The deadliest wildfire in California's history broke out on November 8, 2018. It burned for 17 days and consumed 153,336 acres. In all the fire cost $16.5 billion in damage, destroying nearly 19,000 buildings, living 50,000 homes and killing 85. The beauty of this beautifully named place was gone.
Shane Grammer works as a creative director for Disney's theme parks. When his childhood friend Shane Edwards posted pictures of his white chimney--- the only part of his house to survive---Grammer felt very sad, but didn't know how to help him. And then he had an idea. "I've got to paint that chimney," he told Inside Edition. "And it was an opportunity for me to express myself and be an artist." On December 31, Grammer spent three hours spray-painting a black -and-white image of a woman on the chimney---a reminder, perhaps, of the beauty of life, or even just of life itself.
Grammer posted the image on Instagram. And many viewers said that he had really brought beauty and hope. Suddenly, Grammer realized that what he had thought was that a purely artistic expression had morphed into something deeper, the nature of true art. “When the first mural(壁画) moved so many people in this community, I knew I had to come back up,” Grammer told KRCR- TV. Over a period of three months, he returned eight times, painting 17 portraits of victims and figures of the Bible on walls, pickups, and broken buildings. "There is hope," he explains. "There is beauty in the ashes.”
Grammer's work in Paradise has now become a movement. He has traveled to many places painting murals in dark places that badly needed some light, an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico, for example. "I want to do something powerful and create art that moves people," he says.
That first painting, on the chimney in Paradise, survived only a few months -the bulldozer(推土机) is a cruel art critic. Grammer couldn't be more delighted. It means that the spirit of Paradise is rising again.
4. What is the first paragraph mainly about?
A.The cause of the fire. |
B.The damage caused by the fire. |
C.The economic loss which resulted from the fire. |
D.The reason why the beautiful place was gone. |
5. What does the underlined part “morphed into” in paragraph 3 probably mean?
A.Broke out. | B.Launched out. |
C.Moved into. | D.Turned into. |
6. Why did the painting on the chimney survive only a few months?
A.Some people disliked it. |
B.Grammer wasn’t satisfied with it. |
C.The town was under reconstruction. |
D.The bulldozer knocked it down by accident. |
7. Which word best describes Grammer?
A.Caring. | B.Casual. |
C.Humorous. | D.Indifferent. |