If you’re walking through Boston during a downpour, you might see a poem appear before your eyes.
Titled “Raining Poetry”, this art installation was a collaboration, which needs efforts between the nonprofit Mass Poetry and the city of Boston. The first poems were installed to honour the start of National Poetry Month. Several more were added since then. The poems are invisible during dry and sunny weather, but they appear like magic once raindrops start falling from the sky.
“We want to bring poetry to the people,” said Sara Siegel, program director for Mass Poetry. The poems were selected by Danielle Legros Georges, Boston’s poet laureate (桂冠诗人). Scattered throughout the city, Georges selected the poems mainly based on their relationship to Boston. Another factor was their general themes of water and rain.
The poems were installed by members of the Mayor’s Mural Crew,an organization that introduces young artists to the process of creating public art. The poems can be fixed to the sidewalk in minutes. It will wear away in six to eight weeks. However, the city of Boston and Mass Poetry plan on carpeting city sidewalks with more poems. “It’s a public art project, as the poems are and will be installed in public sites in Boston, and meant for everyone,” Georges said. “I think this is a wonderful way to bring poetry to the people.”
The poems appear throughout the city. While all of the poems currently installed are written in English, Siegel hopes to add new ones in the many languages. “Our hope is in the next two years everyone in the state will encounter a poem in their daily lives at least once or twice a month,” Siegel tells Guerra. “This is a fun and unusual way to bring poetry to the people.”
1. What does the underlined word “collaboration” in Paragraph 2 mean?A.Wonder. | B.Success. |
C.Challenge. | D.Cooperation. |
A.To inspire people to show interest in poetry. |
B.To let people experience the power of poetry. |
C.To make poetry come into people’s daily life. |
D.To honour the start of National Poetry Month. |
A.Those about public art. |
B.Those related to English. |
C.Those linked with Boston. |
D.Those about water and rain. |
A.About six days. | B.About a month. |
C.Several minutes. | D.About seven weeks. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】According to a Facebook post by Kevin Leslie, a man was traveling with his young daughter when he was told he had to buy her a plane ticket or she could not board.
"This woman needs to be recognized," Leslie wrote. "A gentleman was checking in for his flight when the agent asked how old his daughter was. He said she had recently turned two. The agent then asked if she had a ticket, The man was confused because he was under the impression she could ride for free. He was hit with emotion. He mentioned he couldn't afford to rebook this flight or get her the ticket with such short notice. He stepped aside and tried to make a few calls. Hugging his daughter and grabbing his head, you could tell he was heartbroken. This woman next to him at the front counter heard the whole thing. She walked over to him and asked what was wrong. After they talked for a bit they walked up to the counter together. She pointed back at his daughter and said, ‘I wanna buy her ticket.’ The agent said ‘You know how much this ticket costs right?’ The woman responded ‘$700 something?’ ‘$749’ the agent said. The woman said ‘that's fine’ and pulled out her credit card.”
“I was right there and I just said to her, ‘God Bless You!’ and they printed out the ticket,” Leslie continued in the post. ‘The agent kept talking about her goosebumps(鸡皮疙瘩)while the man hugged the woman and asked for her name to repay her. The woman just kept saying, ‘Don't worry about it. 'She knew she wanted to help that man and his daughter no matter what the cost. Please share this story because people like this need to be praised.”
Although Bolton planned to stay anonymous(匿名的)and did not buy the ticket to receive attention, after the post went viral on Facebook, a number of people left comments that revealed her identity.
Some of her personal friends and co-workers left comments that this is exactly the kind of thing that she would do, and that they are proud to know her.
1. What can we infer about the man?A.He wanted to save some money. |
B.He repaid the woman as promised. |
C.He was sad to part with his daughter. |
D.He couldn't afford the ticket on the spot. |
A.The woman wanted to stay anonymous. |
B.It was the Flight Company that was to blame. |
C.The agent was so excited to deal with the case. |
D.The man was surprised when told to buy an extra ticket. |
A.It was troublesome to be Bolton's friends. |
B.It is natural for Bolton to take such an action. |
C.Bolton's action is beyond their imagination. |
D.They feel envy of Bolton's financial condition. |
A.compare and evaluate | B.spread and advocate |
C.argue and discuss | D.introduce and inform |
【推荐2】Bob Dylan has won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature, announced Sara Danius, Swedish Academy’s permanent secretary, on Thursday in Stockholm.
The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2016 is awarded to Bob Dylan “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition,” Danius said at the Swedish Academy.
“As an artist, he is versatile; he has been active as painter, actor and scriptwriter,” said the official statement.
Apart from his large production of albums, Dylan has published experimental work. He has written the autobiography Chronicles (2004), which describes memories from the early years in New York and his life at the center of popular culture, it added.
Born on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, in the United States, the 75-year-old rock singer is the first songwriter to win the glorious award and the first American to win since novelist Toni Morrison in 1993.
Barack Obama said the honour was well-deserved. “Congratulations to one of my favourite poets,” he wrote on Twitter.
Dylan, who took his stage name from the poet Dylan Thomas, had long been regarded as a potential prize winner.
Former Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion is among those who have ever praised Dylan’s lyrics, saying they are often the best words in the best order.
Dylan began his musical career in Minnesota before heading for New York. Many of his best-known works date from the 1960s, when he became an informal historian of America’s troubles. His songs Blowing in the Wind and The Times They are A-Changing were popular in the anti-war and civil rights movements.
Few experts, though, expected the academy to extend the award to a folk music songwriter. In 112 years, no songwriter has ever won before. What makes a man who has only ever written three books a suitable winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature?
1. What does the underlined word in Para 3 mean?A.able to do things in different fields |
B.able to understand others’ feelings |
C.able to produce a lot |
D.able to succeed at an old age |
A.were written before he arrived in New York. |
B.date back to the middle 1970s. |
C.were often sung in the political movements. |
D.show America’s troubled history. |
A.Dylan’s winning the Nobel Prize in Literature. |
B.Dylan’s life experiences as an artist. |
C.Dylan’s contribution to the American literature. |
D.Dylan’s musical career in America. |
【推荐3】This little South American Magellanic penguin swims 5,000 miles, to a beach in Brazil, every year in order to be reunited with the man who saved its life. It sounds like something out of a fairy tale, but it’s true!
71-year-old retired brick worker Joao, who lives in an island village just outside Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, found the small Magellanic penguin lying on rocks at his local beach in 2011. The penguin was covered in oil and running out of time fast. Joao rescued the penguin, naming it Din, cleaned the oil off its feathers and fed him a daily diet of fish to rebuild its strength. After a week of recovery, Joao attempted to release the penguin back into the wild. However, Din had already formed a family bond with his rescuer and wouldn’t leave.
“He stayed with me for 11 months and then, just after he changed his coat with new feathers, he disappeared,” Joao recalls. “I love the penguin like it’s my own child and I believe the penguin loves me,” Joao told Globo TV. “No one else is allowed to touch him. He pecks (啄) them if they do. He lies on my lap, lets me give him showers, and allows me to feed him.”
Professor Krajewski, a biologist who interviewed the fisherman for Globo TV, told The Independent: “I have never seen anything like this before. I think the penguin believes Joao is part of his family and probably a penguin as well.”
However, environmentalists warn that, while hundreds of the Magellanic species are known to naturally migrate (迁徙) thousands of miles north in search of food, there has been a worrying rise in the phenomenon of oceanic creatures washing up on Brazil’s beaches. Professor David Zee from Rio de Janeiro’s State University, said the increase is due in part to global climatic changes. Professor Zee added that sea animals face increased danger from leaked tanker oil.
Luckily the ending for Joao and Din has been a happy one, even though it is illegal in Brazil to keep wild animals as pets.
Professor Krajewski said: “Professionals who work with animals try to avoid relationships like this occurring so they are able to reintroduce the animal into the wild. But in this single case the authorities allowed Din to stay with Joao because of his kindness.”
1. Every year Din swims a long distance to a beach in Brazil to ______.A.avoid being killed | B.meet his rescuer |
C.escape from ocean currents | D.find much more fish |
A.he was dying | B.he was running on the beach |
C.he was resting on a rock | D.he was cleaning oil off his feathers |
A.He is not allowed to keep the penguin as a pet by the authorities. |
B.He overprotects the penguin by keeping him away from others. |
C.His contact with the penguin is encouraged by professionals. |
D.His kindness wins the penguin’s trust. |
A.the environmental impact on wildlife |
B.the love between humans and wildlife |
C.the tendency of wildlife to bond with humans |
D.the protection of threatened wildlife by mankind |
【推荐1】Tang Dynasty poets sang for about three centuries in different tones. There were many famous poets living in the Tang period, such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi and Li Shangyin. The Complete Poetry of Tang Dynasty edited in the Qing Dynasty is a collection of more than 48,900 poems that were written by over 2,200 poets. But it didn’t cover all the poems of the Tang Dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty, poems were recited when lovers walked under the moonlight. Poems were also recited when soldiers fought on the battlefield. People recited them in the open air or at temple fairs.
Tang Dynasty poets wrote poems to win fame and also to develop their temperaments(性情). They poured out deep feelings for their friends and criticized injustice in the world through poems.
In the Tang Dynasty scholars had to be poets. Their readers were not only people of high social position but also common people. Poets recited poems, women singers sang poems and other ranks of people, including old women and children, read Tang poems. This atmosphere affected foreigners who visited the country at that time. As a result, Tang poetry was introduced to some adjacent countries, like Japan and Vietnam.
Tang poetry is a most brilliant page in the history of ancient Chinese literature. It’s a miracle in the cultural history of mankind. The Tang Dynasty was a powerful empire with a vast territory. It inherited Chinese civilization that went back to ancient times, which was combined with the best of other cultures and adopted the benefits of other nations in the world. Tang poetry wasn’t the only spiritual wealth created by the Tang Dynasty people. Philosophy and religion, handwriting and painting, and music and dance all reached new peaks of development, Tang poetry, however, was the jewel in the crown and its greatest achievement.
1. Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?A.Why the poets created poems. |
B.The editors of The Complete Poetry of Tang Dynasty. |
C.Some other kinds of spiritual wealth in the Tang Dynasty. |
D.The significance and influence of the Tang Dynasty. |
A.rich | B.strong | C.poor | D.neighbouring |
A.The Great Tang Dynasty |
B.Famous Poets in the Tang Dynasty |
C.Tang Dynasty Poetry |
D.The Development of the Tang Dynasty |
【推荐2】Tang Dynasty poets sang for about three centuries in different tones. There were many famous poets living in the Tang period such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi and Li Shangyin. Poems of the Tang Dynasty edited in the Qing Dynasty is a collection of about 48,900 poems that were written by over 2,200 poets. But it didn’t cover all the poems of the Tang Dynasty.
During the Tang Dynasty, poems were recited when lovers walked under the moonlight. Poems were also recited when soldiers fought on the battlefield. People recited them in the open air or at temple fairs.
In the Tang Dynasty scholars had to be poets. Their readers were not only people of high social position but also common people. Poets recited poems; women singers sang poems and other ranks of people, including old women and children, read Tang poems. This atmosphere affected foreigners who visited the country at that time. As a result, Tang poetry was introduced to some adjacent countries, like Japan and Vietnam.
Tang poetry is a most brilliant page in the history of ancient Chinese literature. It’s a miracle in the cultural history of mankind. The Tang Dynasty was a powerful empire with a vast territory. It inherited Chinese civilization that went back to ancient times, and was combined with the best of other cultures and adopted the benefits of other nations in the world. Tang poetry wasn’t the only spiritual wealth created by the Tang Dynasty people. Philosophy and religion, handwriting and painting and music and dance all gained new peaks of development. Tang poetry, however, was the jewel in the crown and its greatest achievement.
1. It can be inferred from Paragraph 1 that_____________.A.there were more than 48,900 poems written in Tang Dynasty |
B.in total there were four famous poets in the Tang Dynasty |
C.only people in the Tang Dynasty created poems |
D.in the Tang Dynasty most common people were poets |
A.neighboring | B.strong | C.poor | D.rich |
A.In the Tang Dynasty all scholars were poets. |
B.Tang Dynasty poems were quite popular. |
C.Many foreigners came to our country during the Tang Dynasty. |
D.In the Tang Dynasty many poems were sung by women singers. |
A.Why the poets created poems. |
B.Some other kinds of spiritual wealth in the Tang Dynasty. |
C.The significance and influence of the Tang Dynasty. |
D.The editors of Poems of the Tang Dynasty. |
【推荐3】As a student at a medical school, Sam thinks poetry is a big part of his life, thanks to his new teacher, Rafael Campo, who believes poetry can benefit every doctor’s education and work. Rafael is a physician, professor and a highly respected poet.
“Poetry is in every encounter with my patients. If we do anything when we’re with our patients, we’re really immersed in their stories, really hearing their voices. And, certainly, that’s what a poem does,” he said.
Rafael worries that something important has been lost in medicine and medical education today: humanity, which he finds in poetry. To end that, he leads a weekly reading and writing workshop for medical students and residents. He thinks medical training focuses too much on distancing the doctor from his or her patients, and poems can help close that gap.
Third-year resident Andrea Schwartz was one of the workshop regulars. She said, “I think there’s no other profession other than medicine that produces as many writers as it does. And I think that is because there’s just so much power in doctors and patients interacting when patients are at their saddest moments.” Not everyone believes that’s what doctors should do, though.
Rafael said, “I was afraid of how people might judge me, actually. In the medical profession, as many people know, we must always put the emergency first. But, you know, that kind of treatment, if it’s happening in the hospital, very regrettably, sadly, results in a bad outcome. The family is sitting by the bedside. The patient hasn’t survived the cancer. Don’t we still have a role as healers there?”
In a poem titled “Health”, Rafael writes of the wish to live forever in a world made painless by our incurable joy. He says he will continue teaching students, helping patients and writing poems, his own brand of medicine.
1. What’s Rafael Campo?A.He’s a doctor. |
B.He’s a physicist. |
C.He is a teacher in a senior school. |
D.He is a student at a medical school. |
A.Committed. | B.Forced. | C.Absorbed. | D.Persuaded. |
A.It contributes to medical work. |
B.It is mostly produced by doctors. |
C.It has nothing to do with doctors. |
D.It keeps doctors away from patients. |
A.Gifted but overconfident. |
B.Capable and responsible. |
C.Honest and modest. |
D.Cold but respected. |
A.A good medicine tastes bitter |
B.Poetry heals the pain |
C.Sad poetry is a ready medicine |
D.A poem a day keeps the doctor away |