing. His Mrs Warren’s Profession (1893) brought a controversial topic to the stage.
Shaw was an important mover and shaker in new political movements too. He was an early member of the Fabian Society, which argued for the socialist cause in the UK. Shaw was also the founder (in 1895) of one of the now most famous colleges in the world, the London School of Economics.
If few of his works have really stood the test of time, many of his quotations have become part of the furniture of the English language. “Youth is wasted on the young,” he wrote. He also knew how to sum up a political philosophy(哲学) in a few memorable words. For instance: “A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.”
小题1: Shaw’s influence on the modern world comes mainly from ______.
A．the changes he brought to the British culture
B．his philosophies on the role of government
C．his awareness of social problems of his day
D．the support for the London School of Economics小题2: Widowers’ Houses is a play that mainly focuses on ______.
A．the failure of the UK education system
B．the housing problems of poor people
C．robbery incidents in slum areas
D．socialist movements in the UK小题3: By describing Shaw’s quotations as “part of the furniture of the English language”, the author means that Shaw’s words ______.
A．have become the best part of English
B．have greatly developed the English language
C．have made the English language philosophical
D．have become an inseparable part of the English language小题4: Which of the following about George Bernard Shaw’s works is TRUE?
A．They should be adapted for modern readers.
B．They are mostly about the lives of working class.
C．They deal with important social issues of their day.
D．Most of them are still performed on the stage of the world today.
