Pablo Picasso was born on October 25 in Malaga. Spain in 1881. Taking after his father, Picasso shared a passion （热爱）for painting and art. Even though he wasn't the best student in school, Picasso excelled at drawing. Noticing his amazing talent, Picasso's father, an artist, taught him everything he knew. Before long, Picasso could paint and draw much better than his father. With this rich talent, Picasso paid less and less attention to his schoolwork and spent the majority of his day sketching and drawing in notepads and sketchbooks.
When he was a little bit older, Picasso moved twice and was accepted into two fine art programs. However, he didn't care very much for the special techniques they taught and often wandered the streets by himself drawing the scenes around him. After moving to these two places, Picasso moved back home to Barcelona and decided that he would develop new techniques of art and painting based on what he saw.
Later, Picasso decided to move to Paris, France, where he began perfecting his own techniques of painting, drawing and other forms of art. His drawings. paintings, and an included pieces about sadness, poverty, classics and self-portraits. One of his major types of work is called cubism （立体 派），which includes art with all sizes of geometric shapes together on the piece of an. This type of art is very important because no other artists had come up with the idea before. Picasso decided to try something new, and as a result, cubism is widely accepted today as a classic style of art.
Picasso inspires us to always be thinking. He tells us to think outside the box and come up with fresh new ideas that can change the world. He surely plays a significant role in the art field.
1. What do we know about Picasso as a student at school?| A．He hated doing his homework. |
| B．He was very proud of his talent. |
| C．He showed great talent for drawing. |
| D．He was often praised by his teacher. |
| A．He tried his best to help Picasso. |
| B．He blamed Picasso for his laziness. |
| C．He asked Picasso to finish his work on time. |
| D．He encouraged Picasso to do better at school. |
| A．He thought highly of them. |
| B．He took no interest in them. |
| C．He was confused about them. |
| D．He was concerned about them. |
| A．Picasso has great faith in art. |
| B．Picasso has changed the world a lot. |
| C．Picasso can do anything he wants to. |
| D．Picasso is a highly creative artist. |
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【推荐1】If this 13-year-old American boy succeeds in climbing Mount Everest, he has modest ambitions—pick a small piece of rock from the top as a memento and wears it in a necklace. “I will not sell it. It is something for myself to say ‘this is a rock from the top’,” Jordan Romero from California, told reporters in Kathmandu. He left for the mountain on Sunday.
If he succeeds, Romero will become the youngest climber to climb the 8,850 meters Everest Summit. Currently a 16-year-old Nepali boy, Temba Tsheri Sherpa, holds the record of being the world’s youngest climber of Mount Everest.
But Romero, sitting over lunch with his climbing father and stepmother in Kathmandu’s tourist district of Thamel, said he was not after setting climbing records. Romero said Mount Qomolangma that runs across Nepal-China border was part of his goal to climb the highest mountains on all seven continents.
“It is just a goal,” he said confidently. “If I don’t succeed I am okay. I will try again.” Romero has already climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and Mount McKinley in Alaska among others.
Romero’s father Paul said the boy was ready to take on the climb and understood the risk of climbing the giant mountain.
“I know it requires a lot of patience. I will remain patient. I want to stay safe and make right choice,” Romero said of his climb using the northeast ridge(山脊) route on the Chinese side of the mountain.
Over 4,000 climbers have reached the top of Mount Qomolangma since it was first climbed by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepal’s Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953. Romero said he wanted to climb the highest mountains in all 50 states in the US next. “It does not need to be after Qomolangma and could be in between.”
1. According to the passage, at present________ keeps the record of being the world’s youngest climber of Mount Everest.| A．Jordan Romero | B．Temba Tsheri Sherpa |
| C．Tenzing Norgay Sherpa | D．Sir Edmund Hillary |
| A．souvenir | B．rock | C．stone | D．toy |
| A．Romero has climbed up all the highest mountains in all 50 states in the US |
| B．the highest mountain in America is Mount Kilimanjaro |
| C．Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa come from different countries |
| D．there is no risk climbing Mount Qomolangma |
| A．Romero is to use the northwest ridge route on the Chinese side of the mountain |
| B．Romero has his patience and understands the risk of climbing the giant mountain |
| C．Romero knew the climbing task is challenging |
| D．Romero is fond of climbing |
【推荐2】Students at Huonville High School in Australia are riding bikes out of desire to fight climate change, carrying out a dizzyingly-thorough transformation of their school building into an energy efficient inspiration.
It’s paying off big time, as they’ve helped save $44, 000 in utility bills since they started their energy-saving project, but it’s also inspiring young people in the community. Recently the school won the Zayed Future Energy Prize of $133 ,000, some of which was used to turn a building into the Zayed Future Energy Hub, a clubhouse where 13 volunteers learn and teach about how renewable energy can be applied to our everyday lives.
Among all the efficiency adjustments, they set up solar panels on the roof, and replaced the old windows with double and triple glazed ones. They added improved insulation (隔热) and energy efficient curtains. They even have stationary bikes that create electricity to cook doughnuts.
The classroom was cold in the mornings, but the students wanted zero carbon emissions through their heating. So they went out and got a pellet stove, and then if that wasn’t enough, they went out and built a pellet mill (颗粒机) to make their fuel from waste sawdust.
Powering one small building on a high school campus or cooking doughnuts in renewable fat fryers is nice, but will do little on their own to slow global climate change. However, the Hub is much more about the big picture. Nel Smit, the volunteer teacher—head of the Hub, knows their biggest contribution is exciting the minds of the next generation.
“This little school in the Huon Valley is actually doing amazing things,” Smit said. “It’s raised awareness of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and opportunities in the community for engaging them around that sort of technology.”
1. What’s special about Huonville High School?| A．It attaches importance to riding bikes. | B．It promotes the idea of energy saving. |
| C．It encourages students to be creative. | D．It is powered entirely by solar energy. |
| A．It is a club center for volunteers. | B．It is the place to produce energy. |
| C．It is built at the cost of $133,000. | D．It is used to hold learning activities. |
| A．To save electricity bill. | B．To keep low carbon emissions. |
| C．To get rid of waste sawdust. | D．To test the pellet stove. |
| A．Saving a lot of energy. | B．Creating more great minds. |
| C．Educating the next generation. | D．Slowing global climate change. |
【推荐3】In 1939,two brothers,Mac and Dick McDonald,started a drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino,California.They carefully chose a busy corner for their location.They had run their own businesses for years,first a theater,then a barbecue restaurant,then another drive-in.But in their new operation,they offered a new,shortened menu:French fries,hamburgers,and sodas.To this small selection they added one new concept:quick service,no waiters or waitresses,and no tips.
Their hamburgers sold for fifteen cents.Cheese was another four cents.Their French fries and hamburgers had a remarkable uniformity（一致）,for the brothers had developed a strict routine for the preparation of their food,and they insisted on their cooks sticking to their routine.Their new drive-in became incredibly popular, particularly for lunch. People drove up by the hundreds during the busy noontime.The self-service restaurant was so popular that the brothers had allowed ten copies of their restaurant to be opened.They were content with this modest success until they met Ray Kroc.
Kroc was a salesman who met the McDonald brothers in 1954,when he was selling milkshake-mixing machines.He quickly saw the unique appeal of the brothers' fast-food restaurants and bought the right to franchise（特许经营）other copies of their restaurants.The agreement struck included the right to duplicate the menu,the equipment,even their red and white buildings with the golden arches（拱门）.
Today McDonald's is really a household name.Its names for its sandwiches have come to mean hamburger in the decades since the day Ray Kroc watched people rush up to order fifteen-cent hamburgers.In 1976,McDonald's had over$1billion in total sales.Its first twenty-two years is one of the most incredible success stories in modern American business history.
1. This passage mainly talks about_______.| A．the development of fast-food services |
| B．the business careers of Mac and Dick McDonald |
| C．how McDonald's became a billion-dollar business |
| D．Ray Kroc's business talent |
| A．a drive-in | B．a theater |
| C．a barbecue restaurant | D．a cinema |
①Sell the right to franchise their restaurants
②Allow ten copies of their restaurant to be opened
③Start a drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino,California
④Has over$1 billion in total sales
| A．③②①④ | B．③①②④ | C．③①④② | D．③②④① |
【推荐1】The amount of rubbish that piles on our shore lines is hugely worrying and a growing problem for the planet. It seems like no matter how remote you hike and how high you climb, there’s always a dropped plastic container there waiting for you.
Mariah Reading, an American artist, spends the majority of her time outdoors looking for inspiration for her art, based in nature and our natural surroundings. On noticing the amount of waste filling her natural areas, she decided she had to reflect it in her works.
For her latest project, Mariah is looking at both the problem of wasteful littering and the way that art itself can be wasteful in materials, taking the dropped items that fill her natural spaces and painting them to reflect the place in which they were left.
Applying paint to create her masterpieces, Mariah has collected trash (垃圾) from different mountains and parks. “I’ve been considering my relationship with art and the large amount of waste it can produce,” says Mariah. “I wanted to find ways I can confirm art and its important purpose by working with recycled materials found in landscape environments.”
“Since the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, I’ve especially appreciated and been inspired by the natural beauty the parks offer, and found how easily we can take these precious places for granted. I seek to gather as much trash as possible, sculpt it into a canvas (画布), and paint the scene where the trash originated onto the trash itself,” says Mariah.
As well as through this project, Mariah has explored nature in her art in various different ways and through exhibitions. Mariah’s work might not solve the litter problem, but it’s just another way that we can get people talking about the problem and the ways we can prevent it from growing any larger.
1. What gave Mariah the idea of the latest project?| A．The beauty of nearby scenery. |
| B．The rubbish-covered surroundings. |
| C．The potential security risks of beaches. |
| D．The high energy consumption of her artworks. |
| A．To keep people from wasting natural resources. |
| B．To remind people of the litter problem. |
| C．To encourage people to explore parks. |
| D．To make full use of rubbish. |
| A．They are made of oceanic rubbish. |
| B．They appear in the form of sculpture. |
| C．They reflect the trash places on trash itself. |
| D．They’re designed to inspire people’s love for painting. |
| A．The Growing Problem of Rubbish |
| B．Mariah Reading: a Sociable Artist |
| C．An Artist Turns Waste into Amazing Works |
| D．Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service |
Many of Gershwin’s songs were first written for musical plays performed in theatres in New York City. These plays were a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of his songs have remained popular as ever. Over the years they have been sung and played in every possible way — from jazz to country.
In the 1920s there was a debate in the United States about jazz music. Could jazz, some people asked, be considered serious music? In 1924 jazz musician and orchestra leader Paul Whiteman decided to organize a special concert to show that jazz was serious music. Gershwin agreed to compose something for the concert before he realized he had just a few weeks to do it. And in that short time, he composed a piece for piano and orchestra which he called Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin himself played the piano at the concert. The audience were thrilled when they heard his music. It made him world-famous and showed that jazz music could be both serious and popular.
In 1928, Gershwin went to Paris. He applied to study composition (作曲) with the well-known musician Nadia Boulanger, but she rejected him. She was afraid that classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style. While there, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris. When it was first performed, critics (评论家) were divided over the music. Some called it happy and full of life, to others it was silly and boring. But it quickly became popular in Europe and the United States. It still remains one of his most famous works.
George Gershwin died in 1937, just days after doctors learned he had brain cancer. He was only thirty-nine years old. Newspapers all over the world reported his death on their front pages. People mourned the loss of the man and all the music he might have still written.
1. Many of Gershwin’s musical works were ________ .
| A．composed for Paul Whiteman |
| B．performed in various ways |
| C．played mainly in the countryside |
| D．written about New Yorkers |
| A．It attracted more people to theatres. |
| B．It made Gershwin leader of the orchestra. |
| C．It caused a debate among jazz musicians. |
| D．It proved jazz could be serious music. |
| A．He argued with French critics. |
| B．He studied with Nadia Boulanger. |
| C．He changed his music style. |
| D．He created one of his best works. |
| A．Many of Gershwin’s works were lost. |
| B．Brain cancer research started after Gershwin’s death. |
| C．A concert was held in memory of Gershwin. |
| D．The death of Gershwin was widely reported. |
| A．Serious and boring. | B．Talented and productive. |
| C．Popular and unhappy. | D．Friendly and honest. |
【推荐3】The composing career of Albert Roussel got off to a wayward start, and received one of its biggest advances from a lie.
Roussel was orphaned at the age of eight and went to live with his grandfather. He built on the music he had learned from his mother, entertaining himself by reading through the family music collection and playing operatic selections and popular songs on the piano.
Three years later Roussel’s grandfather died, and his mother’s sister took him in. Her husband arranged for young Albert to take piano lessons. Summer vacations at a Belgian seaside resort added a second love to his life — the sea. He studied to be a naval officer, but still made time to study music.
In the French Navy, while he was stationed on a cruiser (巡洋舰) based at Cherbourg, he and two friends found the time to play the piano trios (三重奏) of Beethoven and other composers. Roussel also began composing. At the Chuich of the Trinity in Cherbourg on Christmas Day 1892, he had his first public performance as a composer with the performance of his Andante for string trio and organ.
That success encouraged Roussel to write a wedding march, and one of his fellow naval officers offered to show it to an outstanding conductor, Edouard Colonne. When Roussel’s friend returned with the manuscript (手稿), he reported that Colonne had advised Roussel to give up his naval career and devote his life to music.
Not long afterward, at the age of 25, Roussel did just that. He applied the self-discipline, conciseness, and spirituality that he had developed in the navy to his composing and became a major force in twentieth century French music. As for Eduoard Colonne’s inspiring advice that Roussel devote his life to music, Roussel’s navy friend later admitted that he had made it up and that he had never even shown Roussel’s manuscript to the conductor.
1. From “a wayward start” in Paragraph 1, we know Albert Roussel’s composing career________.| A．was a great success at first | B．was inspired early in every way |
| C．was a happy one because of a lie | D．was unpredictable in the beginning |
| A．His mother. | B．His grandfather. |
| C．His piano teacher. | D．His fellow naval officer. |
| A．He didn’t want to live with his mother’s sister. |
| B．He was fascinated by the sea at a seaside resort. |
| C．He wanted to practice music with his friends. |
| D．He thought it could help him create music. |
| A．his love for music | B．the conductor’s inspiring advice |
| C．his navy friend’s lie | D．the good qualities acquired in the navy |
