【推荐1】There are many interesting stories about Chinese fans in historical records, novels, and legends.    1    He was a famous military strategist（军事战略家）during the Three Kingdoms Period, and the banana leaf fan belonging to Princess Iron Fan, a fictional character in the classic novel Journey to the West.

    2    For example, men of letters preferred folding fans； military strategists preferred feather fans; girls of noble families liked circular fans while ordinary people usually used palm leaf fans.

The reason why fans evolved into artwork was largely related to men of letters, who liked to paint or write poetry on fans, and gave them to their friends as gifts.    3    That eventually led to fans becoming artwork.

It has been popular to draw fans or write poems about fans, and paint or write on paper fans. There is a story about Wang Xizhi, known for his Chinese calligraphy（书法）. Wang once saw an elderly lady selling fans. The business was not so good. She looked very upset, so Wang decided to help her.     4    One seeing Wang's calligraphy on those fans, people all competed to buy them, which sold out very quickly.

It has been popular to paint on fans since Tang Dynasty, and it became even more popular during the Song and Yuan dynasties.    5    

For thousands of years, Chinese people never stopped innovating fan design, and adopted different materials such as bamboo, palm tree leaves, wood, paper, feathers, silk and bones. They made fans of many shapes, such as circular and square shapes.

A．They asked for better decoration of fans.

B．Feather fans are famous because of Zhu Geliang

C．Wang Xizhi taught the old woman to draw on fans

D．In ancient times， fans also served as the symbol of status.

E．Artwork on fans is also a unique type of Chinese painting.

F．Some famous ones are the goose feather fan held by Zhu Geliang.

G．He wrote a few characters on each fan and told the old woman to raise the price.

【推荐3】Robert Capa is a name that has for many years been associated with war photography．
Born in Hungary in 1913，Capa was forced to leave his native country after his involvement in anti-government protests．Capa had originally wanted to become a writer，but after his arrival in Berlin he first found work as a photographer．He later left Germany and moved to France and it was here that he changed his name to Robert Capa，mainly because he thought it would sound more American．
In 1936，after the breakout of the Spanish Civil War，Capa went to Spain and it was here that he built his reputation as a war photographer．It was here too in 1936 that he took one of his most famous pictures，The Death of a Loyalist Soldier．One of Capa’s most famous quotes was“If your pictures aren’t good enough，you’re not close enough．”And he took his attitude of getting close to the action to an extreme．His photograph，The Death of a Loyalist Soldier is a prime example of this as Capa captures the very moment the soldier falls．However，many have questioned the reality of this photograph，claiming that it was staged．
When World War II broke out，Capa was in New York，but he was soon back in Europe covering the War for Life magazine．Some of his most famous work was created on 6th June 1944．Capa，armed only with two cameras，took more than one hundred photographs in the first hour of the Normandy landing(诺曼底登陆)，but a mistake in the darkroom during the drying of the film destroyed all but eight frames．It was the images from these frames，however，that inspired the visual style of Steven Spielberg’s Oscar winning movie Saving Private Ryan．
1. Capa originally wanted to be ____________．

A．a journalist

B．a writer

C．an American

D．a photographer

2. Why did Capa change his name?

A．To hide his identity．

B．Because he had been involved in protests．

C．To sound more American．

D．Because he had to leave Hungary．

3. Capa went to Spain to ________________．

A．fight in the civil war	B．build his reputation
C．have a holiday	D．take photographs

4. Capa’s famous picture Death of a Loyalist Soldier _______________．

A．was taken by someone else	B．was definitely real
C．wasn’t even taken in Spain	D．cannot be proven real or staged

5. A mistake meant that ______________．

A．most of Capa’s images of the Normandy landing were destroyed

B．Capa lost both of his two cameras

C．Capa’s images inspired an Oscar winning movie

D．only one hundred of Capa’s photographs were published

【推荐1】Coming into the town of Santa Catarina Palopó, in the highlands of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, the first thing you notice is the bright colors. Most of the buildings along the main street are eye-catching, deep blues and greens, dotted with red and yellow to form diverse patterns and designs.

Santa Catarina Palopó was once a sleepy town of 5, 000 people, most of them dependent on agricultural work. But as agriculture began to dry up here, poverty came. To deal with poverty and promote econ on growth through tourism, a small but creative group of laborers, artisans, domestic workers and stay-at-home moms created the Pintando Santa Catarina Palopó project.

The project aimed to paint all 850 homes and buildings in bright colors to change the hillside town into a work of art. “We wanted to paint the houses with colors and figures that represent the community” says the project’s executive director Stephany Blanco. “Families can choose designs for their house that are representative of the family.”

One of the most representative characteristics of the region is the blue huipil, a traditional blouse which has been worn commonly by local women since the 16th century. That deep sky blue was chosen the primary color-for the Pintando project, with secondary colors found in the sunsets and the nearby lake to make the design more attractive. Inspiration was also found in local culture, symbols such as volcanoes, flowers, and the national bird of Guatemala.

Each week, local artists, community members and tourists pick up paintbrushes to make buildings colorful. “At first, the idea of the project was uncertain, but now you can see a considerable difference in the town,” Melissa Whitbeck said. “The color of the buildings is believed to improve the quality-of life of the people. It uplifts the people’s mood and encourages them to be proud of their hometown.”

1. Why was the Pintando Santa Catarina project started?

A．Because of a workforce shortage.	B．Due to the poor economic conditions.
C．Thanks to the increase in population.	D．For the old-fashioned farming ways.

2. What is the project about?

A．Building family art galleries in Guatemala.	B．Creating job opportunities for local artists.
C．Developing local tourism by selling artworks.	D．Changing the town into a cultural destination.

3. What is the inspiration of the primary color for the project?

A．The surrounding volcanoes.	B．Mayan-styled butterflies.
C．A type of traditional clothing.	D．The national bird of Guatemala.

4. What is Melissa’s attitude towards the project?

A．Positive.

B．Reserved.

C．Concerned.

D．Negative.

【推荐2】The Olympic Museum first opened to the public on June 23rd, 1993. It is a great museum set in extremely attractive grounds on the banks of Lake Geneva. In total, more than 3.5 million visitors of all ages and all walks of life have come to this museum to experience the magic of the Olympic Games. The Olympic Museum's rich collections include items from all over the world. The collections began to take shape in 1915, and have continued to grow and develop over the years.

Following almost two years of renovation work, The Olympic Museum now has an additional 1,000 square meters of exhibition space. The restaurant has been moved to the south side of the museum to offer a beautiful view over the lake and the Alps,

Opening Times:

9 am to 6 pm: from May 1 st to October 14th (Monday to Sunday)

10 am to 6 pm: from October 15th to April 30th (Tuesday to Sunday)(but open Easter Monday or for special events). Closed on December 25th and January 1st

Museum Rates:

Tickets can be bought directly at The Olympic Museum. No reservation are required. There are three ticket machines, two on the ground floor and one on the 2nd floor.

Adult: CHF 18

Children aged 6-16 (under 6 free): CHF 10

Disabled persons: CHF 12

1. What is the purpose of visiting The Olympic Museum for most people?

A．To find many new inventions.

B．To enjoy the beauty of Lake Geneva.

C．To meet people of all ages and walks of life,

D．To enjoy the collections about The Olympic Museum.

2. When the museum open on the day after Easter Sunday?

A．At 8 am.

B．At 9 am.

C．At 10 am.

D．At 4:30 pm.

3. Where can we buy the tickets of the museum?

A．On the website,

B．In the ticket machine on the 2nd floor.

C．In the three ticket machines on the 1st floor.

D．On the ground floor of the south side of the museum.

【推荐2】阅读下面短文，根据题目要求用英文回答问题。请在答题卡指定区域作答。

Leonardo Da Vinci was a genius: wildly imaginative, passionately curious and creative across multiple disciplines-painting architecture, aeronautics, and engineering. Yet oddly the word “genius” minimizes him by making it seem as if he were touched by lightning. His early biographer made this mistake: “Sometimes, in a superatural fashion, a single person is gifted by heaven with beauty, grace, and talent in such abundance that seems that his every act is divine (天赐的)” In fact the self-taught Leonardo’s genius was shaped by his own will and ambition. It did not come from being the divine recipient, like Newton or Einstein.

Part of what made Leonardo a genius, what set him apart from people who are merely extraordinarily smart, was creativity. His talent for combining observation with fantasy allowed him to make unexpected leaps that related things seen to things unseen.

Leonardo was also a very human genius, He made mistakes. He left a trail of unfinished projects, flying machines that never flew, tanks that never rolled. "Tell me if ever I did a thing... Tell me if anything was ever made.

His flawed humanity makes Leonardo more accessible. Even though we may never be able to match his talents, we can learn from him and try to be more like him. His life offers a wealth of lessons.

Seek knowledge for its own sake. Not all knowledge needs to be useful. Sometimes it should be pursued for pure pleasure. Leonardo did not need to know how heart valves work to paint the Mona Lisa, nor did he need to figure out how fossils got to the top of mountains to produce Virgin of the Rocks. By allowing himself to be driven by pure curiosity, he got to explore more horizons and see more connections.

Keep a childlike sense of wonder, At a certain point in life, most of us quit puzzling over everyday phenomena. We might savor the beauty of a blue sky, but we no longer bother to wonder why it is that color. Leonardo did.

Be curious, observe things, see things unseen, respect facts, be open to mystery.... We can never learn enough from Leonardo.

1. What set Da Vinci apart from people who are merely extraordinarily smart?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Why was Da Vinci regarded as a very human genius?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
Leonardo’s genius not only comes from his own will and ambition, but also from being the divine recipient, like Newton or Einstein.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Which quality of Da Vinci’s do you appreciate most? How can it benefit you in your life? (/In bout 40 words)
____________________________________________________________________________________________

【推荐3】“In the future, everybody will be famous for 15 minutes,” said US artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987). And he is quite right. Now it seems that anybody can become an instant online celebrity.

Warhol is best noted for his paintings that represent celebrity faces and US consumer goods, like Coca-Cola bottles or Campbell’s soup cans. As a great influence on the twentieth century pop art movement, Andy Warhol rose to become a cornerstone in the contemporary art world, devoted to bringing his views on materialism, polities and economics to the art. Actually, the visual world Warhol created is directly connected to his background.

In the mid-1950s, the working class gathered a great deal of fortune. They wanted to achieve a higher status in society. “The consumer goods and Hollywood faces are a working-class-coded iconography (肖像) that is often misinterpreted as generally ‘American’.” Anthony E. Grudin, author of Warhol’s Working Class commented. Reproducing these themes in his work meant that people outside of the art world could immediately connect with Warhol’s pictures. Considered “a creature of transformation”, Warhol constantly explored with different forms of media to evoke resonance among people.

For example, in addition to being a painter, Warhol was, in the words of UK writer Peter Wollen: “A filmmaker, a writer, a photographer, a TV soap opera producer.” Warhol, in short, was what we might call a ‘Renaissance (文艺复兴) man’, even though he was a leader in pop or perhaps post-modern art.

In his later years, he founded Interview Magazine and wrote several books, including The Philosophy of Andy Warhol. But UK artist Gillian Wearing said, “Warhol left his mark in many more ways than his actual work.” Warhol’s works are all about “America, money, fame and death”, UK writer Jon Savage remarked. “He summed up, defined and in many ways symbolized the world in which we now live.”

1. What’s Andy Warhol’s purpose of creating his paintings?

A．To highlight Renaissance style.	B．To combine art with materialism.
C．To attain fame and higher status.	D．To challenge traditional art forms.

2. What do Andy Warhol’s paintings focus on?

A．Popular drinks.	B．Average people.
C．Commercial products.	D．Living scenes of working class.

3. What kind of person is Andy Warhol according to the text?

A．Constructive and multi-talented.	B．Conservative and realistic.
C．Optimistic and encouraging.	D．Creative and critical.

4. In which column of the newspaper can we read the passage?

A．Health.

B．Sports.

C．Science.

D．People.