【正确答案】：
      T. S. ELIOT WAS AN AMERICAN-BORN BRITISH POET AND WON VARIOUS AWARDS, INCLUDING THE NOBEL PRIZE AND ORDER OF MERIT IN 1948. HIS MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT IN PLAY WRITING HAS BEEN THE CREATION OF A VERSE DRAMA TO EXPRESS THE IDEAS AND ACTION OF MODERN SOCIETY WITH NEW ACCENTS OF THE CONTEMPORARY SPEECH. THE WASTE LAND IS ELIOT’S MOST IMPORTANT SINGLE POEM. IT HAS BEEN HAILED AS A LANDMARK AND A MODEL OF THE 20TH-CENTURY ENGLISH POETRY. IT PRESENTS A PANORAMA OF PHYSICAL DISORDER AND SPIRITUAL DESOLATION IN THE MODERN WESTERN WORLD, AND REFLECTS THE PREVALENT MOOD OF DISILLUSIONMENT AND DESPAIR OF A WHOLE POST-WAR GENERATION. 
【题目解析】：本题主要考查T.S.艾略特的文学成就和其代表作《荒原》的文学意义。艾略特是一位出生于美国的英国诗人，曾获得各种奖项，包括1948年的诺贝尔文学奖和荣誉勋章。他在戏剧创作方面的主要成就是创作了一部用现代语言的新口音表达现代社会的思想和行动的诗剧作。《荒原》是艾略特最重要的一部长诗，它被誉为20世纪英国诗歌的里程碑和典范。《荒原》呈现了西方现代社会物质混乱和精神凄凉的全景，反映了战后一代人普遍的幻灭和绝望情绪，被认为是西方现代文学中具有划时代意义的作品。