Claude Monet’s paintings were quite different from the art styles that were popular in the 1870s France. Traditional artists always did their artwork in a studio and their paintings were realistic — they looked exactly like the real world. Claude Monet was part of a group of painters who were called Impressionists (印象派画家). Their paintings were light and a bit fuzzy — they gave an impression of what the real world looked like. Sometimes Impressionists worked outside, which was a very unusual thought in their time. Impressionism received its name from an early painting by Claude Monet titled Impression, Sunrise.
Knowing that trains were interesting subjects and represented modern progress, Claude Monet created a series of Impressionist paintings of trains from January to March of 1877. He worked on his paintings right on the train platform at the Gare Saint — Lazare, the train station on Saint Lazare Street. Although there were many train stations in Paris, this was the first train station built in Paris so it had historical significance.
Monet’s friend, Impressionist painter Pierre Auguste Renoir, told the following story to his sons about Claude Monet and painting the trains. Monet needed permission to spend time on the train platform and paint what he saw in his impressionistic style. One day Monet dressed himself in his very best suit along with a fine top hat, a good linen shirt and a silk tie. He appeared to be a wealthy gentleman while he really was a poor painter.
When he went towards the clerk at the train office, he presented his calling card which introduced him as Claude Monet, Painter. He asked to see the station master. The clerk quickly allowed this fine gentleman to enter the station master’s office. The station master was also impressed and gave Monet permission to paint on the train platform. The station master even kept trains from leaving on time so Monet could complete a scene even though passengers complained.
Was it all worthwhile? Monet’s train scenes turned his career into a success and for the station master, made his train station famous until even now.
Claude Monet
Introduction |  Claude Monet was one of the Impressionist painters whose paintings were not the same as the popular art styles in the 1870s France. Impressionist paintings gave an impression of  Impressionism was |
A story of painting trains |  At that time trains were subjects that could keep people He created paintings of trains between January and March in 1877, at the train station with the longest  He dressed himself as a wealthy gentleman to win the station master’s trust.In order to help Monet complete a scene, the station master even made trains leave His train scenes made not only his career successful but also the train station famous. |
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I heard the sound of the boat workers telling people to hurry up and get on board. As always, I was running late and I wasn’t sure if I would get on the boat on time. Luckily, I was able to catch the boat and start my trip.
I was going to work on a small island. It was just one of those days when things were not going right for me. I sat in a corner of the boat with my backpack next to me. I wanted to be alone and I didn’t want anyone to talk to me.
Thinking quietly to myself, I looked up at the sky. I saw some clouds that looked like giving me a thumbs-up sign. It looked so perfect that I couldn’t help smiling. Seeing the shape of the clouds made me feel relaxed and calm. It seemed to tell me that everything was going to be all right.
Life is not always perfect. We might be surprised by the bad things that happen to us. Sometimes, things feel messy, while at other times, it feels like you have it all together. We should learn to take it all in, stop for a while and appreciate what we have, whether it’s something big or something small.
Remember to smile and look up at the sky. You never know when you might see something that brightens your day.
(选自《初中英语阅读》八年级上册)
1. What did the writer hear?2. Where was the writer going to work?
3. How did the writer feel when seeing the clouds?
4. What does the writer think of life?
5. What can you learn from this article?
【推荐2】Zheng He (郑和), the Columbus (哥伦布) of the East, was an amazing man.
He was born in 1371 and, 11 years later, was caught by the army of a rich young man called Zhu Di and made to work for him. Over time the rich man saw that Zheng He was very clever and strong and they became close friends. In 1403 Zhu Di was made the King of China and he asked Zheng He to join his new government.
The King wanted to learn more about the world and show other countries his power. He ordered many new ships to be built and made Zheng He their leader. Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He led seven sea trips to different parts of the world. On these trips he brought with him many Chinese goods like silk and medicine. He returned from each trip with boats filled with expensive things such as gold, foreign guests and strange animals like a giraffe.
阅读短文，根据英文释义及首字母提示拼写单词。
1. s
2. r
阅读短文，同义句转换，每空一词。
3. The King wanted to learn more about the world and show other countries his power.
The King wanted to not
根据短文内容回答问题。
4. Who asked Zheng He to join the new government?
5. How long did it take Zheng He to lead seven sea trips to different parts of the world?
6. What did Zheng He bring with him on these trips?
【推荐3】Zhou Hui is a 29-year-old girl. When she was 4, she was badly hurt in a car accident. She lost her right leg. People got to know her recently when they saw her video of doing exercise with her artificial(人造的) leg.
Although Zhou now looks no different from other people, she once felt terrible about herself. “When I was in high school, no one knew I had an artificial leg,” she said. “I never stayed close to my classmates. I was the first person to walk into the classroom in the morning and the last one to leave.”
But now Zhou lives a happy life. For the past three years, she has kept doing exercise. She went to the gym three times a week to stay fit. During the three years’ hard work, she overcame(克服) many difficulties. For example, she couldn’t use the fitness facilities(健身器材) like other people in the beginning. But she kept trying and finally, she succeeded.
Zhou became outgoing. She volunteers for a program for the disabled(有残疾的). In November 2020, she became the ambassador(大使) for Shenzhen Accessibility Promotion Association(深圳无障碍环境促进会). She believes building a neighborhood for disabled people is really important.
“Doing exercise has changed me. And I’ll try my best to make sure people with disabilities can go out without difficulties,” Zhou said.
1题判断正误(T/F)；2-3题完成句子；4题简略回答问题；5题将文中画线句译成汉语。
1. Zhou Hui lost her left leg at the age of 4.[ ]
2. Zhou Hui was
3. Zhou Hui went to the gym three times a week to
4. What does Zhou Hui think of building a neighborhood for the disabled?
5.
Leonardo da Vinci（莱奥纳多·达·芬奇）was a famous artist who was born in Italy. He was also a great inventor. Many of his inventions have become important in modern life. Although Leonardo hated war，he invented many different machines used for war. His most special invention was the machine gun，which was produced and used in war. Besides，Leonardo spent days thinking about how to save time. He developed ideas for something like cutting machines.
Leonardo was a strange man. He never ate meat. That was very unusual in those times（时代）. He never published（发表）scientific discoveries. He usually used mirror writing，which looks like usual writing in a mirror，starting from the right side of the page and moving to the left side.
Only a few of his paintings are left today. Many paintings were not finished because he thought they were not perfect.
Leonardo was talented and creative. He was regarded as one of the most intelligent men in the world.
| Leonardo da Vinci | |
| His status（身份） | Not only an artist but also an |
| His invention and ideas | ·The machine Ideas for something like machines used to |
| His strange behaviors· | He never ate meat. He never published discoveries connected with He used mirror writing |
| Because many paintings were not finished | |
【推荐2】Taylor Swift is one of the most popular singers in America. Her first name is Taylor, and Swif is her last name. She is very young and beautiful. 她的生日是在12月3日。There are four people in Taylor's family--Taylor, her parents and her brother. Taylor loves her family very much.
She is very good at singing. Her songs are always countryside music, but there are also pop music, hip-hop, and rock. 在学校里，音乐是泰勒最喜欢的科目。She can write good songs. She can sing very well. She can also play the guitar, the piano and the ukulele(尤克里里). She thinks it's interesting to play the ukulele.
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【推荐3】Van Gogh was a famous painter. His work is sometimes described as Post Impressionism (后印象主义),” which means that his style of painting is similar to the Impressionism paintings. The “Impressionism paintings” were made only a few years before he started. But Van Gogh added his own ideas that were different from them. His style was very personal. Though he was influenced by many kinds of artists, he made few lasting friendships with any of them and was almost always alone.
Van Gogh lived a hard life. Only one of his paintings was sold in his lifetime and he was never to financially(经济上地)support himself. His brother, Then, often helped him, and the friends of his brother’s would help him as well. People who knew him would often describe him as a difficult person and hardly happy. His paintings, however, use very lively colors and sometimes seem pleasant.
It was in his paintings that Van Gogh was able to express himself clearly. Most of his relationships in life fell apart quickly. There are many sad stories of Van Gogh attempting to get married. Every woman refused him. The famous painter, Gaugin, went to visit him after Van Gogh had written to him, asking for a visit. When Gaugin arrived, Van Gogh was very excited. Gaugin respected Van Gogh’s talent, but the friendship only lasted a few months. The friendship ended when Van Gogh fought him with a knife.
No one had ever painted the way Van Gogh did. The colors of his paintings were lively and the shapes were strange and dream- like. His life was just as strange as his art, and it ended very early. However, since his death, his paintings have become some of the most famous artworks in the world.
1. How many paintings did Van Gogh sell during his lifetime?
