Jessica Tandy probably is best known for winning an Academy Award in 1989 for the movie Driving Miss Dairy. She was the oldest person to have won the award. But for many years, she had received praise for her great performances.
Jessica Tandy was born in London in 1909. After her father died, her mother taught and took other jobs at night to make extra money to raise her, three children. Jessica’s older brothers showed an interest in the theater and often put on shows at home. Jessica said later that she was terrible in all of them. But she said taking part in those plays as a child created a desire in her to be someone else.
Jessica loved going to the theater. This love led her to attend an acting school in 1924. She performed in her first play called The Manderson Girls at 18. But few people watched this play. In 1932, she married the famous actor Jack Hawkins. Their wedding pictures were on the front page of many British newspapers. In the same year, critics in London recognized her great acting skill in her performance in the play Children in Uniform.
In 1940, Jessica ended her first marriage and moved to the USA. In New York, she met actor Hume Cronyn. Two years later, they married and moved to Hollywood.
Her turning point came in 1947 when she played the lead part in Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire. Tandy won the first of her four Tony awards for best actress in it. After that Hollywood producers began to choose her to be in the movie.
Jessica Tandy said she hated seeing herself in the movies. She was surprised when she won the Academy Award for Driving Miss Daisy. She said that the wonderful part she had made up for her lack of experience in movies.
68. Jessica’s early interest in acting came from __________.
A. her natural gift for acting B. her brothers’ influence
C. her hope of helping raise her family D. her mother’s encouragement
69. What made Jessica first widely known to the public?
A. Attending an acting school.
B. Her first play The Manderson Girls.
C. Her marriage with Jack Hawkins.
D. Her wonderful performance in Driving Miss Daisy.
70. Which is the correct order of the following events?
a. Jessica performed in The Manderson Girls.
b. Jessica married Hume Cronyn
c. Jessica played the lead part in A Streetcar Named Desire.
d. Jessica moved to the USA.
A. a, d, b, c B. a, b, c, d C. b, d, a, c D. b, c, a, d
71. From the last paragraph, we can learn that __________.
A. Jessica wasn’t interested in acting in movies
B. winning the Academy Award was a surprise to Jessica
C. Jessica would perform better if given a better part
D. Jessica was as confident as commonly considered
