[originaltext] One of the most popular literary figures in American literatu

One of the most popular literary figures in American literature is a woman who spent almost half of her long life in China. In her lifetime she earned her country’s most highly acclaimed literary award, the Pulitzer Prize, and also the most prestigious form of literary recognition in the world, the Nobel Prize for Literature. (30)Pearl S. Buck was almost a household word throughout much of her lifetime because of her productive literary output, which consisted of some 85 published works, including several dozen novels, six collections of short stories, 14 books for children and more than a dozen works of nonfiction. When she was 80 years old, some 25 volumes were awaiting publication. Many of those books were set in China, the land in which she spent so much of her life. Her books and her life served as a bridge between the cultures of the East and the West. (31)Her unique background made her into an unusually interesting and versatile human being. As we examine the life of Pearl Buck, we can not help but be aware that we are in fact meeting three separate people:a wife and mother, an internationally famous writer and a humanitarian and a charitable person. One can not really get to know Pearl Buck without learning about each of the three. Though honored in her lifetime with the William Dean Howell Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in addition to the Nobel and Pulitzer prizes. Pearl Buck as a total human being, (32)not only a famous author, is a fascinating subject of study.
29. Q: What is the author’s main purpose in the passage?
30. Q: Why did Pearl S. Buck become a household word?
31. Q: What made Pearl Buck an interesting and versatile literary figure?
32. Q: What is the author’s attitude toward Pearl Buck?